It’s not hard to guess why Star Wars lightsabers are among the most prized movie props for collectors. Last year, the iconic weapon wielded by Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi pulled in more than $3.65 million, setting a record for a Star Wars prop sold at auction. But the battle between light and dark has a new champion now that Luke Skywalker’s saber used in The Empire Strikes Back has sold for $3.75 million.
The inclusion of Luke’s severed hand and wrist stump surely helped nudge it to that sky-high final bid and the new record, which was reported by the Associated Press.
“This lightsaber carries extraordinary and unimpeachable provenance, originating directly from Stuart Freeborn, whose legendary contributions to Star Wars included the creation of Yoda and many of the trilogy’s most enduring makeup effects achievements,” according to the Heritage Auctions website.
In-universe, the lightsaber later resurfaced in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but Luke’s hand was never seen again—lost during the climactic battle where Darth Vader makes his big “I am your father” reveal. As Heritage notes, the rig for the severed appendage was “created directly from a cast of [Mark] Hamill’s hand” and features “detailed painted wound effects,” which have held up gruesomely well over time.
And while Luke’s lightsaber and hand raked in the highest sum paid at auction for a Star Wars prop, there is another. According to Heritage Auctions, “Tom Jung’s original artwork for the half-sheet key poster painting, the first widely published promotional artwork for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope,” fetched $3.875 million at an auction last year.
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