Stormtroopers may be the most disposable crew members this side of a Starfleet red shirt, but it turns out they aren’t quite so worthless in real life—or at least their costumes aren’t. At a recent auction held by the British company Prop Store, an original Stormtrooper helmet used in The Empire Strikes Back sold for a record-breaking $120,000. That’s $30,000 more than it was expected to sell for, according to The Wrap.
Although the helmet—one of the few that’s privately owned—was the big ticket item of the day, the auction wasn’t specifically Star Wars-centric. Tons of other films and film franchises were involved in the massive eight-hour auction of entertainment memorabilia. For instance, a starship model miniature from Star Trek sold for $57,000 and the Witch King’s Dagger from The Lord Of The Rings went for $55,000.
But while it may be expected that long-lasting genre franchises have passionate (and wealthy) fans, a few of the other big sales are more surprising. For instance, the Leeloo Dallas Multi Pass from The Fifth Element sold for $64,000. Similarly, Katsumoto’s armor from The Last Samurai went for a whopping $73,000, presumably to a Ken Watanabe superfan. Or perhaps it was sold to the same bidder who won the Star Wars helmet and has long been dying to complete her samurai/Stormtrooper Halloween costume.
For more information on the Prop Store and the world of memorabilia collecting, check out this two-part documentary created by BFI.