It Could Cost at Least $300K to Own One of Back to the Future’s Most Iconic Items (That We’re Still Waiting to Become Reality)

In 1985, Back to the Future took everyone back to 1955 on a nostalgic trip of a lifetime with Marty McFly. Throwbacks to the music, clothing, and technology of the past helped to make the movie one of the biggest and most enduring blockbusters of the decade, and it set up a sequel in its final moments. Now, almost three decades on from Marty’s second adventure in the “future” of 2015, one of the original props from the movie is heading to auction. Used by Michael J. Fox himself during the production of both Back to the Future Part II and Part III, a simple piece of special-effects wood from Hill Valley is expected to sell for up to $300,000. Why? Because that piece of wood is the screen-used hoverboard that everyone is till waiting to become a real product all these years later.

As part of Prop Store’s Summer Entertainment Memorabilia Live Action, which will be held over several days starting August 26, this hoverboard is one of only a small number created to actually be stood on by Fox when he was required to fly around Hill Valley of the future avoiding trouble, or getting into some, throughout the back-to-back sequel releases. Unlike a number of lightweight foam boards made for wide shots, this hard wooden version was made to be durable a sturdy enough to support Fox’s weight, and included all of the precise decals and detailing seen during the movie. This includes Mattel logos, foot-holds, and all that bright pink coloring that really made the board stand out. It is this level of detail, combined with its incredibly scarcity and on-screen use, that has already seen bidding soar to over $120,000 long before the auction begins.

The Last Hoverboard Auctioned Sold for Half a Million

As noted, this is not the only hoverboard prop that was made for the Back to the Future sequels and it is also not the first to have hit a Prop Store auction in recent years. Taking a quick DeLorean trip to 2021 would lead back to the last time a similar screen-used item went under the hammer and completely shattered its pre-sale estimates. That hoverboard, which was also signed by Fox and costar Thomas F. Wilson – best known as the franchise’s Biff Tannen – originally ran with an estimate of $80-$100 million but ended up selling for $501,000. This is most likely one reason why the estimate on this latest auction is so much higher this time, and even without the signatures of the movie’s stars, it could well push well beyond its $300,000 high-end with the right bidders involved thanks to the continued popularity of the Back to the Future trilogy.

Of course, getting your hands on this hoverboard might put you in an elite group of prop owners, but it will unfortunately not allow you to go zooming around several inches off the ground. Among the many futuristic items that featured in Back to the Future Part II, while several have made their way into the real world in some form, like the flying DeLorean and “Jaws 19,” the hoverboard has not quite found its way into stores just yet. Yes, we have “hoverboards,” but a self-balancing piece of plastic on wheels is not exactly the future of ground-level travel that was promised by Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale and Steven Spielberg back in 1989. While we continue to wait for the day kids can literally fly themselves from place to place – Health and Safety officials are already sweating at the thought of it – owning the piece of wood that made it seem like a possibility is maybe as close as you will get.

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