The 26 Rarest Star Wars Collectibles (And What They’re Worth)
Let’s talk about that one most important thing about obsessive fan culture: the collectibles. Especially now, what with eBay and Craigslist right there at your fingertips, collectibles of all shapes and sizes are a core part of the fan experience. A lot of rare goodies accumulate over four decades, and, when you don’t have to wait for a convention to get chance to wrap your grubby paws around them anymore, the market for those old toys, posters, props, and more is bigger than ever before! No longer do you have to hit the road and go from fair to fair and con to con in order to find that 1977 action figure or that limited edition poster.
So, of course, the game is on: thousands are carrying out their search for this or that holy grail from the comfort of their own home, and every corner of the internet is a-buzzing. And not only that, but us helpful gnomes in the blogging world are doing our part too: compiling lists. Yes, we have scoured the land for the goodies that ye fanboys and girls seek, and found news of the choicest prizes of them all, which we report back to you: here are the golden icons you want to seek the most. Here are the rarest Star Wars collectibles out there, and what they're worth.
Note: prices are either from specific sales, or are averages. In the descriptions, I'll specify which is which, so watch out for that!
26R2-D2 Lunch Box From 1977 ($2,600)
The first item on the list is a lunchbox made to resemble one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe. This is a status made perhaps more remarkable by his complete lack of human speech, although that doesn’t seem to prevent him from being adorable: he's the droid R2-D2. This particular item is notable because it isn’t just a rare piece of Star Wars memorabilia, but also a rare lunchbox—there are lunchbox enthusiasts, apparently. Because this was a prototype that was never produced for some unknown reason, and only a dozen exist, this fetches about $2,600 on the open market.
25Lego George Lucas From 2010 ($2,700)
The next item on the list is an effigy of the single most important man to the franchise concerned: it’s George Lucas himself, in LEGO form. Now, George isn’t the much for the spotlight, but LEGO did somehow get some kind of green light for this back in 2010. You may think this is a weird idea, and LEGO apparently concurred, because this baby was never actually mass-produced. That puts this little guy reasonably far onto the rare side of things, and he goes for up to nearly three thousand on the market.
24Vlix From 1988 ($4,000)
And here we have Vlix! Who? Yeah, that’s probably most people’s first reaction. Far from the most prominent character in the Star Wars universe, Vlix appeared on the short lived 80s animated series Droids. Vlix was part of a planned second series of Droids-related action figured made by Kenner back when the show was a thing, but the show was nixed before these could be released, except in Brazil for some reason. This guy, found in mint condition, brings in about four thousand on the market, which is probably more than he ever made as a cartoon character.
23Darth Vader's TIE Fighter From 1977 ($4,000)
Darth Vader’s TIE fighter struck fear into a generation on the silver screen way back in 1977, and many bought said spacecraft in toy form, Kenner put out one such toy in 1978, and it is extremely rare now... worth a solid four thousand. Toy vehicles are apparently usually rarer than toy people, as less were produced. Of said Star Wars vehicles, this is apparently one of the hardest to find, and so hardcore fans lust after it… to the tune of four thousand dollars, apparently. Hey, makes sense to us—it was pretty cool seeing that in the film.
22Bronze C-3PO Lego
C-3PO manages to appear a few times on this list, and why not? He’s a great character, one of the two, along with R2-D2, to help ease fans into to the Star Wars universe way back in 1977. And on his own, who could forget everyone’s favourite proper, persnickety gold protocol droid? Anyway, here is a true rarity: this is a unique bronze C-3PO, of which one only exists. It was the prize for a contest at Comic Con, and anyone who wants it will have to fork over $4,100 to get it.
21Chewbacca From 1977 ($4,155)
Chewbacca, the big ball of fur, is, despite his lack of a single comprehensible line across the whole series, one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe. He makes a few appearances on this list too, but let’s start here: it’s a Chewie action figure (aren’t you getting sick of action figures?), again put out by Kenner, one of the stars of this here list. The little figurine pictured above came out just after the original movie in 1977 and, though not much to look at, fetches a cool $4,155 from the wallet of the interested super fan.
20Death Squad Commander From 1977 ($4,850)
Some of the figurines on this list are of people nobody has ever heard of—see Vlix above, although there are some even more extreme cases to come—and some of them don’t even really have names. Enter “Death Squad Commander.” You know, those people with the funny hats you see all over the Death Star in A New Hope—those guys. Like a huge chunk of the toys on this list, this figure was done by Kenner, and it gets you about $4,850 if you happen to have one of these boys in their original box.
19Gamorrean Guard From 1985 ($5,000)
Here’s another obscurity: a Gamorrean guard, who could be found acting in the service of Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi—and, like many minor figures, were heavily elaborated upon in the now de-canonized extended universe. Here’s a Kenner-brand action figure, for those of you who knew who these guys were before we had to explain—and the special collector’s coin included in the package, which is the major reason why this is so rare. In the box, these collectables have been found going for about five thousand.
18Sterling Silver Boba Fett From 2010 ($6,000)
Here is another metal LEGO figurine, silver instead of bronze this time—a bit of a step up. This is actually a set of three Boba Fetts, and there are two of these sets rather than one—one each given out by Lego at two different events that happened in 2010. So, as you might have guessed, the figurine goes for way more as part of a set, and especially if you’ve luck and have also got the glass case they came in. It goes all the way up to about six thousand—on its own, not even as part of a set.
17Sterling Silver C-3PO From 2007
Here C-3PO appears for the second, and not the last, time on this list. Like one of the Boba Fetts above, he’s a solid silver LEGO, and, like the bronze above, the only one of his kind in existence. He entered the world for Star Wars Celebration IV in 2007. This guy is worth $6,200, and would probably fetch something crazy if paired with the other LEGO C-3PO discussed above. We honestly have to wonder what the proper droid himself would be thinking about tiny toy versions of himself going around on the market for these kinds of figures.
16Darth Vader With Telescoping Lightsaber From 1977 ($6,500)
Darth Vader is one of the greatest movie villains of all time, and he made a major impression from the second he appeared on screen back in ’77. This particular valuable version of the Darth Vader toy has a telescoping lightsaber which was removed from the design just before mass release, due to their extreme delicacy—so only a very small handful of this particular form of the action figure actually exist. The going price is maybe around five to seven thousand, although they have been known for go for a lot more—thirty thousand once on eBay!
15Obi-Wan Kenobi With Telescoping Lightsaber From 1977 ($7,000)
Here’s the same deal, except its Obi-Wan. It’s about as rare, but Obi-Wan gets ranked slightly higher because the average price is a little more than Darth’s—more like seven thousand than six and a half. Incidentally, these guys are put out by Kenner once again, who is probably more represented on this list than any one character or even any one of the Star Wars movies. I have not checked this, but anyone with the time and interest to actually see if I’m correct may feel free to do so.
14Life-Sized Han Solo In Carbonite ($7,000)
Han Solo is one of the most significant characters in the Star Wars series, and now, with Disney driving the bus, he even has his own personal film. One of the most iconic scenes in his on-screen life is when, at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, Han is frozen in a carbonite slab to be brought to Jabba the Hutt, to whom he owes money. And here is your very own life-sized replica of Harrison Ford as he appeared frozen in that carbonite, for those of you who want it and are willing for fork over seven grand.
13Anakin Skywalker Action Figure From 1985 ($7,500)
Those of us who are very old—and there is no more evidence of this either, thanks to George Lucas and the magic of digital superimposition—will remember a time before Anakin Skywalker bore the face of Hayden Christensen, once, when he showed up maskless very briefly at the end of Return of the Jedi. Although not exactly a fan favourite, Kenner, who seems to have done everything, actually put on an Anakin action figure back in 1985. Now this fella goes for around $7,500. It was also only put out in Canada, for some reason.
12FX-7 Medical Droid From 1980 ($12,000)
Here we have the FX-7 Medical Droid, and you probably don’t even remember what it is. Well, it's a droid which first appears in The Empire Strikes Back and heals an injured Luke Skywalker for example—you can sorta see it there in the background—pretty obscure, but expanded upon in the extended universe like many other obscurities of the movies. This thing caught everyone off guard by selling for £7,000 (about $11,500) at an auction. This threw the fandom for a loop, since it’s not even as rare as some of the toys we’ve already gone through, like Vlix, for example.
11Solid Gold Boba Fett From 2010 ($12,000)
Here’s the gold Boba Fett from the collection of three mentioned above, and he’s obviously worth quite a bit more than his silver counterpart: $12,000, to be exact. Silver being worth more than gold. Again, we’re honestly curious what these bad boys would bring in as a full set, although a full set probably no longer exists, given that they were handed out separately. Still: that would probably boot them up quite a lot in value, now wouldn’t it? You heard that, collectors! Here’s a challenge for you all!
10Solid Gold C-3PO
And, as we will come back to Boba Fett, here we come back to our old friend C-3PO. LEGO again, but gold this time, as the expected progression with go. This boy fetches anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 on the market, so you’re looking fine if you’re lucky enough to have one of the five in existence in your possession. Especially given that this is a gentleman who was build out of scrap metal by an uneducated child—at least if you believe in the prequels. But, really, wouldn’t that even add to his value?
9Star Wars Issue #1 From 1977, 35¢ Version ($13,600)
While the movies are by far the most famous, most essential, and most canonical tellings of the Star Wars legends, the story has also been expanded, in both official and unofficial capacity, by a plethora of books, TV shows, and comics. And here we look at one of the first examples of this. The specific variant that’s earned a spot on this list is specifically the ones that are priced at 35¢. Not a lot of these suckers floating around. If you have one, know that the price has jumped up from the thirty-five cents to a cool $13,600.
8LEGO Millenium Falcon From 2007 ($16,000)
This baby was actually pretty darn pricey when it came out new—$500 for a box of LEGOs! This made it the most expensive LEGO set ever put out, and it’s actually one of the biggest too. That was back when it came out in 2007. Pretty expensive then, it is exponentially more expensive now as long as it’s still in its original box. Someone paid $16,000 for this in an eBay auction once, and its probably only going to get even more valuable with age. Sort of like cheese, LEGOs apparently get better with age.
7Vinyl Cape Jawa From 1977 ($18,000)
Here is yet another Kenner action figure. Ten bucks when it came out, this action figure is worth about $18,000 these days. Why? This particularly valuable version has a vinyl cape rather than the more common cotton one. All the other toys Kenner put out around this time had vinyl capes, but they decided that people would want something higher quality to justify paying the same price for a smaller toy and so switched to cotton. Thus, only a very small number were even put out with the vinyl—as few as six of them remain!
6Boba Fett With Rocket Launcher From 1980 ($27,000!)
Boba Fett is, honestly, appearing on this list more often than he did in the actual movies. And this bad boy actually has a function rocket on his back! Seriously, you can actually press a button and launch that plastic sucker… and Kenner thought that was as bad an idea as you probably are now, so they pulled this version and replaced it a version where the rocket was glued in. Hence, this is rare; hence, this is worth up to a whopping $27,000. Woe to whoever had one of these and lost the tiny little rocket.
5Chewbacca Head From Set Costume ($172,000!!!)
Here we get into the super duper collectables that normal non-crazy-wealthy (or connected) people could never even dream of getting their grubby paws on. For example: dig the actual head from Peter Mayhew’s Chewbacca costume worn on set. Despite how old and mangy—and smelly—this must be by now, after four decades (hey, maybe that increases the value!) this sucker sold for a seriously jaw-dropping $140,000 (plus a $32,000 buyer’s premium!) at a Profiles in History auction in Los Angeles. That’s not even mentioning some of the other eye popping figures of what some other things went for.
4Luke's Actual Lightsaber From A New Hope ($240,000!!!)
Lightsabers are cool. I mean, just look at ‘em. If anyone tells you they didn’t want and need one from the scene where Obi-Wan is introducing the things to Luke, they are lying. So, naturally, the actual lightsaber propers from A New Hope are worth a pretty penny—and Luke Skywalker’s very own is, naturally, worth the most of the lot. Producer Gary Kurtz put that very thing up for auction back in 2008, and it sold for the serious figure of $240,000. I doubt everyone involved even expected the picture to make back that much.
3Snowtrooper Helmet From The Empire Strikes Back ($276,750!!!)
The Empire Strikes Back, the second Star Wars movie, opened with a bang—the snowbound Battle of Hoth, which was extremely cool both literally and figuratively. Most importantly, at least for the purposes of this list, is that it marked the only appearance of the cold weather form of the imperial stormtrooper—the aptly-titled “Snowtrooper.” So, since they were only in this one bit, their helmets are quite a bit rarer than the standard stormtrooper helmets… in fact, only one is known to have ever ended up on the market. This one, which sold for a cool $225,000 back in 2012.
2Miniature TIE Fighter From A New Hope ($402,400!!!)
So we had a mini-TIE fighter way back at the beginning of this list, and now here we have one close to the very end—this one is better though. Much better, since it’s not just a toy, an actual prop from the movie, one of the miniatures used to film the Battle of Yavin (Death Star battle) at the end of A New Hope. We have no idea how many people went bananas when this went up for action, and it sold for an incredible $350,000, plus a 15% buyer’s premium.
1The Camera Lucas Used To Film Star Wars ($625,000!!!)
And, on the theme of tying things back around, one of the items starting the list was outside of the franchise’s fourth wall, so to speak, and now we end it with something else from out here in reality. And it is probably appropriate that this is the most valuable thing in the whole fandom, as it is, literally, the means in which the whole deal was started: this is the Panavision PR 33mm movie camera that George Lucas used to film A New Hope which went on auction back in 2011 and sold for the figure of $625,000.
