Star Trek Prop Auction Goes Where No Bids Have Gone Before

On Thursday we told you about a Star Trek auction that was exceeding the expectations of Christie’s Auction House.

Now we can tell you just how far that final frontier really went.

CBS-Paramount, which was doing some basic housecleaning, was expecting to do fairly well from the sale. But even they weren’t prepared for what happened and it wasn’t just phasers that were left on stun.

Almost every item went for above the estimated catalogue value, and in some cases, the prices were truly out of this world.

The model of the U.S.S. Enterprise used in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series as well as several follow-up movies sold for an eye opening $576,000.

It came after a bidding war broke out and a determined fan decided to literally go for broke. Appraisers had put its value at between $15,000 and $20,000. The final price makes it one of the most expensive pieces of Hollywood memorabilia ever sold.

Another model of the ship, used in the first Star Trek movie, went for $284,800.

But they weren’t the only props to go where no others have gone before.

Dr. McCoy’s space suit from the “Tholian Web” episode of the 1966 TV show fetched a stunning $144,000.

A Klingon Bird Of Prey seen in the “Search for Spock” movie gathered much honour – and $307,200, a warp-sized leap from the $8,000 auction experts figured it would bring.

The U.S.S. Lakota fetched $132,000 while a Klingon Battle Cruiser earned $102,000. Both were originally valued at $3,000-$5,000.

And one of the ‘cheaper’ items sold, the flute that Jean-Luc Picard played in a memorable Next Generation episode called the Inner Light, made $48,000 worth of monetary music.

When all was totaled, the sale profits reached an absolutely unprecedented $7.1 million-plus for the 1,000 lots, far above the amounts officials dared to expect.

Perhaps CBS-Paramount’s only regret is that they don’t have anything left to sell. “We were thrilled to be able to bring them tangible, coveted pieces from our beloved ‘Star Trek,’ and … they now own ‘Trek’ history and have made this auction a huge success,” gushes the company’s John Wentworth.

There’s currently no new Star Trek series on the air or in the theatres, after the last franchise, “Enterprise”, died an early death due to poor ratings. But this kind of response may well have producers thinking up yet another go round for the future.

And if that happens, it’s bound to keep the prop makers busy. But they may all have to start from scratch now that everything’s been sold.

Well, almost everything.

Because in a world of crazed sci fi fans, there’s nothing that isn’t collectable. Which may explain this final attempt at squeezing a last buck out of the aging franchise.

Christie’s, the auction house that staged the big bid-in from around the globe, has confirmed it plans to sell copies of the catalogue it put out listing all the items. They’re a steal at $60 each.

 But given what happened this weekend, no one would be surprised if the editions go for a lot more than that.

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