Jeff Jacob remembers getting his first glimpses of a galaxy far, far away at Denver’s Cooper Cinerama, where his family took him to see the first Star Wars film in 1977.
From a young age, Jacob was hooked. He stockpiled action figures and bought the first piece of what would become his official collection when he was just 19 years old.
“It’s like a lifetime of treasure hunting,” he said. “You’re nonstop on a hunt for something you’re looking for. There have been pieces I’ve looked for 15 years, and you never know when you’re going to finally find something.”
Now pushing 50, the homebuilder is preparing to auction off his trove of Star Wars memorabilia, which includes thousands of rare and meticulously preserved relics of the original sci-fi trilogy.
Gems of Jacob’s collection include packaged action figures of Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader produced by Kenner that feature a rare “double-telescoping” lightsaber design. The design was changed shortly after the figures’ release in 1977, and the toys can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars today.
Other pieces feature the scrapped original title of the third Star Wars movie — “Revenge of the Jedi,” which was changed to “Return of the Jedi” before the film’s release in 1983. The collection also includes rare figures produced by Mexican toymaker Lili Ledy and British company Palitoy.
The sale facilitated by Pennsylvania-based Hake’s Auctions will happen in stages, with the first round of the auction beginning Jan. 6.
“(Jacob’s) lifetime assemblage of action figures and related toys is indisputably one of the best in the world,” the auction house wrote in a booklet promoting the sale.
“He determinedly and patiently hunted for toys in the best condition possible, cultivating a collection that features mostly high-grade pieces with some recognized as the highest-graded examples.”
As part of the process of having the toys’ quality formally graded by the Action Figure Authority, all of the items have been sealed in acrylic. Jacob said the majority were given a “near-mint” grade of at least 80 out of 100 by the AFA. He estimates the collection is worth between $5 million and $7 million in total.
Arranged on custom-built shelves, the collection once covered about 3,800 square feet of the basement of Jacob’s Littleton home. It also includes vintage G.I. Joes, Transformers and other toys, though Jacob estimates about 80% of the items depict characters from the Star Wars films.
Jacob, who is in the process of moving, said he decided to sell the collection in part because he didn’t want to build another custom space for the figures. He said his wife didn’t believe him at first when he first mentioned his plans to sell the collection.
“She started crying, but I was like, ‘It’s all right. I’m good with this,’” he said. “It’s been a part of our lives in every single house. It’s been a huge part of our history.”
He also described a conversation with the daughter of a friend and fellow collector who told Jacob she was unsure what her family would ultimately do with the man’s assortment of priceless Civil War-era firearms.
“I don’t want to pass away and not have the chance to see my collection go back out to the world,” Jacob said.
Items sold at auction will come with a certificate of authenticity signed by Jacob as well as a holographic sticker indicating their origin in his collection.
The first round of the auction will remain open until Jan. 22, and Jacob said the company plans to open subsequent rounds every few months, with six or seven rounds planned in total.
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