If you missed the last episode, we’ll catch up with you again. Three brothers in Northern California had been sorting through their late mother’s belongings when they found a box in their attic. Their mother had told them about her comic book collection before, but they could never have imagined what they would see inside the dusty box.
A near mint condition copy of 1939 Superman No. 1. “The first thing we did was my middle brother went and got a Mylar sleeve for it,” the youngest brother told Intelligent Collector about the discovery. “At the time, we didn’t really know what to do, we didn’t have a plan. The new Superman movie was coming out, and we were like, ‘There’s going to be a lot of fuss about Superman. Let’s wait, let’s make a plan, don’t do anything rash, and then figure out what to do.'”
So they sent the book to a Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) to find out how close it was to new. And drumroll…it’s graded 9.0 and has off-white to white pages. Heritage Auctions called it “the finest Universal copy ever made” when it went up for auction.
Results available as of November 20, 2025. What was the final price? $9.12 million.
We recently learned that 9.0 Superman No. 1 sold for 7.6 million with a 20% buyer’s premium, making it the most expensive comic book ever sold. The sale broke the previous record set by Action Comics No. 1, which was rated 8.5 and sold for $6 million through Heritage Auctions in 2024.
Go to the replay to see the final bid amount.
“This new record may one day be remembered as an early step in the trajectory of popular culture collecting reaching the upper echelons of the auction world,” says Jim Halperin, co-founder of Heritage Auctions. “The value and historical significance of these objects has become even better known to collectors around the world, and thanks to Heritage Auctions’ reach and platform, their market value is more accessible and traceable than ever before. We are extremely proud of Heritage’s role in helping standardize, popularize and grow the collectibles hobby as a whole.”
“It was thrilling to see Superman #1 – the most exclusive CGC certified item in history – break all previous comic book auction records,” said CGC President Matt Nelson. “This result is a testament not only to the rarity and preservation of this comic and the strength of the comics market overall, but also to the expertise and trust that defines CGC’s role in the collectibles market.”
That leaves me with a few questions, dear reader. Does this sale emphasize the importance of grading and authentication? Will there be an even greater demand for more books as more people want to find the next big book? And finally, what do you do after you buy a $9 million book? Do you open a museum and charge people to see it?
Something like this:
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