Kenner "Star Wars" Figures with Vinyl Cape Jawa, ca. 1978
GUEST: Well, I brought my wife's and our collection of Star Wars figures from the late '70s and early '80s. Her and her mother started going, when the movie came out, they went seven times straight in a row, and so my wife said, "Mom, I want to collect them." And so her mom started buying as they released them. So...
APPRAISER: So you're a family of dedicated Star Wars fans.
GUEST: (laughing): Oh, yes, oh, yes. (laughing)
APPRAISER: Well, Star Wars came out May 25, 1977. But what's funny is, the toys weren't released until 1978. And that's because Kenner actually produced the toys for the Star Wars franchise. But there was such a mass hype for the production of the toys, they weren't able to meet the need for the 1977 Christmas season. So what they had released was something called an Early Bird kit, where you would go to the store, and you would buy an envelope, you would mail it in, and then they would send you a four-pack of figures. But in 1978, you have the official release of the Star Wars toy line. Now, the one figure in particular that's important is the Jawa, because when the Jawa was first released, there was a release with a vinyl cape, which is what you have here. And then Kenner switched him to a cloth cape, which is the much more common of the two figures in the variation. Have you ever thought what these toys would be worth?
GUEST: No, not really, but we figured this would always be our retirement.
APPRAISER: So when it comes to toys in general-- condition, condition, condition. And now, typically, when it comes to Star Wars collecting-- just to give you an example-- if you were to have this Jawa right here, this cloth one individually is only worth about $25. It's in really good condition. If it was on the card, factory-sealed, it would be $500 to $800, minimum.
GUEST: Correct.
APPRAISER: But the vinyl-caped Jawa is an exception to the rule, because it's just so exceedingly rare that you just don't find them in circulation. And, actually, in, within the past ten years, they've actually been knocking them off. You can buy a fake vinyl cape to put on your Jawa. But yours is 100% real. It is so clean. His cape has no scuffs. There's no stickiness to his plastic. There's the tiniest, tiniest little white mark on the back of the cape. That little mark is going to make a difference. But conservatively, at auction, for the vinyl-caped Jawa alone, you're easily looking at between $2,000 and $3,000 for the single Jawa.
GUEST: Oh, wow. (laughs) (laughing): Oh, wow.
APPRAISER: Yeah, for that little Jawa. Now, look at the difference in the cape! Because if you just have a cloth cape, you're only $25.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: Jawa, $2,000 to $3,000 in the vinyl. Now, the remainder of the collection, excluding the vinyl-caped Jawa, you're in the $400 to $600 range, conservatively.
GUEST: Oh, wow-- wow.
APPRAISER: Pretty cool day, right?
GUEST: Yeah, yup, yup. Well, I'm glad my wife took care of them, and kept them put away. That's all I can say.
$2,400 - $3,600 Auction
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