An impeccable copy of Action Comic No.1, the first comic book ever to feature Superman, sold for more than $3.2 million in an eBay auction that closed Sunday evening. It’s the highest price ever paid for a comic book.
This sale broke the previous record of $2.1 million, when Nicolas Cage sold his own copy of the same issue in 2011.
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There were 13 bidders and 48 bids in total for the eBay auction that lasted 10 days – but the real auction war took place in the last few minutes.
Someone who offered $2.7 million at 8:58 pm EST was quickly outbid by another person bidding $3,207,752. The final price, $3,207,852, came in only 30 seconds before the auction closed. The first bid that came in on the first day of the auction, way back on August 14, was just a mere $1 million.
“The idea of sitting at $2-million was never really a risk in my mind,” Darren Adams, the collector who sold the comic book, told The Washington Post. “Too many people have such an interest in this book.”
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Action Comic No. 1 was published in 1938 and sold for 10 cents. Only 50 to 100 original copies still exist but many are in poor condition. The one that just sold for $3.2 million is believed to be in its original condition, with its pages still white.
A portion of the eBay auction proceeds is going to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
Have fun flipping through the Action Comic No. 1 issue here.
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