Star Wars 7 anticipation helps rare Palitoy action figure sell for record sum by James McAllister . Published Fri 28 Feb 2014 11:32

A rare Star Wars figure estimated that was originally priced at £1.50 has been sold for a record sum at an auction on Teeside.



The early edition carded figure of an FX-7 Medical Droid, which featured briefly in The Empire Strikes Back, fetched one lucky owner over 100 times it’s estimated value, when a determined collector bid £7000 for the near mint figure.



Louise Harker spokeswoman for Vectis Auctions commented: “These items all came from the same collection. The vendor had no preconceptions about what they would fetch and was delighted with the presale estimates given.



“We are seeing TV and film-related items, such as Star Wars, becoming increasingly popular. The early editions are highly sought-after and even the newer cards in pristine condition can command premium prices.”



The auction also saw the sale of a Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Imperial Commander figures, which sold for £4,200, £2,100 and £3000 respectively.



All of the figures that appeared at auction were all estimated much lower than their actual sale price.



In a statement Ms Harker added: “The condition of the lots is a key factor in gaining prices such as these - the unpunched card, the condition of the card itself and the bubble which the figure is contained within and, of course, the all-important factory seal.”



With the highly anticipated release of Disney’s Star Wars saga, collectors are on the hunt once again for those missing pieces from their collection.



“Sometimes all it takes is for two collectors to be missing one figure from their collection to push up the value. There does not seem to be enough of these original Palitoy cards on the open market to satisfy the increasing hunger of Star Wars collectors.”

