Luke Skywalker's 1977 rookie rarely grades high, even fresh from a sealed box

Heritage is selling a sealed box of 1977 Topps Star Wars Series 1 wax packs that could hold four or five Luke Skywalker #1 rookies. Bidding has reached $18,500, or $23,125 with the buyer's premium, ahead of its Nov. 12 close. ComicBook.com called the box a gamble that could be worth millions, a number that only works if those Lukes come out of 49-year-old wax in perfect shape.

Ripping it does have one thing going for it. PSA notes the Luke took wear from sitting on top of collectors' piles. Even so, sealed boxes of this stuff have been sitting in a pile somewhere for decades. It's hard to hit on old boxes for numerous reasons.

But the damage that matters more likely happened at the factory. Topps printed the Luke on the edge of the sheet, a position PSA says leaves cards vulnerable to miscuts. Eric Roberts, who owned the No. 1 set on PSA's registry from 2007 to 2013, opened cases of this product and told PSA in 2015 that he had "never seen a centered example of card No. 1."

The wrapper is the other problem. Cards usually went into the pack with the back card against the wax when Topps sealed it. PSA says that if you open packs today, one card is likely to come out stained.

PSA has graded 6,336 Lukes and given nine of them a PSA 10. I'd bet a few gem copies are sitting raw in binders right now with owners who have no idea.

Bidding on the box closes Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. Central.