The first comic book appearance of Superman is the DC Action Comics #1. This was previously the world’s most valuable comic book. That was then, and this is now. A very fresh sale of a restored edition may feel like a disappointment on the surface. The reality is that this is a very different type of sale than many of the other sales. There is also the case to make that this sale was not disappointing at all from a monetary evaluation.

Action Comics #1 DC from 1938 has been graded by CGC Apparent FN+ 6.5 Slight/Moderate (A-2). The restored comic was shown to have slightly brittle pages. It has just sold for $300,000.00 after 37 bids through Heritage Auctions. The number of page views that Heritage Auctions recorded was nearly 5,000 at the time of this printing (Image below provided by Heritage Auctions).

The controversy of restoring a comic book has been a concern for many investors of high-end issues. Still, preserving the current or past “most valuable comic book in the world” may be viewed as the only way to preserve this legacy for future generations.

For collectors, a restored comic creates a lot of opportunity as the majority have found themselves priced out of million dollar comic books. This $300,000 price tag and having seen 37 bids likely implies that collectors and investors may have both been involved here in this auction.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. This means collectibles are attracting the same capital that could have been invested into stocks or bonds. Collectors with a passion to own a collectible for years frequently have to compete directly against investors whose only desire is to make a profit in the future. Let’s just say that a $300,000 comic book sale, even if there have been comic sales for well over $1 million (or over $3 million!), easily fits within collectibles as an alternative asset class worthy for investors.

Collectors Dashboard has followed this comic book’s journey before and after it was overtaken by the first appearance of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 2021.

Another CGC 6.5 that had been restored was sold by Heritage Auctions on November 19, 2010 for $143,400.00 after 26 bids. That has seen 10,383 page views. Here are the offers that near identical graded issue has had since the sale as compiled by Heritage Auctions:

• $300,000 on May 30, 2021
• $231,000 on December 29, 2020
• $220,000 on June 1, 2020
• $210,000 on September 3, 2019
• $200,000 on November 20, 2011
• $186,420 on November 14, 2011

A CGC 6.5 may not seem numerically all that far from the CGC 8.5. That is the only comparison. Action Comic #1 graded CGC 8.5 was sold by ComicConnect in April, 2021 for $3,250,000, a world record at the time.

The website gocollect.com lists the entire graded population for Action Comics #1 at just 75 issues. Of the 75 graded issues, 28 of them are described as restored. Here are recent sales of unrestored graded Action comics in conditions comparable to CGC 6.5:

• Action Comics #1 DC, 1938 CGC Conserved FN- 5.5 sold for $528,000.00 on June 17, 2021.
• Action Comics #1 DC, 1938 CGC VG 4.0 sold for $573,600.00 on May 10, 2018.

Comic book collectors know what restoring a comic does to the value. The idea of a restoration is wanting to preserve something for the future. However affordable Action Comic became by having it restored, $300,000.00 is nothing to laugh at. Collectors and investors alike sure seem to see opportunity in such a low population of surviving examples.