Woman sells her late-mother’s Star Wars figures for a huge amount of money

Virgin Radio

9 Feb 2022, 11:38

If you’ve got some old Star Wars toys somewhere in the loft, you might want to dig them out, because someone in New Zealand recently sold her mother’s collection for a whole lot of money.

After her mum passed away, Melonie Mercier was clearing out her home when she chanced upon the toys. She was going to throw them away until a friend advised her that they might be worth something. 

As it turns out, her friend was right. The six figurines sold for a total of NZ$52,350 (approximately £24,500)!

The figures were of C-3PO, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia, from the original Star Wars movie.

However, before you start dreaming of making a fortune from your R2-D2 and Stormtrooper toys, you should be aware that the figurines were all still in their original packaging, and were from back in the 70s, as opposed to some of the more modern versions like the ones pictured above.

Ms Mercier told The Project NZ: “What would have happened was mum bought them for my brother in the 70s, put them away, and she probably forgot about them.”

“The auction house decided they didn't want to sell them, and a beautiful friend said, ‘I can sell on your behalf’.”

The figures were posted on an auction and classifieds website at NZ$25 per figurine, and it didn’t take long for the bids to start going through the roof. 

Of the items, the Han Solo figure fetched the highest amount, at a whopping NZ$10,000. Obi-Wan Kenobi went for NZ$9,600, and Darth Vader for just fifty dollars fewer, at NZ$9,550. 

C-3PO sold for NZ$9,000, Luke Skywalker got NZ$8,150, and Princess Leia fetched NZ$6,050. 

Ms Mercier said: “Thank you to whoever's bought them, thank you so much!” 

As reported by MailOnline, said she will split the money down the middle with her brother.