Collectibles

Star Wars Collection, ca. 1980

Appraisal: Star Wars Collection, ca. 1980

Transcript

GUEST: I was four years old in 1977, and I think, on reflection, that was really the perfect age to be when Star Wars came out. I exited grammar school right around the time the third film came out. And so I got to spend my childhood with these stories and, uh, came to love them. It was my mom who got the, the cardboard set for Christmas, and then the, the figures came out, and, you know, I played with all of this to the hilt.

APPRAISER: Right.

GUEST: Um, and at some point in the '80s, we were in a mall and there was a guy at a table selling some comic books, and I think it was, like, $40, $42 sticks in my head. And we kind of moved on because that was a lot of money. And at the end of the-- I don't know if we were looking for school clothes or, or whatever-- but she said, "You're still thinking about those figures, aren't you?" And we went back and, and we got it.

APPRAISER: And you picked this up. The Star Wars grouping that we have here represents the three movies that they did, the trilogy, the first trilogy, ranging from 1977 to 1983. The early bird certificate package and the four figure package came out '77, '78.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: You had had one previously, which you had opened, and then sent in for an early bird set.

GUEST: Well, my mom, my mom sent all of that. I mean, I was four years old.

APPRAISER: Right.

GUEST: So, so yeah. I, I, but I played with all the toys during that time when I was a kid.

APPRAISER: Gotcha.

GUEST: And then we saw this package. She purchased it again to kind of...

APPRAISER: Replace it.

GUEST: Yeah. And, and, and to kind of remember, you know, what, what that was all about.

APPRAISER: Got you, so that kind of explains why it's totally unopened and never used. And when, when it's put together, it's pretty cool-looking, because it's like a, a display stand where you could put each of the figures in their spot. It's great visually, but I'm glad you didn't open this one up and left it sealed.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: And I noticed that we have some letters over there. Maybe you can give me a little idea as to what they're about.

GUEST: In 1984-'85, the, the stories were over, and, and people quickly moved on to other things. So I guess Kenner, to try and keep the toy line at least selling one more Christmas, came up with the coins, which would come with each figure. I had all the figures at that time, and I would have had to buy everything over again. And so I basically was asking if there was a way to get the coin set without having to collect all those things. I wrote Kenner. In the letter, I said, "From the first day Star Wars figures came out, I have collected them. I have everything from the Death Star to the Imperial Shuttle, and I am looking forward to getting the new ones this summer. Recently, I noticed the new coin gimmick, and I would like to say it's cheap. I have always trusted Kenner, but now how do I get the coins? Randomly? You would have to buy hundreds before you could get them all."

APPRAISER: So you wrote the letter in April of 1985, and you were 12 years old at the time.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: It's a pretty gutsy letter to write as a 12-year-old to a major corporation.

GUEST: Yup, yup-- my mom helped me type it and everything, so I guess she, she thought it was a good idea.

APPRAISER: She approved.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: That's great.

GUEST: And then they responded.

APPRAISER: It says, "This is to reply to your letter concerning the Star Wars coins." And it says, "Please call me person-to-person collect." And this is from the Consumer Affairs Department at Kenner, so I thought that was pretty cool, also.

GUEST: Yes, yes, it was...

APPRAISER: Did you call them?

GUEST: We talked, and she said that you could get a whole series of coins if you just sent in $25.

APPRAISER: The coin set was issued after the last movie, which was done in 1983.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: The coin set was issued '84 through '85.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: This is a silver set. And some of them are scarcer than others, but as a whole, the set at auction generally would sell somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000 as a set.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Your early bird certificate package, which, it's totally intact, it's an extremely scarce piece, especially in that condition. Auction estimate on that, easily, would be $6,000 to $9,000.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: Interesting about this is, I'm sure you know all about the early bird promo with the figures...

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: But the thing that you may not know is, if you look at Luke, the lightsaber, that's a double-telescoping lightsaber. There were three figures that had it. This one happens to have Luke. That's extremely rare, and most people would never even notice it. This particular set, in this condition, which has never been removed, still got the original tape across there, packaging is mint, you have the box with all the paperwork with it, that at auction-- again, being conservative-- I'd estimate at $10,000 to $15,000.

GUEST: Wow. That's amazing.

APPRAISER: So if it was just a regular lightsaber, maybe the estimate would be in the $6,000 to $8,000 range. So that double-telescoping lightsaber a, adds quite a bit of value to it.

GUEST: Mm.

APPRAISER: As a package, I think a fair insurance value could be anywhere from $25,000 to $30,000, for insurance purposes.

GUEST: Wow.