Rare Back to the Future video tape still in its wrapping that cost just $12.50 (£10) in the nineties sells for $10,000 (£8,000) in auction
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A rare VHS cassette tape of the classic eighties’ film Back to the Future, which is still in its original wrapping, has sold for a staggering £8,000 in auction.
The ‘mint condition’ copy was part of the first batch released in 1986 and fetched twice its £4,000 estimate at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas, due to the movie’s enduring popularity.
In recent years pristine VHS tapes for classic movies have become highly sought-after among nostalgic fans who grew up with them in the 80s and now have disposable income to buy them.
VHS and Betamax tapes became popular in the late 1970s following the invention of video recorders. They dominated the market until the advent of the DVD in 1995.
By the late 2000s, the VHS format had become almost completely redundant.
Pictured: The rare VHS cassette tape of Back to the Future which sold for a staggering £8,000
Back to the Future, starring Michael J Fox (pictured) as Marty McFly, was the highest grossing film of 1985 making $210million dollars
Jay Carlson, consignment director of VHS at Heritage, said: ‘Back to the Future is one of those tapes that connects deeply with VHS collectors and film fans, and we have seen a steady demand for it over multiple auctions since last year, beginning with the copy that belonged to Tom Wilson, who played ‘Biff’ (bully Biff Tannen).
‘This copy is a similar early example. It has the desirable wraparound MCA Home Video block-style watermarks, which put it very early in the production of when it was first released on home video.
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‘Back to the Future is one of those titles that connects with people, especially those who grew up in that era, and is a title that every collector wants to have among their collections.’
Back to the Future, starring Michael J Fox as Marty McFly, was the highest grossing film of 1985 making $210million dollars.
It tells the story of a teenager accidentally back to 1955 in a time-travelling DeLorean built by scientist Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown.
In June 2022, actor Tom Wilson, who played Biff Tannen in the movie, sold his copy of Back to the Future for £60,000 in June 2022 at Heritage Auctions in Dallas.
Wilson originally listed the tape, along with others, on eBay, but took them down when he received an overwhelming response.
He said he saved a copy because he was convinced that the VHS platform would be around forever.
Wilson’s collection included sealed and graded VHS tapes of ‘Back to the Future II,’ ‘Back to the Future III’ and 1990’s ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy boxed set.
What made this collection special was Wilson’s offer to write a note to accompany each tape and sign each shipment.
In recent years pristine VHS tapes for classic movies have become highly sought-after
The ‘mint condition’ copy of the eighties’ classic film was part of the first batch released in 1986 and sparked a fierce bidding war in auction
The top ten most valuable videos
Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks – £1,500
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Betrayed – £1,100
Celestine – £1,100
The Legend of Hillybilly John – £1,000
Journey Into Beyond – £1,000
Lemora, Lady Dracula – £900
Don’t Open The Window – £900
Flesh Eaters – £800
Black Decameron – £800
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