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Batman, Superman, Spider-Man comics set records in Goldin’s first non-sports auction
A rare copy of the Batman #1 comic book, the first comic dedicated exclusively to Batman, sold for a record $1.47 million during Goldin Auction’s first non-sports auction.
The auction also produced records for comic books featuring The Avengers, Superman, Thor and others.
The 1940 D.C. “Batman #1” comic, graded CGC 8.0, features one of the most iconic covers from the Golden Age of comics. The $1.47 million price tag was a record for the grade and was the highlight of Goldin’s $10.7 million auction.
The auction also featured a copy of the 1962 Marvel "Amazing Fantasy" #15 comic featuring the first-ever appearance of Spider-Man, which sold for $707,000, and a comic featuring the first-ever appearance of Thor, which sold for $319,800, an all-time record for this comic in any grade.
A copy of Avengers #1, one of only five copies with a grade of CGC 9.6, went for $369,000, an all-time record for Avengers #1 in any grade, while a 1939 Superman #1 comic also sold for $137,760, an all-time record for the comic in this grade.
“This is our first auction to solely focus on non-sports collectibles and we couldn’t be more excited with the results, as we blew past eight figures in sales right out of the gate,” said Goldin Executive Chairman and Founder Ken Goldin. “The interest in comic books, trading card games and video games has exploded into the mainstream in the last decade and the collector appetite is incredible.
“We’re also seeing the enthusiasm for superhero movies translating into surging popularity for comic books, which was reflected in our record-breaking Thor, Avengers and Superman sales.”
The auction also included several highly sought-after comics as well as some of the rarest retro and modern video games and trading card items ever, dozens which set all-time highs for prices in their grades. Among the notable items were:
• A 1996 copy of Super Mario 64 game (graded WATA 9.8/A++): $800,000
• A sealed 1985 Super Mario Bros. game (graded WATA 9.2/A): $676,500 (an all-time record for Super Mario Bros. in this grade)
• A 2002 1st Edition unopened box of Yu-Gi-Oh! “Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon” card packs: $584,250 (an all-time record for any Yu-Gi-Oh item)
• Bids for a Pokémon trading card auction to benefit charity headlined by acclaimed DJ, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Aoki totaled $431,730
• A 1991 copy of Sonic the Hedgehog (graded WATA 9.4/A): $430,500 (an all-time record for any SEGA Genesis game)
• A 1999 Pokémon 1st Edition Holographic Charizard card: $270,600
• A 1996 Super Mario 64 sealed game (graded VGA MINT 95): $246,000 (an all-time record for any public sale of a VGA graded game)
• A Pokémon card portraying Tsunekazu Ishihara, the president of The Pokémon Company: $236,160
• A sealed copy of 1988 Super Mario Bros. 2 (graded WATA 9.4/A+): $136,530 (an all-time record for Super Mario Bros. 2 in any grade)
• A 1985 NES Super Mario Bros. Late Production sealed game (graded WATA 9.2/A+): $124,230 (an all-time record for this version of Super Mario Bros. in this grade)
• A sealed copy of Mortal Kombat (graded WATA 9.8/A+), one of the most influential fighting games ever: $81,180 (an all-time record for a Mortal Kombat game)
·•A Nintendo 64 copy of GoldenEye 007 (graded WATA 9.4/A++), the game that revolutionized the first-person shooter genre: $59,040 (an all-time record for any public sale of GoldenEye 007 in any grade)
• A sealed 1995 SNES Chrono Trigger game (graded WATA 9.4/A+): $55,350, (an all-time record for any public sale of Chrono Trigger)
• A 1999 Playstation 1 Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes sealed game (graded WATA 9.8/A++): $47,970 (an all-time record for Marvel vs. Capcom in any grade)
• A 1992 SNES Street Fighter II sealed game (graded WATA 9.8/A++): $36,900 (an all-time record for Street Fighter II)
• A solid 24K gold Pikachu card: $29,520 (an all-time record for this card)
• A 2012 Xbox 360 Minecraft sealed game (graded WATA 9.6/A++): $12,300 (an all-time record for Xbox360 Minecraft)
Goldin plans to hold another non-sports auction in November.
