UK charity Together for Short Lives have received one of the largest single donations in the history of the organisation after the auction for the official Star Wars: The Last Jedi commemorative note closed at a staggering £186,754. The money raised by the note, created in partnership between Disney, De La Rue and the GREAT Britain Campaign and auctioned exclusively on eBay, will help more children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions receive the very best of care.
“The generosity of Star Wars fans around the world has been overwhelming and this donation, one of the largest single donations in our history, will make a huge difference to the care we can provide to the 49,000 children and young people in Britain living with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions. We’re hugely grateful to Disney, De La Rue, The GREAT Britain Campaign and eBay for their support in this unique project and it’s a fantastic example of the special relationship between the franchise and the UK. The money raised could provide over 7,400 hours of specialist hospice care; giving families precious moments together and allowing parents the rare opportunity to just be mum and dad.”
– Polly Shute, Executive Director of Fundraising at Together for Short Lives
eBay was the exclusive home for the auction which saw the limited edition notes available at a fixed price of £100 sell out within just fifteen minutes. The auction lots, which closed at 8pm on Monday 18th December, attracted over 2500 bids with winners from Australia, China, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, the USA and the UK.
The notes were crafted with 100% cotton cylinder mould paper, securitised and printed in De La Rue’s high security proofing department based in Hampshire. They incorporate an original light side/dark side artwork composition and several special features including serial numbers; pattern work of the First Order and Resistance emblems; hidden scenes (discoverable under 365nm UV light); hidden messages in microtext (discoverable with an eye glass); a message in Aurebesh, one of the languages of the galaxy; and the signature of Director/Writer Rian Johnson. The 50 unique, premium notes include an intaglio (a raised, hand-engraving of Rey) and each have a unique, sequenced serial number.
