A gleaming lightsaber once wielded by Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy commanded a staggering £2.7 million at Propstore’s “Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction” in Los Angeles on Thursday. The chrome- and-black hilt, its crimson blade flickering ever so briefly on screen in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, proved the star of a sale that featured more than 400 authentic film props.

Under the grand chandeliers of the auction house, collectors battled with paddle bids as the Vader relic took centre stage. Yet it was far from the only sci-fi treasure to eclipse six figures on day one. The mournful, wooden Ressikan flute played by Sir Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation fetched £299,400, its simple tones echoing across generations of fans. The sleek, palm-sized neuralyzer—Men in Black’s mind-wiping device—sold for £233,900, its silver barrel gleaming under the display lights.

Fantasy aficionados also opened their wallets wide. The Platform 9 ¾ sign that guided young witches and wizards into Hogwarts departed for £102,900, while Daniel Radcliffe’s slender wand from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban tapped out a winning bid of £60,800. From Westeros came Longclaw, the Valyrian steel bastard sword entrusted to Kit Harington’s Jon Snow, which changed hands for £70,170, its jagged edge still whispering of White Walker battles.

Other headline-grabbers included Tobey Maguire’s red-and-blue Spider-Man suit from the 2002 feature, selling for £215,190, and Harrison Ford’s braided bullwhip—Indiana Jones’s trusty sidearm in The Last Crusade—snapping up £360,260. Each item, polished to showroom sheen, carried the aura of its on-screen heroics.

Brandon Alinger, Propstore’s chief operating officer, hailed the lightsaber sale as “a landmark moment not just for Propstore, but for the entire world of film collecting. To see a Star Wars lightsaber—the symbol of one of cinema’s greatest sagas—become the highest-valued piece of the franchise ever sold at auction is incredibly special. It speaks to the enduring cultural power of Star Wars and the passion of fans and collectors who see these artifacts as touchstones of modern mythology.”

The famed saber had been on display only last month in the opulent Dorchester Hotel in London before its transatlantic journey to California. By the close of day one, all 433 auction lots had drawn a combined sum of £10,618,530, buyers’ premiums included—a testament to the undiminished allure of science fiction and fantasy on the collector’s stage.