September 8 is Star Trek Day, and in 2021 that marks 55 years for this enduring franchise. This predates Star Wars by more than a decade, and Star Trek paved the way for many Sci-Fi genres. The date is assigned because the first episode of Star Trek aired on September 8, 1966.

It is likely anyone with electricity knows the name of Captain James T. Kirk and William Shatner, followed by Spock and Leonard Nimoy. What many fans do not know about the USS Enterprise and its ill-fated pilot was that an actor named Jeffrey Hunter debuted as Captain Christopher Pike. That could have changed everything that Sci-Fi fans and Trekkies came to love and know.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. Collectibles also includes movie items and other memorabilia. Star Trek items have commanded some serious premiums when they have come up for auction. Is it fair to evaluate these as an alternative asset class on their own? When sales are over $10,000 or over $100,000 it is safe to call these an investment, even if they are owned by a collector who just had to own that item.

In evaluating the key assets of Star Trek collectibles, Collectors Dashboard has found some rather interesting items that have sold in auctions over time. The movies may have been more recent and kept the genre going beyond the televised shows. Still, the high-end items that have sold have spanned multiple generations of Trekkies.

We wanted to highlight some of the top collectibles with an investment view in the theme of “Live Long and Prosper!” Gene Roddenberry broke many social barriers with his creation. It is likely that he could not have imagined when he started the launch, particularly after the show was cancelled after just three seasons, that Star Trek memorabilia would be selling for tens (nor hundreds) of thousands of dollars.

Here is a look at some of those key Star Trek items that have come up for sale. Admittedly, this list should be considered as incomplete and there will have been many items which have sold in private transactions which were never recorded by auction houses.

SHIPS ARE EXPENSIVE

One item, which was touted in 2016 as the most expensive piece of Star Trek memorabilia ever sold, was the Enterprise D filming miniature which was built for the Star Trek: The Next Generation. The sale price was listed as $576,000 in a Christie’s auction in October of 2006. The model was created by Industrial Light and Magic who are the storied movie magic people behind the special effect in Star Wars. What should be expressed was the initial estimate was between $25,000.00 to $35,000.00

The Klingon Bird-Of-Prey is a model spaceship used in filming the special effects that was estimated to sell between $8,000.00 to $12,000.00 but instead realized $307,200.00 on October 6, 2006. The listing describes this item as the most photographed ship outside Starship Enterprise. Regarded by many loyal Star Trek fans as the definitive Klingon warship. Klingon is a major term that is recognized by fans who know nothing of the series.

Rounding out the top 3 sales from the famous Christie’s Star Trek offering that commemorated the 40th anniversary is the Enterprise-A Model And Power Supply. The model ship was estimated to sell between $15,000.00 to $25,000.00 but surpassed a quarter of a million dollars landing comfortably at $284,800.00 which is an incredible difference from speculation. The Ship like the two previous were used in multiple Star Trek filming projects and not limited to one movie but several.

PHASERS & BLASTERS

The website for Heritage Auctions shows that three examples of an extremely rare Hero Type-2 Phaser Pistol from the early days of Star Trek: The Original Series. This is a Paramount item and was date from 1966 to 1969). One item sold on July 16, 2021 for the sum of $250,000.00, and Heritage also had noted as of this date that any interested buyer can make an offer of $375,000 if they want to own it. (Image by Heritage Auctions)

A prior Heritage Auction from December 11, 2018 sold for $192,000.00. This was listed as being from the collection of Paramount Pictures executive production manager Ted Leonard. He was gifted this Type-2 Phaser pistol by Star Trek art director Matt Jefferies. Heritage also had an original Type-2 Phaser Pistol from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode of “Plato’s Stepchildren. This was from the collection of producer Fred Freiberger and it had been gifted to actress Nichelle Nichols in 1972. That example sold on September 25, 2019 for $150,000.00.

Another Hero Phaser used on-set by Captain Kirk (William Shatner) in the filming of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was tracked with a sale price of $57,500. That was listed as being sold in 2001.

Captain Kirk’s Phaser Rifle from the 1966 episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before” sold at a Julien’s Hollywood Legends auction in 2013 for more than $231,000 after the buyer’s fees.

CLOTHING – TUNIC OUTFITS

Heritage Auctions has also seen a Leonard Nimoy “Spock” tunic from Star Trek: The Original Series with detailed provenance. This sold on December 15, 2012 for $116,850.00. Heritage then had another item with nearly an identical description that sold on September 29, 2015 for $84,000.00. (Image by Heritage Auctions)

Another high sales had been shown as Spock’s tunic from Season 3 in a 2003 sale. That sold for $123,250 at that time.

Heritage Auctions sold a William Shatner “Captain Kirk” tunic and pants from Star Trek on June 29, 2016 for a price of $72,000.00.

A screen-used outfit from from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was Ricardo Montalban’s signature “Khan” tunic auction by Heritage Auctions in October 2014. This also came with Khan’s wrist communicator and Starfleet necklace, and it fetched $54,000 at that time.

COMMAND CHAIR & CONSOLES

Heritage Auctions also sold a chair of Patrick Stewart “Captain Picard” Enterprise-E bridge command chair. This was listed as being with both Ops and Conn consoles from Star Trek: Star Trek: First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis. This item sold on December 11, 2018 for $114,000.00. The provenance of this item was list as Christie’s (New York) from the 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection held in October of 2006, Lot 23 (Capt. Chair), Lot 36 & 37 (Ops & Conn Consoles).

The command chair and platform from Star Trek: The Original Series reportedly sold for more than $300,000 in 2002.

ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORES

Sotheby’s listed a past lot of STAR TREK original music composition notes from Alexander Courage. This was given an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000 in two different lots with the same estimates. That had been described as follows:

Autograph manuscript of the music for Star Trek, the composer’s drafts of the music for the opening fanfare [“Space! The Final Frontier!…”], and main title theme “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, for the original pilot programs in 1964 and 1965, with erasures, alterations, corrections and revisions.

A MELTING PUPPET HEAD

One item from the original Star Trek TV series was a less than attractive face shown on the TV screen after each Star Trek episode was Balok’s puppet head. It was used in a televised episode called “The Corbomite Maneuver” in Season 1. This nasty face sold for $80,500 in June 2010.

A SHUTTLECRAFT

Imagine buying an original Star Trek TV series shuttlecraft movie prop. This was the Galileo NCC-1701/7 used in Season 1. It measured 24-feet long and was 9-feet tall and wide. This was reported to be sold by Kiko Auctioneers auction in 2012 for $61,000. The craft had deteriorated handily with damage from the elements and the thruster dome was shown to be missing. That key prop was ultimately restored back to its original look and feel, and it was then donated for an exhibit at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

ONE OLD SPACESUIT

There was another high sale price seen for one spacesuit used in Star Trek: The Original Series which was worn by Dr. McCoy. This was worn in the TV series episode called “The Tholian Web.” It sold for more than $120,000 in that well known Christie’s auction in October 2006.

TRADING CARDS, COMIC BOOKS & TOYS

You know all about baseball cards from Topps, but did you know about their Star Trek trading cards? One auction on eBay was listed as a 1976 Star Trek Topps wax packs trading cards, with 36 unopened packs and the full display box. That auction sold for $2,950.00 after 12 bids on August 6, 2021. Have the so-called “pack breaker” videos shown that being opened?

eBay showed another recent sale as a 1967 Gold Key comic book for the series. This was listed as being triple-signed by Shatner, Nimoy and Takei. This was the Star Trek #1 comic, graded CGC SS 5.5 and it fetched $2,324.00 after 4 bids as recently as September 3, 2021.

The website of GoCollect.com has estimates for the highest grades of Star Trek #1 comic book. The 9.8 grade sold for $82,000 in October of 2015 and a 9.6 grade sold for $32,000 in November of 2019. eBay also sold a Star Trek #1 (CGC 8.5) for $1,196.99 after 9 bids on August 6, 2021.

On September 2, 2021 there were several Star Trek 1974/75 Mego unopened dolls which sold on eBay. One was a Captain Kirk AFA 85 Series 1 and unpunched that sold for $1,802.77 after 54 bids. The Mr. Scott (Scottie) was a AFA 80 NM Series 2-6 Face Unpunched for $1,700.00 after 46 bids. Another Dr. McCoy (Bones) AFA 90 -Series 2 listed as the highest graded sold for $1,407.00 after 44 bids.

AND A WARNING TO FINAL FRONTIER BUYERS

There is a serious word of warning to Star Trek memorabilia collectors. Extremely high prices have also led to many copies and replicas, some of which have undoubtedly been sold to unsuspecting buyers. The HeroComm.com website warns in its Collectors Corner about fakes and spotting forgeries. It said:

It would be nice if everyone who thought they owned an original screen-used communicator actually did. But let’s be frank… only ten existed yet countless dozens of people think (or at least hope) theirs is one of them. Wah Chang said that of the many comms he had been shown after the show, not one was his.* So unless you personally plucked your prop out of Property Master Irving Feinberg’s boxes in 1969 (yes, likely a few lucky people did), we regret being the bearer of bad news but it is statistically likely that yours too is a fake, despite whatever provenance or compelling story accompanies your comm.

And on that note, the HeroComm site showed that an original screen-used communicator had auctioned for $37,500 and that a forgery had auctioned for $28,750. The long and short is to know any collectible’s provenance.