A prop from two films of the original Star Wars trilogy sold for $4.875 million at a Heritage Auctions sale in the US. According to the auction house, the November 12 auction set a world record among collectibles from the movie saga.

The sold item was used in the filming of The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. Heritage links it in particular to the duel in Cloud City, during which Darth Vader reveals to Luke Skywalker the secret of his origin.

The multimillion-dollar prop has a quite utilitarian basis. According to the Propstore catalog, which previously offered the same item at auction, the hilt was made from a 1950s British M.P.P. Microflash camera flash. It was supplemented with plastic grips, calculator parts, fasteners, and other elements that turned the photographic accessory into on-screen weaponry.

This is a prop for staged fights: interchangeable wooden blades were attached to the reinforced hilt, and the glowing effect was created during post-production. As Heritage clarifies, the blade is not included in the sold lot — only the hilt with its blade mount has survived.

For collectors, the ability to connect a specific item to filming is crucial. Propstore described matching the hilt to a production photograph from The Empire Strikes Back by the characteristic bend of the mounting ring, and to a still from Return of the Jedi by a dent on the lower part. The prop retains scratches, a crack, and a damaged grip. For a collector, this confirms the connection of this particular hilt to famous scenes — a connection that cannot be replicated in a modern copy.

The new result exceeded the previous overall record among Star Wars items by $1 million — $3.875 million for original artwork by artist Tom Jung for the poster of A New Hope. Among props actually used on screen, the previous leader was Luke's lightsaber and the severed-hand mechanism, sold in July 2026 for $3.75 million, Heritage reports.

Vader's lightsaber also has prior auction history: according to Heritage's listing, on September 4, 2025, the same item sold at Propstore for $3.654 million.

The current sale price — $4.875 million — includes the buyer's premium. For this lot, Heritage set it at 25% of the winning bid. That corresponds to a hammer price of $3.9 million and a buyer's premium of $975,000; taxes and shipping may be additional.

Based on materials from: Heritage Auctions press release about the auction results, listing for the sold lot, Propstore 2025 catalog.