Need help with value of Original Film used props

Hola,

I havent posted in a few years. I have a total of 4 film used ROTJ props and i needed value for insurance purposes or if i have to sell them some day. I got them from Charlie Bailey who was the chief model maker back at ILM at the time. They are a pair of stormtrooper gaunts and pieces off a blaster that he had since they wrapped up shooting on ROTJ.

just reply in the post if you deal in this type of stuff what the material value would be.

(repost from other area) Need help valueing star wars ROTJ film used props

Hey, posted this in probably the wrong section. I acquired some props from ROTJ from the (at the time) chief model maker for ILM. Just some gauntlets and blaster pieces. I need to a price to put on them for insurance purposes or if i have to sell. I don't deal in props much at all, but i have shown them here before years ago. Anyone deal in star wars props know what they are worth? I have documentation from Charlie on ILM official stationary describing how he got them out of the prop shop when production wrapped also which should help value with provenance (never spell that right first try). Just reply in topic or send message if you know (from experience, not guesses) what material like this is worth. Thanks in advance.

actually i think i posted in wrong area, moved to right one. sorry about that.

Re: (repost from other area) Need help valueing star wars ROTJ film used props

I have no idea, but I want them very bad. #jealous

I do appraisals for a living, including fine art and movie props. Evaluating and putting a solid value on anything like this is not easy. Anything that may be screen used in Star Wars is going to command a premium in the market, and even with a letter from Bailey, authenticating them would not be a trivial task. You basically have to find an identical piece with rock solid provenance to compare them to, and make sure that the materials, construction details, and all that are comparable. The Velcro, plastics, etc... should match, that sort of thing. There are plenty of folks here who could probably do a fine job of verifying the finer construction details, as far as giving it a thumbs up or thumbs down, but without a hands on examination, there is no way to be 100% sure it is accurate.

Once that is done, for a higher value items, which these would be if authentic, any appraisal that would be worthwhile would look at market comparables. They would take that information and use it to justify an opinion of value, and put it in a report. That report would then go to your insurance company, against the day you might have to make a claim. Keep in mind, that appraisal is only good for the value on the date, it doesn't, and can't take into account any future changes in the market. It may be worth more in a year, or less, but at least you would have a documented starting point. Should the props get stolen in a ten years, a good report can be used to justify an increased insurance payout, should they appreciate in value. On that same note, that same report could be used to help show a buyer the props are authentic. I don't think a forum post is going to hold quite as much weight to someone who is going to spend a few thousand dollars!

What I'm saying, in a round about way, is that a proper appraisal would take research, which takes time, and that may not be cheap. Depending on your insurance company, they might not require an appraisal for items under a certain value, and you could just state a value. If that's the case, I'd recommend just coming up with a number that you would be satisfied with should the items be stolen or destroyed.

I hope that helps, and feel free to ask any questions, I might have answers! Meanwhile, I'm going to see if I can find any photos of the inside of screen used stormtrooper handguards!

Best,
James

Thank you for the reply. It sounds like getting an appraisal is rough if not impossible for these. Each piece of star wars film material is unique and honestly the value can change auction per auction and theres always questions about authenticity no matter how direct/legit the source. This is probably why i have only bought these 4 pieces lol. Thanks for the help.

It's not impossible at all! It's just takes time and research.

There are known, authentic examples of all the items you have that have sold in the last 10 years. It's a matter of tracking down those records, and seeing if your props conform to known examples. There are all sorts of Star Wars items that have hit the open market, and thanks to the internet, there are far, far more photos of the various screen used suits out there. The resources available to an appraiser today are incredible compared to even 10 years ago!

It just takes time to wade through all that, plus researching the market. When something goes up for auction, an auctioneer uses their experience and judgement to come up with an auction estimate, same with an appraiser. The appraiser just has to show more of their work, or should anyway. It's coming up with the opinion of value that can be the tough part.

For example, Profiles in History sold a Bapty Stormtrooper Blaster in 2010. This blaster had accurate replica parts added to bring the blaster back to its screen-used appearance, and that was stated in the auction description. Jason DeBored did a great write up of the blasters on his blog:

http://www.originalprop.com/blog/2009/01/09/star-wars-a-new-hope-batpy-stormtrooper-blasters/

The auctioneer gave an estimate of $6,000-8,000, and it ended up selling for $13,000. Was the auctioneer "wrong" in their estimate? Not at all, they gave an opinion of value based on their experience. A few years later, in 2014, Prop Store of London sold a Bapty for $30,000. More or less the same gun, with the same alterations. If I was going to appraise a similar blaster in 2017, I would use those records to show the value increasing over time, and use that and other market data to show how the value of these items is doing, and value the item accordingly.

You're right about the authenticity, there may always be questions, but at some point, authenticity is a matter of probability and faith. Is the letter real and accurate? If it is, the props are likely real. If the props conform to known authentic examples, then they are likely real too, and the letter reinforces that! A savvy collector knows which to give more weight to. A blaster that shows up on Ebay with a story of how an uncle worked at Pinewood Studios in England, and was given the blaster sounds good, but it might fall apart under scrutiny. Here's a hint:The Original Trilogy wasn't filmed at Pinewood. The seller might have mixed up the studios, but it certainly gives pause to a knowledgeable buyer. Then it falls on the blaster itself to show itself as being authentic, and not a recast of a repro sold by a charlatan.

What I'm saying, is that it's not impossible to value them, and while I could throw out a number, I would not be comfortable doing so without more research and verifying the authenticity of said props. Where are you located at? I might be able to recommend someone close to you who might be able to help.

James