There was a large gasp yesterday as the hammer went down at Excalibur Auctions for a rare and highly sought-after PALITOY Star Wars Jawa figure, considered the ‘holy grail’ for Star Wars fans. After competitive bidding from around the globe it finally sold to a UK private collector on the telephone for £26,670 smashing its pre-sale estimate of £10,000-£15,000.
The Jawa figure was from the first group of 12 Star Wars figures ever made in 1978 and is still mounted on its original 12-back card, with no fading of colour or damage. The figure is also one of only a few to exist that sports an original vinyl cape, which PALITOY later replaced with a fabric one.
Commenting on the result Jonathan Torode, Excalibur’s Auctioneer said: “I am very pleased that this, one of the rarest carded Star Wars figures known to exist, with only 10-15 examples documented, has stayed in the UK with an avid Star Wars private collector, who was bidding anonymously on the telephone. The UK PALITOY carded variation is even rarer than the USA Kenner version. It’s a privilege to handle such a piece of Star Wars toy history.”
The figure came with exceptional provenance, as the seller was the Art Director of Marvel UK between 1974 and 1979 and received it as a gift from PALITOY during the promotion of the Star Wars line in Marvel’s comics.
