UK couple inherits Star Wars toys worth $525K from neighbour in bin bags
A Palitoy Jawa still in its packaging fetched £27,280 with fees.
By AFP |
Reuters
The couple were initially unsure what to make of the jumble of dolls and spacecraft their neighbour had spent decades collecting. (Representative Image)
LONDON: A British couple have thanked their lucky stars after a garage full of bin bags they inherited from a dead neighbour yielded a trove of Star Wars toys worth £400,000 ($525,000).
The couple, from Stourbridge in central England, were initially unsure what to make of the jumble of dolls and spacecraft their neighbour had spent decades collecting, The Times newspaper reported Thursday.
Their son called in an auctioneer, who found a treasure trove of Star Wars memorabilia including action figures still pristine in their sealed packaging.
"A lot of them were a bit damp because of how they've been stored but generally it's the best Star Wars collection I've ever seen," Chris Aston of Aston's Auctioneers, told The Times.
"We had a huge amount of interest from all over the world and were always expecting the sale to do very well," Aston said of the auction.
From Storm Trooper helmets to R2D2's eye, memorabilia from one of the world's biggest movie franchises can fetch eye-watering sums at auctions. (Representative Image)
ADVERTISEMENT
Going under the hammer was a Star Destroyer Commander, one of only two known examples still to be in its original packaging, which sold for £32,500 ($42,000) including fees, the Times said.
A Palitoy Jawa still in its packaging - and believed to be one of only 10 in existence - fetched £27,280 with fees.
A set of eight figures from "Return of the Jedi" that cost only £1.59 each when they were bought new in the 1980s, went for £1,400.
From Storm Trooper helmets to R2D2's eye, memorabilia from one of the world's biggest movie franchises can fetch eye-watering sums at auctions.
ADVERTISEMENT
In 2015, a Luke Skywalker doll, which hit the market in 1978 as a children's toy, sold for $25,000 at an auction organised by Sotheby's and eBay.
Aston said the Stourbridge couple would be "thrilled" with the unexpected windfall.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I don't know if they have any specific plans but it must feel like they've won the lottery," he said.
Vase, Gold Egg & A Rock: Accidental Finds That Cost Millions
1/6
Treasures aren’t always hidden. Sometimes they can be right under your nose, either gathering dust in an attic or lying unclaimed in a thrift store.
A look at seemingly ordinary pieces that were a lot more valuable than expected.
Treasures aren’t always hidden. Sometimes they can be right under your nose, either gathering dust in an attic or lying unclaimed in a thrift store.
A look at seemingly ordinary pieces that were a l..
Read More
In October, a farmer took a rock weighing about 10 kg to the geology department of Central Michigan University for examination. The rock, used by David Mazurek as a door stopper for nearly three decades, turned out to be a meteorite. This rock, which is the sixth biggest meteorite to have been found in Michigan, is estimated to be worth $100,000.
(Image: www.cmich.edu)
In October, a farmer took a rock weighing about 10 kg to the geology department of Central Michigan University for examination. The rock, used by David Mazurek as a door stopper for nearly three dec..
Read More
In 2014, a $14,000 purchase turned into millions of dollars for a scrap dealer in mid-western US. The man, who wished to remain anonymous, had bought a gold egg at a junk market a decade ago, hoping to make a fast buck by reselling the piece for its contents. But it turned out to be one of the eight missing Faberge imperial eggs. The egg, created by Peter Carl Faberge, was gifted by Russian Tsar Alexander III to his wife, Maria Feodorovna, in 1887. Antique dealers valued the egg at $33 million.
(Image: www.wartski.com)
In 2014, a $14,000 purchase turned into millions of dollars for a scrap dealer in mid-western US. The man, who wished to remain anonymous, had bought a gold egg at a junk market a decade ago, hoping..
Read More
In 1989, a Pennsylvanian collector bought a painting at a flea market for $4. When he dismantled the artwork to restore the frame, he found a copy of the American Declaration of Independence. He kept the document thinking it might be a 19th century copy of some value. However, two years later, he discovered that it was one of the original printed copies of the declaration. It was auctioned that year for $2.42 million.
(Representative image: www.sothebys.com)
In 1989, a Pennsylvanian collector bought a painting at a flea market for $4. When he dismantled the artwork to restore the frame, he found a copy of the American Declaration of Independence. He kep..
Read More
A family heirloom stored away in a shoe box in Paris sold for $25 million at Sotheby’s Paris this year. The 18th-century vase from the Qing dynasty of China was left to the grandparents of its last owners. The sale was the highest price reached for a single item sold by the auction house in France.
(Image: www.sothebys.com)
A family heirloom stored away in a shoe box in Paris sold for $25 million at Sotheby’s Paris this year. The 18th-century vase from the Qing dynasty of China was left to the grandparents of its last ..
Read More
In 2015, three brothers from New Jersey decided to get their mother’s belongings valued after her death. Among other items, a dusty, cracked old painting languishing in the basement was valued at a few hundred dollars. This painting portrayed a woman who had fainted and two men trying to revive her with smelling salts. Sharpeyed art aficionados spotted the artwork when it went up for auction and identified it as ‘The Unconscious Patient’ by 17th century Dutch painter Rembrandt. A buyer bought the painting for $1.1 million and then resold it for $4 million to a collector.
(Image: www.theleidencollection.com)
In 2015, three brothers from New Jersey decided to get their mother’s belongings valued after her death. Among other items, a dusty, cracked old painting languishing in the basement was valued at a ..
