Darth Vader's lightsaber could fetch up to $3 million at auction

Brandon Alinger, COO of Prop Store, told TMZ: "We got a phone call from a gentleman who said, 'Hey, I have one of the original lightsaber props'. They did have a few, it's not the only one, but it's very specifically the one that Darth Vader used to duel Luke Skywalker, it gets the fans excited...

"A million is the low end of the estimate, the estimate is $1-3 million, we really don't know what this will sell for.

"That's the beauty of the auction process, the final price is determined by the bidders, it depends who steps in and bids and ultimately how hard they want to battle, or duel for, the piece on the day.

"The record was an X-Wing fighter model we sold for about $2.3 million three years ago... a lot of people think this is a more interesting piece, so it has the potential to eclipse that."

While Brandon noted the winning bidder could have fun recreating Star Wars scenes with the lightsaber, he thinks it is more likely the lot will be viewed as artwork to go on display.

He said: "I guess if you wanted to, you could reenact the movie but I think people will put it on display.

"People view these things like artwork, it's not unlike buying a painting, they want a great piece to go on display.

"If you love these movies, there's no better way to connect with them then to own a little piece of the magic, something that was there on set 45 years ago. It's the real thing, and for collectors that's really exciting."

The auction runs from 4-6 September and will also see items including Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man 2 costume and Michael Keaton's Batman suit go under the hammer.