The original Phasers from Star Trek have almost been lost to history - only two surviving props from the 60's remain. But now, 47 years after it first appeared on screen, one of them is going up for auction next month.


The Phaser, first sold off in 1969 by Desilu after the original series wrapped up filming, has been in and out of private collections since. most recently appeared on auction in 2013, where it did not sell. The prop was screen-used, and has been matched to a Phaser used in the last episode of Star Trek's second season, Assignment: Earth:


Apparently high-res photos of the velcro used to attatch the hand phaser piece into the main body of the pistol has even revealed threads of red, gold and blue from the various wrists of several Starfleet officers shirts, which is kind of incredible. So you're technically bidding on a phaser and a teeny tiny piece of Star Trek clothing, too! Bargain.

As you can see though, the fibreglass prop has seen better days - but even though it's heavily damaged, its nature as one of the few remaining phasers from TOS means it's commanding a high asking price when it goes for auction at Propworx alongside other Trek memorabilia next month: A whopping $60,000. At the time, Star Trek's cancellation meant that very little care was taken in archiving or storing original props - in fact, many of them were sold off after the series ended, as Desilu didn't really care about the series now that it was over. The gift of hindsight is a wonderful thing, so even in a heavily damaged state, with parts missing and cracks in the fibreglass, it's easy to see how what is a now iconic piece of Science Fiction history could ask for such a lofty pricetag.

Anyone want to pool together to buy a Phaser? I'm roughly $60,000 short.

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