STAR Wars fans could be sitting on a goldmine after a toy from the franchise sold for an eye-watering £21,000.
The retro items may not be the freshest toys on the market but are going for astronomical amounts.
3
3
3
Many of these are seen as collectors’ items and they could net you a small fortune.
So if you own some old toys hidden upstairs, you might have a vintage jackpot tucked away just waiting to be discovered.
Estimated to be among only 10-15 left worldwide, the Star Wars Jawa figure was made in 1978 by the now-defunct British toy company Palitoy – which also manufactured Action Man, Pippa doll and Merlin products.
The price it fetched easily beat the £10,000 – £15,000 predicted by Excalibur Auctions.
Read More in The Sun
It was found by the vendor, who has remained anonymous, as he was unpacking various items of film memorabilia stored around his house.
With their cloaked faces, the Jawas’ identities remain hidden, but they are renowned scavengers who scour the deserts of Tatooine in the Star Wars universe for scraps to sell to the local residents.
They notoriously kidnapped the loveable droid R2-D2 in the 1977 Star Wars movie A New Hope.
The company said it was “one of the rarest carded Star Wars figures in existence on this card variation”.
Most read in Money
It was said to be in “exceptional condition” and decorated with the original vinyl cape – later substituted with a cloth cape not long into production.
The vendor was Marvel UK’s art director in the 1970s.
They received a host of gifts from Palitoy during the promotion of Star Wars in Marvel’s comics.
They previously came across another Jawa figure which sold at auction for £26,670 – again smashing an auction estimate of £10,000 – £15,000.
Jonathan Torode, Excalibur’s Auctioneer, said previously they were “thrilled” to be involved in the sale of one of the rarest Star Wars figures.
How to find out if your toys are valuable
Still got your childhood toy collection in a box in the loft? It could be worth a small fortune.
BBC Bargain Hunt expert Tim Weeks, is a toy specialist at Wessex Auction Rooms.
He says that TV & film-related toys are always the most sought after.
Star Wars, Batman, Transformers, James Bond, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, My Little Pony and Thundercats are some of the big names.
Crucially, they don’t even have to be in mint condition.
“I have regularly sold these figures for hundreds and sometimes thousands when on their original backing cards, but even a collection of unboxed figures can fetch big money,” Tim says.
Most toys from the 70s, 80s and 90s will not be in mint condition and there is still a fantastic market of buyers wanting them.
If you want to think ahead, though, and invest in toys to sell in the future, it’s definitely worth your while keeping them pristine.
While all forms of condition will be saleable, give yourself the best chance possible to maximise the return by keeping your investments as near mint as you can.
Also, take into account how the toy will display when deciding what you should buy.
