Harpoon gun and fishing rod used in ‘Jaws’ to be sold at auction

The harpoon gun, the custom-made shark dart and the fishing rod wielded by Robert Shaw’s character Quint in the 1975 blockbuster “Jaws” will be sold at auction in March.

Shaw’s Quint used the harpoon gun and the fishing rod in his attempts to hunt and kill the great white shark in “Jaws.”

Auction house Propstore plans to sell the items in Los Angeles in March. The harpoon gun, dart and case together are expected to sell for $250,000 to $500,000, and the fishing rod for $750,00 to $150,000.

The harpoon lot includes the “W.W. Greener Light Harpoon Gun Mark II,” the shark dart made by the “Jaws” crew and the case used to contain both items as seen on screen during the movie. The gun’s serial number matches one from the 1990 auction of the Universal Studios armory, thereby proving the chain of provenance, Propstore said.

The “Fenwick 130 lb. Fishing Rod with Production-Used Penn Senator 16/0 Reel” lot is matched to its on-screen appearance, where Quint tried using it from the stern to catch the shark. The rod was returned to a Los Angeles prop house after the movie finished production and was later acquired by a prop master on its way to the auction block.

“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,” Propstore Chief Operating Officer Brandon Alinger told The Hollywood Reporter.