The fishing rod and harpoon gun used by the late actor Robert Shaw in Jaws have surfaced for sale for a whopping £480,000.
The two props featured heavily in the dramatic scenes on board the Orca vessel in which Shaw’s character Quint leads police chief Martin Brody and oceanographer Matt Hooper in the hunt for the man-eating shark.
Quint, a wily and grizzled shark-hunter, first uses the Fenwick 130lbs fishing rod while sat in a chair at the back of the boat while Brody, played by Roy Scheider, throws chum into the water.
Moments later the trio catch sight of the enormous great white shark, prompting Brody to utter the immortal line ‘you’re gonna need a bigger boat’.
Quint then uses W.W. Greener harpoon rifle to fire at the shark and attach several yellow marker barrels to it.
The gun, with its case, is valued at £375,000 while the rod is tipped to sell for £110,000 when they go under the hammer at auctioneers Propstore of Los Angeles, US.
Brando Alinger, Propstore’s chief operating officer, said: ‘Jaws is a challenging title for memorabilia collectors – it is one of the most successful and beloved blockbusters of all time, but very few fully-verified props or costumes have ever surfaced from the film.
The fishing rod and harpoon gun used by the late actor Robert Shaw (pictured) in Jaws have surfaced for sale for a whopping £480,000
The gun, with its case, is valued at £375,000 while the rod is tipped to sell for £110,000
‘These two pieces are certainly some of the most significant ever offered at public auction, with the harpoon launcher bearing extra significance due to how extensively it is featured in the film and how much of a role it plays in the plot of the film.
‘In our 30 years in the prop and costume industry, this is the single finest Jaws piece Propstore has ever seen. Its appearance now, at the film’s 50th anniversary, makes this rediscovery all the more remarkable.’
Both items will be sold in March.