May the 4th be with you.
If that sentence immediately transports you to a galaxy far, far away, then get excited, because a whole lot of rare Star Wars memorabilia is about to hit the market.
Ross’s Auctioneers and Valuers are using the iconic date – May 4, better known as Star Wars Day – to launch their sale of more than 1000 pieces of rare and valuable merchandise from the cult films.
The collection, all from a single vendor, represents a lifetime of intense fandom and collecting. The auction house is expecting “potentially $20,000 to $30,000” for the whole collection.
“Star Wars is more than just a movie franchise; it’s a cultural phenomenon that has inspire multiple generations,” Warren Henry, from Ross’s Auctioneers & Valuers said.
“1985 was when the first item was purchased,” Henry said. “A lot of the (figurines) have been made by Kenner, which was one of the original makers of Star Wars figurines so to have the Kenner name attached to them will be the big thing.
“There will be things in there that people will be looking at thinking ‘well I need that to finalise my collection’ or ‘I have a couple of these things and I need a couple more.’”
Henry said that he has been surprised to learn just how popular Star Wars is in Australia.
“I was amazed when I first started looking into the groups of Star Wars followers,” he said. “It was something absurd like 56 per cent of the combined population of Australia and New Zealand have an affiliation with Star Wars one way or another. Whether they are collectors, supporters or movie watchers.”
Ross’s Auctioneers and Valuers are launching the Star Wars Auction one minute past midnight on May 4, commonly known as Star Wars Day thanks to the pun, May the Fourth be with you. The auction will end on May 14 – director George Lucus’ birthday. The collection can be viewed at auctions.com.au.