10 'Star Wars' toys you had as a kid that are now valuable collectables

Jawas, the "sand people" who attack Luke Skywalker in the original "Star Wars" film, are not typically a fan favorite. But this figure is a classic example of how limited supply can increase demand.

The Jawa figurine was first sold with a vinyl cape, but manufacturers later swapped it for a cloth one.

It's often called the "holy grail for 'Star Wars' collectors," but there are so many fakes around that some fans question whether the "Vinyl Cape Jawa" is even real. There are believed to be fewer than 10 in existence, according to CNN.

The rare figurine measures only a few inches tall, but one of them fetched over $25,000 at a 2017 auction.

Tyler Chin contributed reporting to this article.

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There were thousands of action figures made of "Star Wars" favorite hero, but far fewer of this early version that featured a telescoping lightsaber.

There were also telescoping lightsaber versions of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader but, much to the dismay of both fans and manufacturers, this version of the toy proved too fragile. The telescoping feature was eventually scrapped, making the original version a scarce and valuable commodity.

One such Luke Skywalker figure sold for $25,000 at a 2015 Sotheby's auction.

Who doesn't love Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who tracked Han Solo across the galaxy? The character, who uttered only a handful of lines in the original trilogy, proved so popular that he was given a back story in Episode III.

It's perhaps no surprise, then, that Boba Fett figures are among the most prized (and expensive) action figures. An unpainted, prototype version of the figure sold for over $100,000 at an auction in 2019.

What do you get when you combine an obscure character, a spin-off television show, and a short manufacturing time? You get what the Star Wars Collectors Archive calls "the rarest of all Star Wars figures to be commercially released."

The chubby Vlix was a character from the 1985 cartoon show "Droids," which aired for only 13 episodes.

The figure is among a handful of scarce and desirable models manufactured by the Brazilian company Glasslite, and one of them went for thousands of dollars at a 2017 auction.

When Marvel Comics released the first issue of its "Star Wars" series in 1977, they charged 30 cents. But in an effort to test a price hike, Marvel rolled out issues that cost 35 cents in certain markets.

The ones with the 35-cent price tag are considered highly valuable for their limited run, and it's estimated that only 1,500 issues exist.

As any self-respecting collector knows, the most valuable toys are usually the ones in their original packaging.

A set of action figures sold in Canada to promote "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980 was part of a "Star Wars" exclusive auction held by Sotheby's in 2015, and it sold for $32,500.

The multi-pack sets with special figures were sold exclusively at Sears stores in Canada. They were prized enough, even at the time, that packs were often found ripped open in the stores, forcing Sears to sell the vacuum-sealed figures separately.

This action figure from the original "Star Wars" film, "A New Hope," is actually named Zutton, but is commonly referred to as Snaggletooth.

In the film, the character wore a red suit, but an early production run of the figure clad him in blue. The resulting blue "Snaggletooth," while not exactly priceless, is still popular among collectors for its novelty value.

Before the third installment of the original trilogy was released in 1983, the film was called "Revenge of the Jedi." But some merchandise, like toy backing cards and posters, had already been released bearing the original title.

Avid "Star Wars" fans are constantly seeking out these items with the incorrect title and are willing to pay large sums of money for them. One such misnomer-filled poster sold for over $16,000 in a Sotheby's auction.

If the name "Yak Face" doesn't ring a bell, you might not be a "Star Wars" superfan.

This obscure character — also known as "Joe Camel" for its uncanny resemblance to a certain cigarette mascot — was cut from toy-maker Kenner's line after production of the toys had already begun, according to Paddle 8.

The leftover toys were sent to Europe and Canada, making them especially prized by American collectors who had been deprived of the experience of playing with "Yak Face" as children.

One such figure sold for $7,500 in 2015.

Often when manufacturers tell you something is "collectible," it's a case of wishful thinking. But it has proven true in the case of the "Power of the Force" coins that were once available with select action figures or as mail-order prizes.

The coins themselves range in value from a few bucks to hundreds of dollars, but an action figure still in its packaging with an accompanying coin can fetch even more than that.