My Rare 1977 Star Wars Early Bird Certificate Package
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 11/10/2016 1:00:00 AM
If you're a Star Wars Fan, perhaps you've heard of The 1977 Star Wars Early Bird Certificate Package.
Of all the videos I post on my YouTube Channel, my Star Wars and Star Trek videos get hundreds of times more views. So, I think it would be fun to make a video every now and then showing off some of my vintage Star Wars collection.
It's not unusual for companies to release movie related toys weeks, or even months BEFORE a movie comes out. But that wasn't always the case. When Star Wars came out in May of 1977, they didn't have a single toy to release with the movie, but as the movie became more popular, they struck a deal with Kenner to produce a line of toys. The trouble is, it was too late to have anything on the shelves in time for the 77 holiday season.
Rather than miss the season entirely, they came up with the idea of shipping a cardboard envelope with a certificate inside that parents could send in to get the first toys off the line, when they were available. This would give parents something they could give their kids in time for the holidays. It was called the "Early Bird Certificate Package" and it sold for about $10.
At the time they were printed, Kenner didn't even have photos of what the toys would look like, so they made crude sketches of the characters they would be producing. It didn't matter to me. I was looking forward to receiving one of the first ones off the production line.
A few months later I finally received my package of four "Action Figures", Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and R2-D2. To be honest, I was a bit surprised by the size. Back then there was no such thing as an Action Figure, so they seemed small to me.
Since that date, Star Wars toys have earned BILLIONS of dollars over the years. Countless toys have been sold, but the 1977 Star Wars Early Bird Certificate Package was where it all started, and for that reason they are the most sought after Star Wars toys.
Very few packages were sold, and very few of them survived all these years. Of those that survived, very few still have the original packaging intact. In my video, I show mine exactly as I put it away decades ago. I kept all of the original packaging.
One of the most distinct features of the Early Bird collection is Luke Skywalker's "Double Throw" golden yellow lightsaber. What made the DT Lightsaber different was the fact that it had two telescoping blades.
I was 12 years old when Star Wars came out, so I was just old enough to understand the significance of the Early BIrd toys enough to keep the original packaging, and just young enough to actually want to play with and display them.
I have quite a few other Vintage Star Wars items in my collection, which I plan to show in future videos, so if you want to see more, subscribe to my YouTube Channel. I'm even planning on giving some away to the biggest Star Wars fans I can find.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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