Gold Vader carry case

**wolfbane** · 11-17-2005

I have a gold darth vader carry case I got as a christmas gift when i was a kid. A lady that lived next door to my uncle worked at kenner and when they threw out some of the prototypes she grabbed a few and he bought one from her and gave it to me. It has some scratchs and what not from having been played with when i was a kid. I am trying to find out what it might be worth if anyone can help. Thanks!

**bobafett07728** · 11-17-2005

Nice X-Mas gift!!!! According to the guys over at toysrgus.com, only 100 of these were made. . . making it an ultra limited collectible. I'm sure yours wasn't the only one used, but it is still a great piece nonetheless. Not sure how many of these come up for sale, and how often. . . so an accurate value may be impossible. The only way to truly find out its worth is to autcion it. . . but I would never leave a piece like that leave my collection!!!! Maybe a letter to Steve Sansweet would shed some light (and get you into the next Insider), or contacting the prototype collectors over at toysrgus. Whatever you do, its an awesome treasure, and thanks for sharing!!

**wolfbane** · 11-17-2005

Thanks Boba! I would never sell it, i know how rare it is, but i would like to get it insured but i have no ideal what its worth would be. I have tried toy appraisers but everyone one i have talked to only deal with antique toys. What is Steve's address to mail or email him? Thanks again!

**Turbowars** · 11-17-2005

Did you do any research on the net? You should post this in the vintage threads so more vintage collectors see it. They might know something about it.

**JON9000** · 11-18-2005

I saw one of these on ebay a few months ago. I want to believe it was at least $600 when I saw it, but it could have raced up to much higher. It's a really cool item. Ebay might have some sort of service that can tell you how much a particular item has sold for in the past, which is what I would basemy estimate on.

**Slicker** · 11-18-2005

Have you opened it up yet? If not then make sure it's not full of milk chocolate wrapped in decorative gold foil. If so then you've been had. If not then it's real.

Here's a right up I found on why they were made:

[FONT=ARIAL]

One of the most infamous Star Wars prototypes, this vintage Gold Chromed
Darth Vader Case has been featured in almost every price guide published
about collectibles. This is one of the best examples known to exist and it
features a very clean gold finish with all its latches unbroken. Because of the
nature of the chroming process nearly all of the Vader cases needed to be
split along the seam but this example is intact and there are only a handful
of these known to exist. What happened was, when Kenner produced the
gold C3PO carrying case they wanted to see how much packaging they needed
to protect the finish during the shipping process. So they made around one
hundred Darth Vader carrying cases vacuum metalized with this gold finish
and then shipped them to and from Kenner headquarters.

As for value I have not clue[/FONT]

**wolfbane** · 11-18-2005

I assure you it's the real thing, i have had it for 25 years or so , basically since kenner threw them in the garbage , at least according to the lady who lived next door to my uncle and gave him 2 of them, so whenever that was. and if i open it , it has all my old star wars figures from when i was a kid. It's been sitting in a box in my closet with the rest of my collection for years now and my wife suggested that i find out whats it's worth and get in on our insurance just incase something ever happens. I have thought a few times of putting it up for sale but my wife threatened to shoot me if i did as it is a really good memory from my childhood when i got it. When we get our new house built we are putting a theater room in the basement and she wants me to get display boxes for all my star wars stuff to show it off. I tried to find an email address for Steve Sansweet but have had no luck.

**JON9000** · 11-18-2005

Originally Posted by wolfbane

I assure you it's the real thing, i have had it for 25 years or so , basically since kenner threw them in the garbage , at least according to the lady who lived next door to my uncle and gave him 2 of them, so whenever that was. and if i open it , it has all my old star wars figures from when i was a kid. It's been sitting in a box in my closet with the rest of my collection for years now and my wife suggested that i find out whats it's worth and get in on our insurance just incase something ever happens. I have thought a few times of putting it up for sale but my wife threatened to shoot me if i did as it is a really good memory from my childhood when i got it. When we get our new house built we are putting a theater room in the basement and she wants me to get display boxes for all my star wars stuff to show it off. I tried to find an email address for Steve Sansweet but have had no luck.

You could probably get ahold of Sansweet's email from other big-time collectors like Adam Pawlus, Philip Wise, or Gus Lopez. In fact, Gus Lopez is pretty much the authority on vintage items, and might be able to help you. Their websites are Galactichunter, rebelscum, and toysrgus, respectively.

**LusiferSam** · 11-18-2005

I would try and get a hold of Gus Lopez. The guy is an amazing expect on vintage items. If he can't tell you what you need to know he can put you contact with the right person.

As for the item's price that's a bit trickier. There are two real reasons people want that information. And that's for insurance and potential selling value. Since your doing the former contacting Gus (or another expert) is the route to go. Be sure and tell them that up front, as I'm guessing they asked these kind of questions all the time on stuff people are looking to hawk on eBay.

**bobafrett** · 11-20-2005

snail mail: Scouting the Galaxy, P.O. Box 2898 Petaluma, CA 94953-2898

e-mail: scouting@insider. starwars. com (left a space betweenfirst . and starwars and last . and com)

that is what I got out of the last issue of the insider for the column by Steve Sansweet.