What if I told you that you didn’t need to re-mortgage your house to own a piece of movie memorabilia. There are affordable movie props out there and you can own them today!
Owning a piece of your favorite movie or TV show is an unusual feeling indeed. Holding something in your hands that was used in a movie production or even in some cases seen on screen by your favorite actor or actress.
With many auctions throughout the year both in the UK and US most movie props sell for extortionate amounts of money.
Props like these are out of the question!
But you don’t have to pay a fortune, there are many props that are affordable that you can own right now.
All the props on our list here are under £50. That’s right, props from well-known productions for cheap.
Now you certainly won’t be taking delivery of that Batsuit anytime soon with this particular list but our affordable movie props feature caters to people on a budget.
Before we begin thou however you need to know a little about what types of props there are and how they’re categorized.
Numerous movie props fall under different names that have different meanings for how they were used on set so it’ll give you a better idea of what to look for when purchasing.
Types of Movie Props
Screen Matched
This is an item or costume used in a specific scene and the item/costume can be seen on screen when the movie is released. You can pinpoint the exact item or costume to a scene in the movie as details are like for like and cannot be replicated.
Hero
The most detailed prop there is. The Hero prop is the most realistic prop with extensive detail and is used for close-ups on film. Many stunt versions of the Hero prop are usually made so that the Hero prop is used less to prevent damage to it. Hero props are usually screen-matchable.
Stunt
Usually made of rubber or soft material they are props with less detail that are seen from afar on screen. Stunt props can be weapons with rubber tips or rubber guns they could be rubber mobile phones that are dropped in scenes or similar.
Production Used
An item that has been made for production but hasn’t been shown on screen. This could be a back-up prop or costume or even a stunt version of a prop that has never been used. Production used items could also include spare make-up appliances or tests also.
A Production Used item could have been worn by an actor or actress but never actually made it to the final cut of the movie.
In most cases, the production used items are usually the cheapest as they are spares or copies of screen used items.
There have been occasions where people have brought a production used item and they have turned out to be screen-matched.
I remember someone buying an Aaron Paul production used hoodie from Breaking Bad for a specific episode. Someone checked the episode and matched up exact markings on the jacket to exact markings on the ‘production used’ jacket.
This shot the price of the jacket up exponentially as it went from the cheapest priced (Production Used) to the most expensive (Screen Matched)
It’s incredibly rare for this to happen. Trusted prop sellers do extensive research on each item before they go to sale but it’s possible that some slip through the cracks.
You may just buy a lump of coal that turns into a pot of gold.
UK Movie Prop Sellers
There are two main movie props sellers here in the UK. The Movie Prop Warehouse and The Prop Store of London.
The Prop Store certainly has the better items but naturally with better items comes a bigger price tag.
Prop Store does, however, sell more affordable items but certainly not as many as The Movie Prop Warehouse.
Affordable Movie Props
So let’s dive right in with my hand-picked selection of affordable movie props you can own right away!
Elysium Amero – £7 Movie Prop Warehouse
A production used Amero bill from the Matt Damon movie Elysium.
Movie prop currency is very popular indeed and custom currency such as this is even more collectible.
Ali G Indahouse Flyer – £10 – Prop Store
A production used campaign flyer from the movie Ali G Indahouse starring Sasha Baron Cohen. The poster is in perfect condition and doesn’t look to have been used in any way shape or form as it’s in pristine condition.
A back-up copy but still a cool production used item all the same.
Scream License Plate £15 – Movie Prop Warehouse
A So Many Lakes license plate from the spinoff TV Series Scream. These plates were used on numerous background vehicles in the show.
Nurburgring Circuit Pass from Rush – £15 – Prop Store
Rush was an incredible movie from start to finish and whilst this isn’t part of a car or a racing suit it’s still a nice little background/production item to own from the film.
Gladiators TV Series Neck Protector – £20 – Movie Prop Warehouse
From the Sky 1 TV reboot of Gladiators is this padded neck protector. Get it around your neck and act out some of your favorite gladiator scenes!
Casino Royale Playing Card – £29 – Movie Prop Warehouse
A production used playing card from the movie Casino Royale. A great movie but many card decks were used so naturally, it would be near impossible to match yours up to any shown on the screen!
Prop Magazines from I, Robot – £45 – Prop Store
Magazines used in the production of I, Robot. These magazines provided a nice bit of set dressing to specific scenes.
Spud’s TV from T2 Transporting – £49 – Movie Prop Warehouse
Maybe you want a classic TV for yourself but wouldn’t it be even cooler if that TV was used in a movie?
Look no further as you can own one of Spud’s (Ewen Bremner) TV’s from T2 Trainspotting.
I have a stack of DVD’s myself from this movie that was in Spud’s flat.
Neil Patrick Harris Business Card from The Smurfs – £49 – Movie Prop Warehouse
This business card used by Neil Patrick Harris in The Smurfs movie is cheap and cheerful.
I rather enjoyed The Smurfs movie more than I’d like to admit. Owning something even as small as a business card is quite cool.
Aaron Paul’s Gloves Last House on the Left – £49 – Movie Prop Warehouse
From the 2009 film, The Last House on the Left are these leather fingerless gloves.
For under £50 you can own something worn by Aaron Paul, not too shabby eh!
