An unopened copy of Star Wars: Episode IV has surfaced at an online auction, and any are expecting the winning bid for the VHS to top $60,000. The first edition tape is being auctioned off alongside a collection of other vintage tapes, including first prints of Jurassic Park and Conan The Destroyer, which are also expected to sell for a significant sum.
The event is being hosted by Goldin and is an exclusively virtual affair, with bids for the VHS already hitting $9,500. The online auction house plans on accepting bids via their website until February 24th.
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What makes this tape worth $60,000? The VHS is a sealed and graded 1984 First Print copy of the movie. It includes a “Gray Tape-Head,” a “First Edition Stereo Only” red label, a “1984 Sleeve,” and “First Edition CBS/Fox Watermarks.” This means that anybody purchasing the tape can enjoy the American space opera, as someone did in 1984, the first time someone could watch the film at home.
If $60,000 is out of your budget, the auction house is also offering a Star Wars 10-Year Anniversary Original Trilogy Set in the original Trilogy Case. The sealed set includes the original trilogy and is only expected to pull between $10,000 and $20,000 with the most recent bid being just shy of $5,000.
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Among the other vintage VHS tapes on sale are classics like 1985’s The Gremlins and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, both of which currently have bids under $1,000. While these prices may seem cheap next to the Star Wars tape, it’s still a stunning amount to pay for a movie that you can find on DVD for $5.
Star Wars diehards have a long history of dropping serious cash on collectible memorabilia. Over 100 props from the iconic franchise went on sale at an auction in October. The collectibles brought in big money, including a light-up ILM X-wing filming miniature from Return of the Jedi, which experts have estimated to be worth almost $500,000.
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Also in the mix was the lightsaber of Luke Skywalker, the film’s protagonist, which went on sale alongside a Stormtrooper helmet. Those collectibles are worth $82,500 and $206,000, respectively.
Even memorabilia from the newer films in the franchise are racking up high bids at auction houses, and the success of the films has helped make George Lucas a billionaire.
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Source: TMZ, New York Post
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