Star Wars: Han Solo's Blaster Sells for Over $1 Million at Auction

By Nicole Drum

Movie memorabilia — particularly props — remain some of the most sought-after items for fans and collectors and the more iconic the movie, the more valuable the prop. That certainly is the case for props and items from the Star Wars universe. According to TMZ (via Comic Book Movie), the last surviving screen-used blaster used by Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in Star Wars: A New Hope has just sold at auction for more than $1 million. The prop, sold at the Rock Island Auction Company, was initially estimated to sell for around $400,000 making its final purchase price more than double that at $1,057,500.

The blaster — officially referred to as the DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol — was one of three used during the filming of the first Star Wars movie and as was noted above, was the last surviving model. The blaster was made from a Mauser C96 firearm that was converted to a non-firing weapon for the film. The sale of the blaster was part of an event for collector firearms — Rock Island Auction Company, per their website, strictly specializes "in the auctioning of antique and collector firearms and militaria".

"Arguably the most iconic movie firearm of all time, it remains in fine overall condition and is converted to a non-firing for blanks only," the blaster's rating definition on the auction website reads. The description of the auction lot also notes that the blaster came with a Han Solo photograph signed by Ford.

The blaster is just the latest piece of Star Wars memorabilia to go up for auction for a considerable sum of money. Earlier this year, a vintage, unopened VHS copy of Star Wars was put up for auction and had been expected to bring in around $60,000. The tape, a 1984 first release of Star Wars: A New Hope that had been rated NM 8.0/B by VHSDNA and included a "Gray Tape-Head", a "First Edition Stereo Only" red label, a "1984 Sleeve" and "First Edition CBS/Fox Watermarks," had previously sold for more than $57,000 at auction. Other VHS copies of the original Star Wars trilogy were also included in that auction, expected to go for between $10,000 and $20,000.

What do you think about the last surviving, screen used Han Solo blaster's staggering $1 million sale at auction? What piece of movie memorabilia would you spend that kind of money on? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!

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