A lightsaber once wielded by Mark Hamill in one of cinema's most famous scenes has just sold for a record 3.75 million dollars at auction, making it the most valuable on-screen Star Wars prop ever sold. The item was originally listed with a starting bid of one million dollars through Heritage Auctions, but competitive bidding pushed the final price far beyond that estimate. The prop comes from the climactic Cloud City duel in The Empire Strikes Back, the scene where Darth Vader reveals he is Luke Skywalker's father moments after severing his hand, sending both the hand and the weapon tumbling into the depths below. Auction analysts note that props tied to emotionally pivotal scenes, rather than simple screen time, tend to command the highest prices, since collectors are often paying for cultural significance as much as authenticated craftsmanship.
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