Summary
- A nearly pristine Superman No. 1 (1939), graded CGC 9.0, sold for a record-breaking $9.12 million USD at Heritage Auctions
- This makes it the most valuable comic ever sold, dethroning Action Comics No. 1’s previous record of $6 million USD
- The book was discovered in a Northern California attic among the late owner’s childhood belongings, fulfilling a family legend
A nearly pristine copy of Superman No. 1 from 1939 has become the most valuable comic book ever sold, hammering at $9.12 million USD at Heritage Auctions and redefining the upper ceiling of the collectibles market.
The book, graded a CGC 9.0, emerged from a Northern California attic where three brothers finally sorted through their late mother’s belongings and uncovered a small stash of Golden Age comics she had bought as a nine-year-old in Depression-era San Francisco. The discovery flips the classic “mom threw away my comics” narrative. This mother preserved hers, quietly insisting for decades that she had “rare comics somewhere,” a family legend that turned out to be very real once the box surfaced.
Heritage positioned the sale as a once-in-a-generation event, with executives calling it a milestone in pop culture history and underscoring how condition, provenance and mythic backstory can elevate a single issue into blue-chip art territory.
The attic copy dethrones previous record-holders like Action Comics No. 1 at $6 millionUSD and earlier high-grade sales of Superman No. 1, signaling that top-tier superhero keys remain a safe haven even as broader comic prices cool.
