July Hake’s Auction
Hake’s auction ending July 26 was a monster for the auction house with high sales of key Silver Age Spider-Man issues and everyone’s favorite turtles.
With the only six-figure sales in the month coming in the Hake's auction, the top two sales in our July Chartbusters list were nearly four times the rest of the top 10 combined, a sign of just how big an auction it was.
First on our July list is a 9.6 graded copy of Amazing Spider-Man #1. It sold in the Hake’s auction for a whopping $520,380. That’s a record in the grade, topping the previous $336,000 sale in a November 2022 Heritage auction by an incredible 55%.
Compare that to the 5.5% return seen in the sale of a 9.4 graded copy in June, and it’s clear that the very top grades are where you’ll likely get the greatest return on your investment.
Bouncing back in July, and landing at number two, is a 7.5 graded copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 selling in the Hake’s auction for $170,844. That’s up 46% from the previous sale in the April 2 Heritage auction for $117,000.
It’s still a long way from the $300,000 peak paid in an April 2022 Heritage auction. However, the uptick is the first we’ve seen in this grade since then and that's a promising sign for the market.
Spidey’s biggest foe – the Green Goblin – made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #14. And wouldn’t you know it: a 9.4 graded copy sold in the Hake’s auction for $38,615 and landed at number three on our July Chartbusters list.
It was the first copy sold in this grade in more than two years and set the 9.4 record, topping the previous high of $28,533 set in the April 2021 ComicConnect auction.
Hake’s auction also featured the only Copper Age comic in our top 10: a 7.5 graded copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 selling for $15,576. As with Amazing Fantasy #15, we see an uptick in this high mid-grade with the sale besting the previous one for $12,100 in a May 28 eBay auction.
It’s another welcome sign in a market that has been buffeted by declining values over the past year and a half.
Surprising eBay Sales for Marvel Firsts
It’s rare to see even one eBay sale make the top 10 in our monthly Chartbusters list. Which makes four eBay sales in the top 10 virtually unprecedented. Coming in at number four is an 8.5 graded copy of Strange Tales #110 selling for $25,000 in a July 18 fixed-price sale.
Not only does this sale top the previous sale in the grade - $21,600 in the June 25 Heritage auction – it’s also higher than the previous sale in the 9.0 grade - $24,000 in the March 17 ComicConnect auction.
Other big eBay sales for the month include a 9.6 Incredible Hulk #181 going for $23,499 (90-day average $19,915), an 8.5 Journey Into Mystery #85 for $19,000 (nearly double the previous top price paid in the grade), and a 6.0 Tales of Suspense #39 selling in a July 31 eBay auction with 44 bids for $16,000 (a slight uptick from the previous sale - $15,200 in the March 18 ComicConnect auction).
Mixed Messages in Heritage Auction
The July 4 Heritage auction sent some mixed messages with the two sales that landed in the Chartbusters top 10. A 4.5 graded Fantastic Four #1 sold for $20,400, marking a 10% increase over the previous sale in the January 23 Heritage auction for $18,600.
Meanwhile, we saw a slight decrease in value for All-Star Comics #8 when a 1.5 graded copy sold for $16,800, down 7% from the previous sale for $18,000 in the January 17 Heritage auction. While Silver Age comics appear to be rebounding somewhat, the overall downward trend in the market appears to have settled in for some key Golden Age comics, although we’re not seeing the really steep declines that have affected books from other eras.
Do you track big comic sales? What do you think the July numbers reveal about the state of the hobby? Let us know below.
