A sealed Back To The Future VHS tape has sold for $75,000 (£61,000) at an auction in the US.
The event organised by Texas-based Heritage Auctions, was thought to be the first of its kind and saw 260 sealed VHS tapes up for auction. Most of those on sale were first-edition copies of films from the 1970s and 1980s.
The Back To The Future tape generated a record setting price – something that could have been helped further by the fact that Thomas F Wilson, the actor who portrayed Biff Tannen in the trilogy, was the previous owner of the VHS copy.
It included a signed note from Wilson that read: “This is a VHS tape of the first release of Back To The Future, sent to me by the studio at that time. Since I knew that the VHS platform would be around forever, I saved it for later and now I can’t find a VCR. Oh well. Enjoy!”
Other titles up for auction included a promotional copy of First Blood, Star Wars, and Top Gun.
Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, told Nexstar that he thought the auction would generate at least half a million dollars. As reported in The Hill, the total for Heritage’s first-ever VHS auction exceeded that, garnering $584,750 (£473,296).
“The success of this inaugural auction shows, again, the power these movies and this format hold over audiences young and old,” Maddalena said in a statement following the auction.
“This is a new area of collecting, and it’s clear there’s a deep love for what we’re offering. We can’t wait for the next VHS auction.”
Earlier this year, a first print VHS copy of the original The Terminator movie was auctioned off for $32,500 (£23,913).
The post A sealed ‘Back To The Future’ VHS tape sells for $75,000 at auction appeared first on NME.
