British actor Anthony Daniels plans to sell the gold helmet from the costume he wore to play C-3PO in the 1977 Star Wars film A New Hope. The helmet is estimated to sell for more than $1.22m.
According to the BBC, 77-year-old Daniels is selling off his personal collection of costumes, props and scripts from the franchise through UK auctioneer Propstore. He told the outlet that he hoped the collection of nearly 200 items would “find a good home”.
“I did rescue those pieces of the Millennium Falcon from a bonfire at the back of Elstree Studios after production finished on Return of the Jedi,” Daniels told the BBC.
The sale of the head, and many items of Daniels’ Star Wars memorabilia, will appeal to millions of fans, alongside would-be Ewoks that, in the Star Wars franchise, believed that C-3PO was a god.
“It feels like it is time,” Daniels said, explaining why he’s selling the collection. “I realized I had these items and they’re not unloved but they are unlooked at – we don’t have them crowding the sitting room.”
Other Star Wars items up for auction include pieces of Han Solo’s space ship and annotated dubbing scripts for The Empire Strikes Back.
The most expensive Star Wars prop ever sold was a 43-inch R2-D2 droid that was auctioned for $2.76m in 2017, followed by an X-Wing spaceship model that fetched $2.3m. Darth Vader’s fibreglass and foam helmet from 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back went up for sale in 2019, selling for $900,000.
Daniels told the BBC that he could have added to his collection when 2019’s Rise of Skywalker was completed but he felt he already had “enough” memorabilia.
