DENVER, Pa. — A Lancaster County auction recently brought in $3.1 million in bids from Star Wars fans and die-hard sports buffs.
Morphy Auctions, located on Reading Road in Denver, reported that a three-day sale from Feb. 1-3 featured a single-owner collection of early Star Wars action figures and a vintage sports card selection that included an intact 1952 Topps baseball card wax-pack "brick" that garnered a winning bid of $873,300.
The heavy hitters from both these categories were offered during the Feb. 1 opening session, with every expectation that bidding would be aggressive.
The in-gallery preview prior to the event had been “very active,” said Morphy Auctions founder and president Dan Morphy, who also captained the podium as principal auctioneer.
“Prospective bidders came from all over the East Coast – Boston, Buffalo, North Carolina – and many spent a half-day or more examining the goods. It was an enjoyable experience for collectors at every buying level because they were able to inspect so many rare and incredible items up close. It was great to see the enthusiasm,” Morphy said.
A throng of followers had faithfully kept tabs on absentee bidding online, with many hundreds of would-be buyers tracking the daily momentum of the 1952 Topps brick, which had been the subject of worldwide media attention.
Bidders hoping to own the brick knew they would face formidable competition because, in terms of sports card rarities, it resides in the very top echelon.
The brick contains eight factory-sealed 5-cent wax packs. In turn, each of the packs contains five baseball cards, which some experts believe could be from Topps’ first series.
The sealed brick’s ownership could be traced most recently to a 1991 transaction in Seattle. It was subsequently inspected and deemed authentic by Steve Hart, owner of Baseball Card Exchange (BBCE) and the preeminent authority on unopened product authentication.
The brick's sale drew 51 bids, and finally concluded at $873,300, inclusive of 23% buyer’s premium. It was sold to a private collector who wishes to remain anonymous.
“That price represents quite an astonishing return on investment,” Morphy said. “The brick would have cost 40 cents when it was originally marketed in 1952.”
Another top lot that landed in the six-figure territory was an unopened 1970/’71 Topps Basketball first series wax box containing 24 packs, with each pack containing 10 cards and a Topps action poster, for a total of 240 cards and 24 posters. The winning bid for that lot was $116,850.
Star Wars fans also made some big bids on a previously unknown collection that anchored the Star Wars portion of the sale.
The trove of rare, high-condition Star Wars toys had sat undisturbed in original Kenner shipping cartons, largely forgotten in a closet since the 1970s/’80s.
Each of the coveted action figures – most from the lines manufactured from 1977 through 1985 – was original and still encased on its original card. Many were in mint condition.
The top seller from the blue-chip collection turned out to be a 12C Luke Skywalker action figure with a double-telescoping lightsaber. Originally, figures of its type were available only in Kenner’s Early Bird packs.
When the toy went into general production, the double-telescoping lightsaber was replaced by a design that was single-telescoping, making figures of the former design extremely rare.
At Morphy’s sale, the double-telescoping Luke Skywalker commanded $41,820, more than twice the high estimate.
A firm favorite with Star Wars collectors, an unpunched Star Wars 21A Boba Fett action figure, near-mint on its card, also brought in a big bid -- $22,140, more than twice the high estimate.
“We couldn’t have been more pleased with the global interest and bidder turnout for this sale,” Morphy said. “Those who attended had nothing but positive comments about the design of our hardbound catalog and the way we displayed the collections.”
