At a glance
- Price: 4,875,000 dollars including buyer’s premium, about 4.41 million euros (ECB rate of 13 November 2026), for Darth Vader’s dueling lightsaber, at Heritage Auctions in Dallas on 12 November 2026.
- Record: the highest price ever paid at auction for a Star Wars collectible, and for a screen-used prop, according to Heritage.
- Estimate: at least 1 million dollars (about 905,000 euros); the final price is nearly five times that amount.
- The object: the hilt Vader wielded in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), made from a 1950s camera flash, sold without a blade.
- Provenance: previously sold for 3,654,000 dollars (about 3.31 million euros) by Propstore on 4 September 2025.
On 12 November 2026 in Dallas, Darth Vader’s dueling lightsaber sold for 4,875,000 dollars with premium, about 4.41 million euros: an auction record for a Star Wars object, according to Heritage Auctions. Price, records, construction and provenance.
How much did Darth Vader’s lightsaber fetch?
Heritage Auctions reports a price of 4,875,000 dollars, about 4.41 million euros. This price includes the buyer’s premium, set at 25% of the winning bid for this sale: the bid alone therefore comes to 3.9 million dollars, about 3.53 million euros. Lot 89037 went under the hammer on Thursday 12 November at Heritage’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The buyer has not been named. Euro amounts are calculated at the ECB rate of 13 November 2026 (1 euro = 1.1052 dollars).
One million dollars above the previous record
According to Heritage, this is the highest price ever achieved at auction for a Star Wars collectible, across all categories. The previous record, 3,875,000 dollars (about 3.51 million euros), was already held by the Texas house, for Tom Jung’s original painting for the Star Wars poster. The saber also sets a new record for a screen-used prop from the saga, ahead of Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber and severed hand effects rig, sold for 3,750,000 dollars (about 3.39 million euros) by Heritage on 15 July 2026. The two weapons clashed in the same duel, in Cloud City.
A 1950s camera flash
The hilt began life as an everyday object: a British Micro Precision Products Microflash camera flash from the 1950s. It keeps the original black shroud, centre band and clamp. The prop makers added seven black plastic T-track grips, a strip of calculator magnification bubbles fitted into the clamp, decorative wiring and a D-ring to hang it from the character’s belt. To withstand the fights, two aluminium cylinders were fitted inside the handle, with a steel rod that held interchangeable wooden blades. No original blade is known in private hands and the lot was sold without one. The saber measures about 31.8 x 6.4 x 5.1 cm.
How Heritage authenticated it
This was Vader’s primary dueling weapon in both films, wielded by David Prowse and by Olympic fencer and stunt performer Bob Anderson; the backup sabers were not made from Microflash units. Heritage photo-matched it to a production still from The Empire Strikes Back through the distinctive curvature of the D-ring, then to a close-up in Return of the Jedi showing a dent on the edge of the lower endcap. Use in A New Hope (1977) remains possible, but the house states that it cannot be proven. It bears the marks of filming (cut-away shroud, crack, broken grip, scratches) and comes with a certificate of authenticity from Heritage.
From Propstore to Heritage in fourteen months
On 4 September 2025, Propstore had already sold this saber for 3,654,000 dollars (about 3.31 million euros) at its Los Angeles summer sale, then a record for a screen-used Star Wars prop. It lost that title in July 2026 to Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, before regaining it on 12 November. Between the two sales, its price rose by a third.
28 lightsabers in a single sale
Vader’s saber headlined The Ultimate Star Wars sale, devoted to Episodes I to IX, with 27 other lightsabers, the largest gathering of the saga’s sabers ever offered at auction according to Heritage. On 15 November, its 184 lots totalled 7,347,685 dollars (about 6.65 million euros). The same week, the house’s European arm sold a gold half Philipsdaalder of 1580; this autumn in Paris, Claude Monet’s Iris reached 50 million euros at Sotheby’s.
| Object | Darth Vader’s dueling lightsaber (hilt, no blade) |
| Films | The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983) |
| Base | M.P.P. Microflash camera flash, 1950s |
| Dimensions | about 31.8 x 6.4 x 5.1 cm |
| Authentication | matched to a production still and a film shot, Heritage certificate |
| Provenance | Propstore, 4 September 2025, 3,654,000 dollars |
| Sale | The Ultimate Star Wars, no. 7491, lot 89037 |
| House and date | Heritage Auctions, Dallas, 12 November 2026 |
| Estimate | 1 million dollars and up |
| Price | 4,875,000 dollars with premium, about 4.41 million euros |
| Record | most expensive Star Wars object at auction, according to Heritage |
Information verified on 15 November 2026. Sources: Heritage Auctions press release of 12 November 2026, lot 89037 page, Heritage Auctions, Heritage Auctions press release of 9 October 2026, sale 7491 page, ECB reference rates of 13 November 2026.
