Big day this weekend for Spartacus series souvenirs

Plagued by death on and off the screen, the gory TV show Spartacus is entering its final season, giving fans a chance to snap up props such as a bloodied sword or a fake dead horse. 

After four years of production in Auckland and generating $200 million in spending, according to the Film Commission, the production company – which offered middle-aged extras $500 a day to get naked for orgy scenes – wants to get rid of the props it used.

Props for sale include a life-sized model corpse, a range of bloodied swords and spikes, a model severed horses head, and large assortments of various animal hides. 

Webb's auctioneer James Hogan told NBR ONLINE there are about 650 lots for sale.

"It is difficult to gauge how successful the sale will be. The only thing we could compare it to would be the Xena sale which happened a few years ago.

"That went off with a huge hiss and a roar. Hopefully, the same will happen with this lot."

Spartacus – which stars Kiwi actors Lucy Lawless and Craig Parker – premiered in January 2010 and its third and final season will be broadcast in the US starting next month.

Inspired by the Thracian gladiator who led a slave uprising against the Roman Republic from 73BC to 71BC, the series focuses on Spartacus' early life.

The man who initially played Spartacus, Andy Whitfield, died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma after the first season. 

He was replaced Liam McIntyre for the remainder of the series. 

What is for sale

The props for sale range from the practical, such as ropes and tables, to the weird, like a life-sized soldier model in costume.

A keen fan could also buy a "replica dead horse", a collection of swords and knives, or a large canvas Roman officers tent.

So, who buys this stuff?

"A lot of people," Mr Hogan reckons.

"People who are into war games and things like that would probably love to have one of those tents in their back yard. They're amazing tents."

Items such as the canvas tents are also snapped up by party hire companies.

Mr Hogan says the haunted attraction Spookers – housed in a former mental institution south of Auckland – has previously bought some of the slightly macabre props from previous auctions.

"A lot of the gear is actually suitable for a domestic situation. You would quite happily have many of the tables or stools at home."

Mr Hogan says the props are of good quality and are either made by the production company or outsourced.

"For example, with the pottery props they've done a great deal of research into the pottery of the time and what it looked like."

The auction has the potential to be huge business because it is a no reserve auction, Mr Hogan says.

However, he says there is no way to tell what items might sell for because they have not been valued.

"A jar could go for $30 or $300. People tend to go a bit crazy. They know this type of gear won't come up again.

"If they're a fan of Spartacus, having a day bed in their house from one of the brothels in the series would be marvellous."

There has been some interest in the auction from overseas buyers but most inquiries have been local, Mr Hogan says.

"We're not going to have a good gauge of how much interest there is until it starts, but already we've got a pile of bids coming through from the website."

The auction takes place on Sunday morning at 11 o'clock at the Mt Wellington warehouse complex where the series was filmed.

Good for the economy

Major television shows such as Spartacus are big business, and there is money for New Zealand in making them. 

Spartacus was shown in 150 countries – and in 15 different languages – including Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, Poland, Ireland, Brazil, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand. 

It was made for the US television network Starz. 

Over its four-year production run, the series used 315 permanent and 150 casual crew a week, according to the NZ Film Commission ceo Graeme Mason. 

It also employed 5000 extras and 20 key cast roles per season, generating about $NZ200 million of spending into the New Zealand economy. 

Possible sequel

While Spartacus is no longer, there are murmurings of a sequel in the pipeline. 

The rumoured spin-off doesn't have a name yet, but reports suggest it would be based on a young version of Julius Caesar, who appears in Spartacus' final season. 

The series would follow him in the years before he becomes emperor in Rome and is eventually murdered by his allies,the New York Daily News reports. 

It is not known if it will also be produced in New Zealand.

The Xena sword saga 

While Mr Hogan is reluctant to put a possible sale price on any of the Spartacus props, a sword from the TV show Xena sold at auction for $5500 in 2001. 

And it wasn't even Xena's sword, it was used in the series by the Amazon Queen, Cyane, played by Vicky Pratt. 

There was much mystery – hysteria, even – over who actually bought it at a ritzy auction hosted by the Variety Club. 

Extensive investigating by the NBR ONLINE, however, revealed the true story. 

Early speculators reckoned the bid was won by property developer Andrew Krukziener, who was an early bidder, but he fervently denied buying it.

However, he admitted it was bought by someone at his table, fuelling speculation it was bought by someone in the Krukziener empire. 

This led to another developer, Mark Hackshaw – who worked for Mr Krukziener at the time – admitting to having the winning bid. 

"Andrew didn't buy it, I did. Andrew didn't pay for it", he told NBR. 

However, as it later turned out, it was Aaron Ridgway of cellphone company First Mobile who actually paid for the sword – Mr Hackshaw just entered the bid. 

The pair owned the sword together but were hoping to sell it. 

It is not known if it was sold, or where it is today.