Is there any mystery quite as intriguing as a mystery box?

One Star Wars collector found himself with one particularly mysterious box when he bought an unmarked package for £5 online. His hope? That the box contained an exceedingly rare Boba Fett Star Wars figure in pristine condition.

As BBC reports, a British toy company sent extra figurines to fans in exchange for tokens from the packages of other Star Wars toys. Boba Fett is considered the rarest of the set, and fetches prices of up to £5,000 (around €6,270).

The unopened box was procured by toy collector Dave Moss five years ago. However, he could not open it because it would decrease the value if the box was damaged.

Enter the University of Nottingham, who - through a request from Rob Burman, Editor of Collectors Gazette - responded to Dave's YouTube videos asking for help in finding out what was inside the box. Scientists at the university offered to look inside using one of their super CT scanners - a machine intended to study roots in soil without disturbing the plant.

Thanks to the technology, the mystery was finally solved - unfortunately, though, there was no Boba Fett inside the box. Instead it was the much more common Emperor Palpatine figurine, only worth around £30.

Moss said, "I’m slightly disappointed," but believes the unopened box and pristine figure inside is "still an amazing thing to have" and will serve as the centerpiece of his Star Wars collection.