The sole surviving example of the original three used in filming.
ROCK ISLAND, ILL. — The only surviving blaster originally used by Harrison Ford as Han Solo in “Star Wars: A New Hope” sold at Rock Island Auction Company’s August Premier Auction for $1,057,500. Han Solo’s blaster headlined the three-day event that drew international interest and achieved over $23 million.
Interest in the iconic blaster was hotter than the twin suns of Tatooine in the run-up to the auction. The BlasTech DL-44 Heavy Blaster was estimated to bring between $300,000 – $500,000. Bidding quickly blew past the estimate as well as the 2018 sale of a blaster prop used in “Return of the Jedi” for $550,000.
“We know how passionate fine arms collectors can be and it’s great to see that same energy in other fields of collecting,” said Kevin Hogan, President of Rock Island Auction Company. “We’re grateful for the excitement and support generated for this auction. It’s yet another demonstration of the growing markets for collectibles and fine arms.”
The prop, one of three made for the 1977 film, was previously considered missing and presumed lost forever. The gun had been in the inventory of Bapty & Co., a London prop house that provided numerous weapons for “A New Hope.”
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The blaster comprised of military surplus parts would go on to serve as the prototype for those carried by Solo throughout the first three Star Wars films produced. Star Wars fans refer to Han Solo’s blaster, one of the most recognizable weapons in movie history, as the “Hero” prop from “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
This August Premier Auction is the fifth largest in the company’s history. With more than 2,000 lots, the three-day auction event marks the company’s sixth consecutive event to breach the $20 million mark. Additional highlights from the August Premier Auction include:
· A pair of pistols wielded by Angelina Jolie in the 2001 film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” ($35,250)
· Wild Bill Hickok’s Smith & Wesson No. 2 revolver ($235,000)
· The Finest Known 1891 Production Colt Single Action Army ($763,750)
· A Winchester “One of One Hundred” Model 1873 rifle ($440,625)
· A Rizzini engraved by Master Firmo Fracassi ($246,750)
About Rock Island Auction Company
Rock Island Auction Company is the world’s #1 auction company for firearms, bladed weapons and militaria. Founded in 1993 by its current CEO Patrick Hogan, RIAC continues to lead the industry with record sales numbers and their extensive and beautiful marketing efforts. Their 150,000 square foot campus consists of two buildings and hosts around 18+ auctions each year. They actively seek consignments, be it a single weapon or a collection of hundreds, a thousand-dollar item or one million. For more information, please visit www.rockislandauction.com or call 1-800-238-8022.
If you are a long time member of the NRA and received the American Rifleman magazine, you may remember the story they ran 30 or 40 years ago about the Boomhandle Mauser. A whole bunch of them, like a couple crates worth, were found in China and imported to the States and being sold as a curio and relic firearm. Back then, with price based on condition, they were a bargain. In one pic of a whole pile of them, one had a red kerchief attached, and a reader wrote back the next month swearing he saw the man that had that pistol, wrote in detail about him, and witnessed him shoot several people with it. It would be interesting to know if the movie prop was built on an actual Mauser pistol, or somebodies plastic creation.
The most valuable gun in the world is the one that saves your life.
Does this include free shipping? I’m out, if not.
Over $1,000,000 for Solo’s blaster, sure, why not? Better buy than a Mickey Mantle rookie card if you ask me. The C96 Broomhandle Mauser spirit lives on.
If you’re a well-heeled Star Wars geek…. Why not?
The down side would be if over the years, the provenance gets queered like the poor schmucks eternally fighting it out over who has the original and SOLE Captain America bike from Easy-Rider.
A sucker born every minute, and a fool and his money are soon parted.
$23 million for the blaster of Han Solo? Wow, this is pretty steep for a non-functioning gun, but at least it got a scope. Plus, the blaster is pretty useless if you meet a Jedi, because he would deflect all of your shots with his lightsaber and could even send your lasers back at you, killing you instantly. Yet, if I would be able to spend so much money, I would rather spend it for a truly working E-3 blaster rifle, used by the Droids in episodes I-III, or an E-11 blaster rifle, used in episodes IV-VII. Unfortunately, as these two also have an auto-fire option, as seen once in episode III during the battle on Utapau and especially in the old Jedi Knight video games, I guess they will be only sold as semi-autos around here, lol.
I am surprised though that the two pistols used by Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider have only made it to $35,250. Back then, while I was a teenager, I liked Angelina very much. I even went with my mother into the cinema to watch the movie and we both had the opinion that it is quite good, although I was never a big fan of the actual video games.
“I am surprised though that the two pistols used by Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider have only made it to $35,250. Back then, while I was a teenager, I liked Angelina very much. I even went with my mother into the cinema to watch the movie and we both had the opinion that it is quite good, although I was never a big fan of the actual video games.”
Well, in all fairness, there are not near as many fans of the Tomb Raider movie as there are of the original 3 Star Wars movies, and gamers are not a huge segment of Western society. Then, when you consider that gamers who really got into Tomb Raider are a small subset of all gamers, that puts a little perspective on it.
But, the way I read it, the $23 million was for the entire auction, not the blaster. It looks like the blaster sold for $1,057,500, Still, that is quite a lot for a movie prop.
Indeed, you are absolutely right. Being a Star Wars fan myself, I should have known better than I have actually stated in the first place. 😊 I also never understood the hype about the Tomb Raider video games and, as far as I know, Tomb Raider was a typical 90s game and just belongs to that time, I guess. The movie came out in 2003, as far as I remember, and after three quite good games the series was only getting worse and started to be focused too much on console gamers, especially Angel Of Darkness, which was an utter disgrace, even for die-hard Tomb Raider fans.
And about the price for Han Solo’s blaster: Indeed, I have accidentally missed that, so it is true, the blaster was sold for $1,057,500 and not for $23 million. Still, it is a very high amount for a non-functioning gun, according to my opinion. 😊