A light-up C-3PO head from The Empire Strikes Back (1980) sold for over $1 million at auction. The estimate was $350,000 to $700,000. It went for $1,058,400.
Propstore auctioned off the prop head from the '80s film recently in Los Angeles. It came from the family of a crew member who worked on the production. Propstore's listing suggests that it is the sole original C-3PO head from the film currently available on the collector's market.
Although it was deliberately distressed during production to give C-3PO the battered, tarnished look he has throughout Empire (quite different from the clean gold version in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)), the head still has most of its original finish.
Some of the right cheek has worn down enough to show silver underneath, but nothing has been touched up or restored since filming.
It was the top sale on the first day of Propstore’s three-day Spring 2026 Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction. The opening day generated $6.5 million from more than 250 lots, with other highlights including pieces from Top Gun (1986), the Lord of the Rings films, Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and Jaws (1975).
Star Wars memorabilia has been doing well at auction lately. Last September, a Darth Vader lightsaber used in both Empire and Return of the Jedi (1983) sold for $3,654,000 at a separate Propstore event—the highest price ever paid for a Star Wars item at auction.
The C-3PO head isn't touching that, but for a single costume piece from a 45-year-old film, clearing a million dollars is a different kind of number.
Sources: EIN Presswire, Prostore, KOMO News