Owning a piece of movie memorabilia is something we’ve all dreamed of, but most of the iconic pieces are just a little above our price range. A beloved piece of the Star Wars franchise recently sold for an obscene amount at auction. The DL-44 Heavy Blaster used by Han Solo in the original Star Wars movie sold for over $1 million through Rock Island Auction Company.
The blaster was originally expected to fetch somewhere between $300,000 – $500,000 but wound up going for $1,057,500. That’s a fair chunk of change. Joel Kolander, a manager at Rock Island Auction Company, said that the blaster is “only one of three blank-firing blasters created for Han Solo and the only one still known to survive.” In addition to the blaster itself, an autographed photo of Han Solo signed by Harrison Ford was also included.
Like many of the iconic weapons featured in the Star Wars franchise, Han Solo’s blaster began life as a real-world weapon, which helped to add to the “lived-in” appearance George Lucas was after. The Mauser C96 pistol was used as a base for the DL-44. The production added a scope and other bits and pieces to transform the weapon into the blaster we’re all familiar with. In tracing the history of the prop, Kolander added that this particular piece was also once used by Frank Sinatra in The Naked Runner.
The Han Solo blaster isn’t the only piece of Star Wars memorabilia that has gone for a high price at auction recently. An X-Wing model used in the original Star Wars movie sold for $2,375,000 in June, quite a bit more than the $500,000 – $1 million it was expected to sell for. If you could own any prop/costume/model from the Star Wars franchise, what would you choose?