Two of the standards, VHS and Betamax, received the most media exposure. Suffice to say that in the tape up for auction, Han shoots first.īy way of background: In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a format war in the home video industry. Another factor is that the original Star Wars trilogy has been edited and re-released countless times, making this original cut a valuable collector’s item. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold for $37,000 at an auction last year.

For example, a first edition copy of J.K. However, increasingly rare items related to major franchises remain extremely valuable among collectors. This may seem like an crazy amount of money for a VHS, especially considering home viewers are already outgrowing DVDs. The edition for sale was previously sold at an auction for $57,600.

In 1984, it became available for purchase. Star Wars was first released in theaters in 1977, yet wasn’t until 1982 that the film became available on VHS for rental only. The copy includes a “Gray Tape-Head,” a “First Edition Stereo Only” red label, a “1984 Sleeve” and “First Edition CBS/Fox Watermarks.” There are also two other 1984 Star Wars VHS copies for sale and a sealed copy of the Star Wars 10-Year Anniversary Original Trilogy Set in Trilogy Case. The galaxy far, far away first appeared in 1977 and thrives today on Disney+ with animated and live-action shows including The Bad Batch, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett. Now, one lucky bidder went back in time to where it all began.Īuction house Goldin was hosting the online sale featuring a handful of vintage VHS tapes, one of which is the 1984 first release of Star Wars pictured above.

Star wars vhs tape