A buyer paid nearly $5 million for the lightsaber from Darth Vader’s ‘I am your father’ duel, shattering a Star Wars auction record

A lightsaber used by Darth Vader sold for $4.875 million at the Ultimate Star Wars Auction hosted by Heritage Auctions, as reported by the New York Post. It is the lightsaber Vader held during the Cloud City duel when he tells Luke Skywalker, “I am your father.”

The prop was used in both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and it sold on Thursday. The sale set a new world auction record for any Star Wars collectible.

It also topped the $3.75 million paid in July for Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber and severed hand effects rig from The Empire Strikes Back. That sale had held the record for a screen-used Star Wars prop.

That’s over a million more than Luke’s lightsaber went for

Bidding on the Vader lightsaber opened at $1 million, per Hypebeast. The prop was built from a vintage British camera flash and reinforced inside to hold interchangeable dueling blades.

This is not the first time the lightsaber has sold for millions. The same prop went for $3.654 million after 31 bids at a Propstore auction in Los Angeles in September 2025, per CBS News. The auction featured more than 1,000 Hollywood costumes and props. Both David Prowse, who wore the Darth Vader suit, and his stunt double, Bob Anderson, used the lightsaber on screen.

Propstore had estimated the lightsaber would sell for $1 million to $3 million, according to The Washington Times. Propstore chief operating officer Brandon Alinger said it was “incredibly special” to see a Star Wars lightsaber become the franchise’s highest-valued piece ever sold at auction.

Heritage Auctions held this week’s event to feature material from Star Wars Episodes I through IX, along with items from other films and TV shows. Besides the Vader lightsaber, 27 other lightsabers were offered in the public auction. The record sale comes days before Christie’s auctions a Georgia O’Keeffe painting kept in a closet, which has drawn estimates in the millions.

The auction house has set other Star Wars records as well. Heritage previously sold the screen-matched Red Leader X-wing Starfighter filming miniature for $3.135 million and Tom Jung’s original half-sheet key poster painting for A New Hope for $3.875 million, according to Heritage’s Intelligent Collector.

Luke’s record-setting lightsaber was listed for bidding at $1 million before it climbed to its final price, according to Smithsonian magazine. The 10-inch prop was made from the handle of a flash that accompanied Graflex cameras, and makeup artist Stuart Freeborn kept it in his possession until 1994.