Heritage Auction has the reputation of being the go-to site for mega sales. In recent years, the auction giant routinely grabs headlines with its rare items achieving eye-popping figures. Some of the biggest comic book keys across all collecting eras have graced Heritage, but June 25th will go down as a day to remember.
On Sunday, several holy grails combined for over $2.33 million in sales. The list included everything from Captain America’s first appearance to Superman #1. Let’s break down the titles and see if any records were broken.
Topping the list was the 1941 debut of Steve Rogers himself as the original Captain America. Any major key from the Golden Age will achieve high prices, but this happened to be a blue label CGC 9.2. The last time a copy of that grade sold online was in 2013, and it brought an impressive $306,050. Sunday’s sale blew that out of the water and hit $810,000.
Next on the list is the graded 3.0 Superman #1. Next to Action Comics #1, this is the most coveted of Superman keys. Sunday’s auction saw it hit $360k, which is almost $50,000 more than the 2020 sale.
It generally goes without saying that Golden Age keys bring larger prices than those from the Silver Age, but Sunday’s auction saw impressive values all the same. First up is one of the single most coveted Marvel keys, Amazing Fantasy #15. The graded 8.0 that was up for sale earned $312,000. Unlike the previously mentioned comics, this wasn’t a record-breaking auction and fell short of the $560k price tag from 2021.
Another coveted Spidey key was a major one as well - ASM #1. This particular graded 9.4 found its new owner for the bargain price of $264k. Maybe Across the Spider-Verse gave this one some momentum because it surpassed the previous record sale of $241,200 from 2021.
The Green Goliath’s first appearance may not have broken any records Sunday, but it went home for a gargantuan price of $138,000. Graded at an 8.0, the record holder remains the $188,006 from two years ago.
The Flash may be underperforming at the box office (despite it being one of the best movies the former DCEU has delivered, but I digress), but Barry Allen’s premiere issue is still earning values worthy of its holy grail status. It doesn’t hurt this graded 8.0’s collectability that Showcase #4 is also considered the beginning of the Silver Age of comics. Sunday saw a graded 8.0 sell for $132,000, which shattered the previous high of $84,000 from 2016.
Wrapping up the 10 biggest sales so far in June, we have the comic that kickstarted the Marvel age, Fantastic Four #1. With the FF’s MCU debut on the horizon, it will put more emphasis on owning what was already one of the most sought after keys in all the Silver Age. During the Heritage Auction, this particular 8.5 universal label went for $117,000. While still a massive price tag, it pales in comparison to last year’s $350k.
