Comic Books

Superman Valuations: Taking a Time-Out, Or Is Conservation to Blame?

Comic books from the Golden Age can fetch vast sums of money. There have been multiple sales for more than $1 million, echoing what has been seen in sports cards and other rare and prized collectibles. The value of key Superman comic books has brought some eye-popping prices in recent years.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates collectibles as an alternative asset class that competes for the same money that might have otherwise been invested into stocks, bonds or real estate. Some of the $1 million and higher prices seen in comic books have been driven by investors solely looking to make a profit. Those collectibles-investors have also been competing against hobbyists who have a passion to own the exact same asset.

A recent auction for the infamous “Superman #1” comic book from the Golden Age may bring at least some questions about how strong the market for the rare and high-end comic books. Then again, it may just bring questions about the harm that can come from alterations that are meant to conserve and add eye appeal.

The auction was for the prized Action Comics #1 from DC issued in 1938. It was graded CGC Conserved FN 5.5 with cream to off-white pages. Heritage Auctions had listed the Action Comics #1 as the placeholder for its June 2021 Comic and Comic Art auction. Based on other recent strong sales Collectors Dashboard had wondered if this auction might fetch more than $1 million. It did not.

The June 17, 2021 closing price of $528,000.00 (including the buyer’s premium) was based on 30 bids including registered phone bidders. The auction generated 10,391 page views and that might sound like there is still strong interest in Superman until comparing it to past examples. Heritage Auctions had noted that the conservation of the issue’s grade included replacing the staples in the spine, cleaning of the cover, and reinforcing of the cover itself.

A prior sample of the same grade sold for $956,000 in 2016 through Heritage, but this was the highest grade Heritage had sold in unrestored condition. That $6956,000 sale had also brought 50,960 page views.

Another example sale through Heritage back in 2003 was also an FN 5.5 grade, but that was for just $120,750 at that time.

The Action Comics #1 has a total universe of just 74 graded examples, but of those there are 32 examples which are restored. That leaves 41 examples in the Universal grade and just 1 example with a Qualified grade. Of those graded 5.5 by CGC, there are just 3 Universal examples and 2 restored examples.

Action Comics #1 is still considered to be the most valuable comic in the world. It offers a pulse on collectible comics from all ages, and any change in price could send ripples across the most coveted comic books sought by collectors and investors.

Lower prices and lower page views for the June 17, 2021 auction may be due to the heavily restored status. Staples on the spine were replaced and the cover was reinforced and cleaned in an act of preservation. The restoration will make the issue last longer and will give it stronger eye appeal, but some collectors and investors will avoid a prized comic book that has seen this much conservation.

Cleaning coins is discouraged because of visual changes in appearance, and cutting or altering old baseball cards is a definite no-no for collectors and investors. The term “conserved” is generally a museum term used to blanket the work that was done.

In an article for the Harvard Library titled The Art of Comic Book Conservation the author Thomas Dobson points out that comic books by design were meant to be a disposable media. According to comic grading standards any replacement is seen as a downgrading event in value however beneficial to the life extension of the comic with the new rust resistant stainless-steel staples.

If the bidders and watchers were poled, there may have easily been thirty different opinions on the cosmetic enhancements used in preservation of the issue.

This $528,000 sale price for the conserved example was handily lower than Heritage’s same grade but unrestored example from 2016 that sold for $956,000.00 — based on 20 bids but receiving 50,959 page views at that time. It is likely that this auction will be deemed as a comparative upset. What could have been a new explosive trend in “upgrading” mid-level graded comics may now be seen as a negative marker for future sales of conserved examples of prized comic books.

One description of the unexpectedly high sale of the CGC grade 5.5 from 2016 was that it would cause unknown issues to surface in response to the money to be made. Will the opposite be true for this particular conserved sale?

In some cases, conservation may seem to be the only logical solution. Investors and collectors alike now have at least some proof that well-intended conservation may affect the value of a prized asset.

Categories: Comic Books

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