You Won't Believe How Much This Luke Skywalker Trading Card Is Being Sold For
As long as there has been Star Wars there has been Star Wars merchandise, comic books, novels, apparel, trading cards, and toys, toys, toys. This has led to fans amassing huge collections, often times equal parts valuable and sentimental. Recently, an original 1977 Topps Luke Skywalker trading card was listed on eBay with an exorbitant price tag. As Star Wars remains centered in modern pop culture, original collectibles from the release of A New Hope (simply titled Star Wars in 1977) continue to be the envy of many collectors. A mint condition card, such as the one up for same, would obviously carry an extremely inflated price tag.
This particular "Luke Skywalker" card is the first edition of the Topps Star Wars Living Set. According to their website, the Living Set is "...a trading card set that starts with Card #1, but does not have a final card. It's not tied to any specific season or era... but lives on year after years. It's the first cross-generational product that can be collected and traded for years to come."
The Star Wars Living Set is currently up to card #190 "Neeku Vozo," the Nikto engineer from Star Wars Resistance. Trading cards, like comic books, are especially popular with collectors if they are the first in a run or series and to have the first edition of a Star Wars card from a company like Topps is a rare and valuable find. Currently listed at the bargain basement price of $99,999 this card would be a crown jewel of any collection. While this is the only "mint condition" Luke Skywalker card currently listed on eBay, as of this writing, there are several others of lower quality and value up for sale. A "near mint" is has been driven up to $700 after 36 bids, while an "exceptional" quality card has 24 bids with the most recent being $355. With more Star Wars content than ever on the way, and the market continually infused with new merchandise with every new title, the prices for original trilogy memorabilia will continue rising.
This mint card carries a whooping $99,999 price tag.
While Luke Skywalker is the much beloved protagonist of the original Star Wars films, there is an argument to be made that the true fan favorite is the antagonist. Darth Vader, menacing in his black armor and cape and backed up by an endless army of Imperial cronies, has appeared on a wider variety of merchandise than possibly any other fictional character. The Dark Lord of the Sith is also the Lord of Sales according to the Netflix documentary The Toys That Made Us. The debut episode delves into the origins of Star Wars merchandising through the eyes of a toy company called Kenner. Producers of some of the first and now most valuable Star Wars merchandise, the heads of Kenner at the time recall in the documentary how Darth Vader was the most purchased character in their entire Star Wars line. This popularity endures today, as seen in the posting of the Topps' "The villainous Darth Vader" card. The #7 card in the run, it is nevertheless listed at the same exact modest price as the Luke card at $99,999.
Topps Star Wars #7: The villainous Darth Vader.
Star Wars collectibles are no strangers to five or six-digit price tags. Film-used memorabilia, from costumes to prop droids, can even fetch millions at auction. The most expensive piece ever sold was a complete R2-D2 droid from 1977, which was sold at auction in 2017 for $2.76 million. While these items are extremely rare for anyone without a connection at Skywalker Ranch, there is no shortage of collectibles for fans to snatch up. Easily the largest collection in the world resides at Rancho Obi-Wan under the watchful eye of Steve Sansweet. Christened as the largest Star Wars collection by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2014, Rancho Obi-Wan continues to be a pilgrimage for many Star Wars fans. From trading cards and other valuable items from the '80s, to the wave of merchandising that accompanied the prequels, and now the newest additions to the collectible market fresh from the sequels and Disney+, Rancho Obi-Wan has it all. This huge collection, the likes of which have never been seen under one roof, is a worthwhile stop for anyone in the area of Petaluma, California.
Steve Sansweet with a small fraction of his collection.
Source(s): BBC, Ebay, Rancho Obi-Wan, Topps