When Palpatine commanded the clone army to execute Order 66 in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, he inadvertently ensured that the Jedi Order would never be forgotten. Despite Palpatine’s best efforts to expunge the Jedi from the galaxy’s memory, censoring the information pertaining to the Jedi only succeeded in solidifying their reputation. Before Order 66, the Jedi were plentiful—and their tools and equipment were heavily guarded and rarely fell out of their hands. Once the Jedi were gone, the few remaining artifacts of theirs suddenly became rarer and more desirable than ever before.
Like any persecuted religion throughout history, anything associated with the Jedi became taboo. The Jedi who survived concealed their lightsabers to avoid suspicion from stormtroopers and inquisitors alike. Even Obi-Wan Kenobi buried his saber in the sands of Tatooine to avoid being seen with it. Anyone caught with a lightsaber or anything else that belonged to the Jedi would be reported to the Empire—which was akin to a death sentence. Lightsabers were popular items on the black market before the Jedi were gone, but Star Wars comics confirmed that the value of Jedi artifacts skyrocketed during the reign of the Empire.
Luthen's Shop In Andor Proved The Value Of Jedi Artifacts
With the Jedi gone and their artifacts banned from the public eye, everything associated with the fallen Order suddenly gained a new luster to collectors—most notably Luthen Rael in Andor. Luthen’s shop contained an assortment of Easter eggs and references to all sorts of Star Wars material, but perhaps the most expensive items he owned were kept in the backroom of his shop. Among some of his other shelved trinkets, he had in his possession both a Jedi holocron and a Sith holocron. These ancient artifacts often contained valuable information about the Force or other insights to help the Jedi or the Sith.
The fact that Luthen doesn’t have his holocrons out front in the shop is a testament to their immense value. His shop on Coruscant was dedicated to selling the most expensive showpieces imaginable to the high class of the galaxy—but the holocrons are not meant to be showpieces. There is a reason these are the first Star Wars holocrons revealed in live-action, since they aren’t the type of item someone would flaunt during the Empire’s reign. Like lightsabers, holocrons became a taboo item to display in public—which is why Luthen would likely have black market buyers lined up at his door had he listed them for sale.
Why Didn't The Empire Notice Luthen's Jedi Artifacts?
It’s hard to imagine why the Empire—and Palpatine especially—didn’t seize Luthen’s holocrons from him (along with his other Force-related artifacts). It’s possible that they were fake, but that’s unlikely given the quality and genuineness of the other items he sold. It's more plausible to assume that Luthen hid the holocrons from the Empire and the public—similarly to how Luthen kept his powerful ship off the radar. There were few force-sensitive people left alive who could even open the holocrons, so the information locked inside (if any) wasn’t what made them appealing. Nevertheless, they wouldn’t be nearly as valuable had Palpatine not killed the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith.
