Star Wars auction:
Stormtrooper helmet fetches $26,000

A stormtrooper helmet used in the making of the original "Star Wars" trilogy sold to an American buyer for $26,000 at a Christie's auction in early December 2004.

The seller of the helmet had purchased it 12 year ago at a London sale for a mere $60.

Original "Star Wars" memorabilia go on the auction block frequently, but this particular stormtrooper helmet has a rather interesting pedigree that made it one of the more sought-after Star Wars collectibles in recent memory.

This helmet was very unique indeed as it was one of only six stormtrooper helmets produced in 1976, according to Andrew Ainsworth, who made the helmet. As Ainsworth told StarWarsHelmets.com, George Lucas was having trouble selling the "Star Wars" script to studios and enlisted Ainsworth to craft six stormtrooper helmets as a visual aid for subsequent pitches to studio honchos.

Ainsworth used high-density Poly Thylene to produce the six helmets. The material, commonly used to make fish ponds, proved too prone to paint-chipping, so once "Star Wars" was in production, Ainsworth used white vacu-formed plastic to produce an additional 50 stormtrooper helmets.

This helmet was used in at least one film -- "The Empire Strikes Back" -- as we learn from a photo analysis conducted by StarWarsHelmets.com.