Christies Pop Culture Auction Draws Huge Figures

By Brian Scott
Nov 27 2010

An American collector failed in his bid this week to sell his Darth Vader costume at the famed Christies Auction house.

Christies was holding what was commonly referred to as a pop culture auction, where items from the popular eras were sold to the highest bidder.

This is the same auction that held the famed Apple I computer, complete with a signed letter from Steve Jobs that sold for $210,000.

The Darth Vader costume was an original set costume used during the making of The Empire Strikes Back. Early estimates place it at around $250,000 but the bidding stopped just short of $150,000, which was below the reserve price for the iconic piece.

On the other hand, a gun that was used in promotional appearances for the James Bond film From Russia with Love sold for ten times the appraised value of the piece. The final selling price was $437,000.

The gun was used by Sean Connery during the many promotional stops for the famed film series.

Several appraisers have said that the failure to sell the Darth Vader costume is a tragedy. Star Wars is considered one of the most iconic of all the science fiction films and has been quoted more times than any other film franchise in the history of Hollywood.

The collector who owns the suit said that he will attempt to sell the costume at a later date, hoping to find the right buyer that will appreciate the value of the outfit.