The piece, used in battles in both The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return Of The Jedi (1983), went under the hammer along with more than 400 other lots of props and costumes used in film in Los Angeles

Weapon valued up to $3m and items from movies including Alien and Armageddon for sale in three-day online auction

In den Achtzigern schwang „Star Wars“-Bösewicht Darth Vader das rote Lichtschwert, jetzt wurde die ikonische Requisite versteigert. Und das für eine Rekordsumme.