Posted in: Comics | Tagged: action comics 1, dc comics, jerry siegel, joe shuster, vintage comics

Action Comics #1 CGC 6.5 Sells For $625,000

Published Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:00:06 -0500

Last updated Fri, 03 Jun 2011 22:44:21 -0500

An Action Comics #1 CGC 6.5 has sold this week for $625,000 at Comiclink. I almost stuck a Volume 1 in that title, but you can insert your own Action 1's will soon be common due to the DC relaunch/renumbering comment here.

But of course, there will never be another book like this. In 1938, Action Comics 1 introduced the world to Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, changed the world of comics and all of entertainment, and over the subsequent 73 years Superman has become one of the world's best-known fictional characters.

Two copies have sold for a million dollars or more in recent times — last year, a CGC 8.5 copy sold for $1.5 million, and a CGC 8.0 copy sold for $1 million.

This Action Comics #1 CGC 6.5 copy is the 5th best copy known to exist. 3 better copies have been certified by CGC, and the best copy, from the Edgar Church pedigree, has resided in a private collection for decades and is widely regarded as the most valuable comic book in the world.

As it stands, this $625,000 sale is the 6th highest price ever paid for a single comic book. This particular copy is from what is known as the White Rose collection and was sold by Heritage in 2003 for $120,750, and resold in a private transaction some time after that.

There's a bit of irony that just as Flashpoint was getting underway, a Showcase 4 sold for $100,000 — and now in the heat of DC Relaunch mania, we're talking about a major Action Comics 1 sale. But I understand that the seller, well-known Superman, Batman, and movie memorabilia collector Peter Lutrario had arranged for this sale prior to these recent developments. Lutrario can be seen discussing this book and other pieces from his collection in this episode of Syfy's Hollywood Treasure from last year.