The blaster that created the million-dollar question “Who shot first?” for generations of Star Wars fans has now become the million-dollar smoking gun, as the prop used by Harrison Ford’s character Han Solo in 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope was recently sold at auction for $1,057,500.
The sale occurred at a collector firearm event hosted by Rock Island Auction Company with initial estimates for the DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol ranging from $300,000 to $500,000. During the proceedings, the auctioneer noted the increased press from Comic-Con leading up to it and hyped the item up by saying, “The world is watching on this.”
Purportedly the only remaining model in existence of the three made for Star Wars, the blaster design was derived from a German Mauser pistol. George Lucas had the film’s crew convert the weapon into an inoperable firearm that could only shoot blanks. Considering its whopping sales price, though, the new owner should focus less on firing it and rather take another Ford character’s advice: “It belongs in a museum!”
No determination has been offered as to where the bid winner stands on whether Han shot Greedo first, but one thing is clear: When it comes to Star Wars memorabilia, there’s no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.
