Star Wars: Han Solo’s blaster sells at auction for $1m

Prop had been expected to sell for less than half that amount

Louis Chilton
Tuesday 30 August 2022 10:12 BST
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A prop gun wielded by Harrison Ford in the original Star Wars has sold at auction for over $1m.

The fake weapon went on sale at an auction for collector firearms held by The Rock Island Auction Company last weekend.

In 1977’s Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope), the blaster pistol belongs to rogueish space smuggler Han Solo, played by Ford.

According to TMZ, the item fetched a price of $1,057,500 (£900,700), having originally been estimated to sell for between $300,000 (£255,500) and $500,000 (£425,800).

The blaster – a Mauser pistol that had been modified and deactivated so it was only able to shoot blanks – is the only surviving object of three identical props used for the film.

Star Wars memorabilia remains one of the most lucrative collector’s markets in popular culture.

In 2020, more than 800 items of Star Wars memorabilia were sold in an online auction held from Los Angeles.

Han Solo (Harrison Ford) with blaster

Props including Darth Vader’s outfit and several lightsabers were made available for fans of the hit sci-fi franchise to bid on.

Boba Fett’s helmet and the distinctive angular lightsaber wielded by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) were also among the items.

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