Collecting world rocked by discovery of rare, early Star Wars toys still packed in original Kenner factory shipping cartons
Trove sat quietly in Chicago-area home for several decades, its owner unaware of the true value before contacting Morphy Auctions, where toys will be auctioned on Feb. 1DENVER, Pa. – Just when Star Wars collectors thought they had seen it all, along came The Morphy Find. That’s the name that has been given to a recently unveiled trove of rare, high-condition Star Wars toys that sat undisturbed in original Kenner shipping cartons, largely forgotten, since the 1970s/’80s. Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Cloud City Playset. Estimate $400-$800The collection surfaced as most legendary discoveries do – unexpectedly. Its pristine contents had been stored in a closet, out of sight and out of mind, by an Illinois gentleman who is a collector of antique coin-op machines. Although he had never bought from or sold through Morphy Auctions, the toys’ owner was a longtime friend of Morphy’s CEO, Tom Tolworthy. The two had known each other for 35+ years through their mutual interest in antique coin-op machines, but until last spring, the subject of Star Wars toys had never once come up. “I had known the consignor since 1985, when I lived in the Chicago area. We would always see each other at the region’s big coin-op show,” Tolworthy said. “Our conversations were always about coin-ops and vending machines. I never knew he had these Star Wars figures. He never spoke of them until last April, when he stopped by our booth at the coin-op show to say hello.”During their conversation, Tolworthy asked his friend if he was ready to sell his vending machine collection. “He told me that was something his daughter would do, once he had passed, but then he mentioned that he was thinking of selling his children’s Star Wars action figure collection and asked if that was something we would do,”
