NEW YORK • All 175 pieces of Star Wars memorabilia were sold at Sotheby's online auction last Friday, one week before the release of the latest version of the epic film series.

The Return Of The NIGO sale coincides with a marketing juggernaut leading up to the opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Dec 18.

The auction tallied US$502,203 (S$710,000), surpassing its high presale target of US$368,700.

Estimates for items on sale at New York-based Sotheby's started as low as US$100 and many exceeded their targets.

The most expensive lot was a pristine, unopened packet of seven action figures from The Empire Strikes Back (1980) that included Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. It fetched US$32,500 - three times the estimate.

Two complete sets of Power Of The Force coins, which were available only by special request from manufacturer Kenner, sold for US$27,500.

A Luke Skywalker doll, which hit the market in 1978 as a children's toy, sold for US$25,000, above its upper estimate of US$18,000.

Also never removed from the packaging, it is one of only 20 confirmed examples of the doll, Sotheby's said.

The figurine, with a rare two-piece telescoping light-saber, was quickly withdrawn from the market "due to the propensity for the lightsaber to snap off", the auction house said.

There was also a strong market in helmets. A 2007 replica of a Stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) fetched US$8,125.

A 2006 Darth Vader helmet fetched US$4,375, above the high estimate of US$1,200.

The auction was culled from the collection of the Japanese fashion designer known as NIGO.

The sale also included more than 600 original action figures, vintage movie posters and a Chewbacca cookie jar.

BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE