For well over half a century, DC and Marvel have been enthralling comic book readers with their stories of heroes and villains. Beyond that, though, they have also created a hugely collectible piece of history, with every #1 of a run from the Golden Age or Silver Age of comics being particularly valuable whatever their condition. Some examples of Spider-Man’s first appearance have sold for millions, and in an upcoming auction it is the turn of Captain America to grab his own piece of record-breaking history. In 2006, a copy of Captain America Comics #1 from 1941, when being printed by Timely in the years before Marvel Comics existed, would have set you back $96,686 if it was in excellent condition. Now it looks like it would cost almost three times that amount to get your hands on a graded CGC 9.0 copy of Cap’s first solo comic.
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The Star-Spangled Avenger was introduced to the world long before he teamed up with the likes of Iron Man, Hulk and others as one of the world’s greatest heroes. Captain America Comics #1 debuted both Captain America, the creation of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, and his then teenage sidekick of Bucky, as well as the villainous Red Skull, and appeared in print almost a year before America joined World War II. Despite that, the front cover shows Cap taking down Hitler in the name of world peace, and started a whole wave of patriotic superheroes, although none managed to capture the imagination quite like Captain America. As one of the most enduring characters in comic book history, it is therefore not surprising that when his first adventures come up at auction, they can attract plenty of attention from comic collectors.
One of the Highest Graded Examples of Captain America Comics #1
In the last two decades, the value of vintage comic books has soared – for the right combination of significance, scarcity and condition, naturally. While Captain America Comics #1 is a hugely influential and important issue in its own right, the rare piece has only been graded 216 times. The example going under the hammer with Heritage Auctions is the ninth highest graded of those currently out there in the world, which makes it one of the most coveted items in the whole hobby. For that reason, with days still to go on the auction, the bidding is already at $310,000, which is just under $380,000 with buyer’s premiums included. This is significantly higher than the famous Kansas City pedigree copy that went for just under $100,000 back in 2006.
The current bid is jaw dropping enough, but it may still be quite small compared to where the auction ends. Estimates of the item suggest that it could end up hitting a astronomical $448,000 or higher. This kind of Golden Age grail comes up at auction very rarely, as can be seen by the 20 year gap between this sale the previous one, so a battle worthy of Captain America himself is likely to take place as the bidding comes to close and several buyers attempt to secure it. If if goes beyond this estimate, then Captain America Comics #1 will join an elite list of the most valuable comic books of all time. It may not match the likes ofAmazing Fantasy #15 – Spider-Man’s first appearance – or DC’s first appearances of Superman and Batman, but half a million dollars is not an amount that anyone can call insignificant.
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