Antiques Roadshow guest's iconic Indiana Jones prop sells for eye-watering amount
An American version of BBC's Antiques Roadshow saw a prop from the legendary Indiana Jones films sell for around £80,000.
Antiques Roadshow is often full of unlikely treasures which sell for thousands of pounds. On an American version of the BBC show, a guest was left stunned when they found out the value of one of their Indiana Jones items.
The original Ark of the Covenant prototype used for the making of Raiders of the Lost Ark popped up on the American version of the popular BBC show in 2020. It has since sold for $101,600 (approximately around £79,646).
The unique prop was brought to Antiques Roadshow by the son of Peter Stolz - a member of the Visual Effects team at Industrial Light & Magic during the production of the 1981 film.
The company worked on films such as Star Wars, Back to the Future, Labyrinth, and of course Indiana Jones.
Showing the item off, the man said: "I thought it was neat, I got to tell my friends that I had the Ark of the Covenant at home." However, he explained that it wasn't the one used in the final cut.
He added: "The Ark they used is significantly smaller. The details are different, as you know, but is one of the first prototypes, maybe the first prototype."
Antiques expert James Supp examined it closely, before he said: “We estimate, at auction, a very conservative value of $80,000 to $120,000.”
He added: “This is the closest anybody in the private market can get to owning the Ark of the Covenant from the Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
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The man admitted that his family kept blankets in the coveted item. But he was taken aback by the high conservative estimation.
Now the item has resurfaced as the eye-catching prop was among showbiz lots that went under the hammer at Los Angeles Julien’s Auctions on Wednesday (12 June). Other highlights included a Kuwahara BMX bike used in E.T. which sold for $52,000 (around £41,000).
The sale also included Marty McFly’s Back to the Future Part II resizing jacket, which sold for $32,500 (£25,600) and the original and iconic light-up dance floor used by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever for a whopping $325,000 (£256,000).
