Darth Vader's Lightsaber Sells for $4.875 Million at Heritage Auction

Darth Vader's lightsaber from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi sold for $4.875 million at a Heritage Auctions sale on Thursday, a world record for any Star Wars collectible, the auction house said. The prop was used in the Cloud City duel where Vader tells Luke Skywalker he is his father. It also set a record for a screen-used Star Wars prop, topping the $3.75 million July sale of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and severed hand rig. Auctioneers had estimated it would fetch over $1 million. Twenty-seven other lightsabers were offered in the auction.

The right-leaning Washington Times, whose piece was available only as an excerpt, led with the nearly $5 million price and the "I am your father" duel, reporting the core sale facts. Left-leaning CBS News led with the price and record and added the July comparison and the 27 other sabers, while The Guardian led with the gap between the estimate and the sale price, named the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker sabers, and paraphrased Heritage's Brian Chanes calling it the collectors' Holy Grail. The alternative Hollywood Reporter opened with a playful Dark Side theme, dated the sale to Nov. 12, and compared it with the earlier $3,875,000 record for a Star Wars poster. All sides agree on the price and record, but left outlets stress the estimate and collector appeal.