There was a gasp in the salesroom on July 22 when the hammer went down at Excalibur Auctions for a rare PALITOY Star Wars Jawa figure, considered among the holy grail items for Star Wars fans. After competitive bidding from around the globe, it sold to a private collector in the United Kingdom on the telephone for 26,670 (including buyers premium); its pre-sale estimate was 10,000-15,000. Excaliber Auctions is in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England. Converted from the British pound to U.S. dollar, the price realized was $33,463. The Jawa figure was from the first group of 12 Star Wars figures made in 1978 and still mounted on its original 12-back card, with no fading of color or damage. The figure is also one of only a few to exist that sports an original vinyl cape, which PALITOY later replaced with a fabric one. I am very pleased that this, one of the rarest carded Star Wars figures known to exist, with only 10 to 15 examples documented, has stayed in the UK with an avid Star Wars private collector, who was bidding anonymously on the telephone. The UK PALITOY carded variation is even rarer than the USA Kenner version. Its a privilege to handle such a piece of Star Wars toy history, commented Jonathan Torode, Excaliburs auctioneer. The figure came with exceptional provenance, as the seller was the art director of Marvel UK between 1974 and 1979 and received it as a gift from PALITOY during the promotion of the Star Wars line in Marvels comics. For additional information, visit www.excaliburauctions.com.