Superman #1 comic book sells for over $9 million

y_p_w

y_p_w

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This wasn't the first appearance of Superman, which was Action Comics #1. However, this is the highest price at auction for any Superman comic book. It was graded as a 9/10. Apparently found in the attic where the buyer purchased it when it came out. She had told her children that she might have some valuable comic books somewhere in the house.

Their mother bought the comic, along with several others, when she was nine and living in Depression-era San Francisco. Over the years, the mother occasionally insisted to her sons that she had “rare comics somewhere.” But she could never remember where, and the boys assumed it was just a family legend. The mother died just before the pandemic, and the house sat untouched until the brothers were ready to go through it earlier this year.​
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Superman-image-EMBED-2025.jpg
 
And my sister tossed my MAD Magazine collection WHEN WE SWITCHED BEDROOMS...and that's why I'm an axe murderer today.

Seriously, think of what's going through people's minds when they, who own too much stuff themselves, decide it's OK to toss other people's stuff.

And I realize the "mother tossing baseball cards" is a phenomena. The kid next door had his BC collection spread out over his bed on a Saturday. Mrs. neighbor tossed them.
 
SC Maintenance said:
Yours and everyone else's mother which is why there worth something today. If everyone had kept them they would be worthless.
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I’m reading that the original production run of Action Comics #1 was about 200,000, but there are maybe 100 known existing copies. They weren't thought of as collectibles, and apparently WWII paper recycling drives really reduced the number. Superman #1 was maybe 500,000, with surviving copies in the hundreds. But the value of this one came from the condition. They were considered disposable and many had stuff that was cut out such as posters or mail in forms.

Now worthless is a strong word. They’d still be valuable, but not in the million dollar range.
 
Just like old baseball cards some wealthy collectors will pay crazy amounts of money for something they want.
 
y_p_w said:
I’m reading that the original production run of Action Comics #1 was about 200,000, but there are maybe 100 known existing copies. They weren't thought of as collectibles, and apparently WWII paper recycling drives really reduced the number. Superman #1 was maybe 500,000, with surviving copies in the hundreds. But the value of this one came from the condition. They were considered disposable and many had stuff that was cut out such as posters or mail in forms.

Now worthless is a strong word. They’d still be valuable, but not in the million dollar range.
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If 1/2 million comics were still around it might be worth $100.

I don't know how comics are graded but regarding the Pete rose rookie card only a very small number of cards back then were considered "mint" when new. Had to do with them being centered on the card and the ink and so on. If all the Pete Rose rookie cards were still around his in mint might be worth $10K and the average one $100. Most ended up tossed or the victim of bicycle spokes. Good times :ROFLMAO:
 
SC Maintenance said:
If 1/2 million comics were still around it might be worth $100.

I don't know how comics are graded but regarding the Pete rose rookie card only a very small number of cards back then were considered "mint" when new. Had to do with them being centered on the card and the ink and so on. If all the Pete Rose rookie cards were still around his in mint might be worth $10K and the average one $100. Most ended up tossed or the victim of bicycle spokes. Good times :ROFLMAO:
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There’s bound to be normal attrition. But it’s not like today where collectors might even have one copy to read and another to put away in a protective bag.
 
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