Darth Vader’s ‘I am your father’ lightsaber is headed to auction. What is it worth?

Darth Vader’s lightsaber from the ‘I am your father’ duel in The Empire Strikes Back is going up for auction in Dallas on November 12. Heritage Auctions has set a $1 million starting bid for the prop, which it also identifies as having been used in Return of the Jedi; the sale price will be known only after bidding.

The Associated Press reports that the saber is expected to fetch at least $1 million. Heritage’s starting bid is a separate figure, not a sale result. That distinction matters for a prop tied to one of the most recognizable exchanges in Star Wars: its history may draw bidders, but the listing cannot tell readers what someone will ultimately pay.

Which Darth Vader lightsaber is being sold?

Heritage describes the lot as an original hero dueling lightsaber wielded by David Prowse and stunt performer Bob Anderson as Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, released in 1980, and Return of the Jedi, released in 1983. The auction house says it matched a distinctive curve in the saber’s D-ring to an Empire production still and a dent on its lower endcap to a close-up in Return of the Jedi. Those are Heritage’s identification claims for the object offered in this sale.

The prop began as a 1950s British M.P.P. Microflash camera flash attachment, according to the listing, and was modified for production with grips and other additions. Heritage gives its dimensions as 12.5 by 2.5 by 2 inches. It is the hilt that is being offered: the auction house says no original prop blades are known in private collections and that no blade accompanies this lot.

How much has the Vader saber sold for before?

Heritage records a previous sale of this saber for $3,654,000 at Propstore on September 4, 2025. That history puts the current $1 million starting bid in context, but it does not set a floor for the final November result. A previous sale and a new auction estimate answer different questions: one records what happened at an earlier sale; the other describes expectations before this sale has taken place.

There is another recent Star Wars benchmark. Heritage announced that a screen-used Luke Skywalker lightsaber sold for $3.75 million on July 15, 2026, calling it a record for a screen-used Star Wars prop. That is the auction house’s account of its own sale. It offers context for the market without predicting whether the Vader saber will sell, how many people will bid or what price the bidding might reach.

What else is in the November Star Wars auction?

The Vader hilt is part of a larger sale, rather than a single-prop event. AP reports that more than two dozen lightsaber props will be offered, spanning Star Wars Episodes I through IX as well as other films and television shows in the franchise. Its report says two dueling sabers wielded by Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith are expected to bring at least $10,000 apiece.

AP also reports an estimate above $100,000 for an EE-3 carbine blaster used by Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back. Other items it identifies include a Yoda puppet hand used by Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels’ signed personal third-draft screenplay for the 1977 Star Wars film, and a TIE Fighter pilot helmet from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The mix shows that the sale extends beyond the duel that gives the Vader lot its headline connection.

When will the auction settle the price?

Heritage lists the Vader lot in its Ultimate Star Wars sale on November 12 in Dallas. Its listing says proxy bidding ends at 12:50 p.m. Central Time and the floor session begins at 1 p.m. Central Time. Live proxy bidding was open when the listing was recorded. Until bidding concludes, the confirmed figures are the $1 million starting bid, AP’s reported expectation of at least $1 million and the recorded 2025 sale price—not a new sale result.