Pristine 1939 Superman Comic Sells for Record-Breaking 9.12 Million Dollars at Auction

A pristine copy of the 1939 comic book, Superman #1, has officially set a new auction benchmark, commanding a staggering $9.12 million at a Heritage Auctions event held in Dallas on November 20, 2025. This monumental transaction decisively cemented the comic’s status as the most expensive comic book ever sold at auction, significantly surpassing the previous record of $6 million, which was established in April 2024.

Remarkably, this specific treasure was unearthed just last Christmas season by three brothers hailing from Northern California. They discovered the comic while sorting through belongings in the attic of their late mother’s residence. The 1939 issue, which marked the first solo title dedicated to Superman, received a near-perfect grade of 9.0 out of 10 from the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC). This 9.0 rating is the highest ever awarded to this particular comic book. Experts attribute the exceptional preservation to decades of storage in Northern California’s cooler climate, where the book was tucked away inside a cardboard box beneath a stack of old newspapers. Heritage Auctions Vice President Lon Allen pointed out that this volume likely would not have survived had it been stored in the harsher Texas environment.

This newly sold copy ranks among only seven known examples rated CGC 6.0 or higher, putting it in superior condition compared to other famous copies, such as the Mile High and Davis Crippen editions. When Superman #1 first hit newsstands in the summer of 1939, it carried a modest cover price of just 10 cents, with an initial print run estimated around half a million copies. Today, however, fewer than 500 copies are believed to still exist in any condition. The content of the comic reprinted material from the debut Action Comics #1 while also introducing fresh narrative elements. These new additions were crucial, establishing key details about the hero’s origins, including the name of his home planet, Krypton, and introducing the Kent characters.

This colossal sale underscores the rapidly escalating value of historically significant collectibles that possess compelling backstories. Jim Halperin, Co-founder of Heritage Auctions, suggested that this new record might signal the beginning of a trajectory where popular culture collectibles ascend into the upper echelons of the auction world. The former record holder, a CGC 8.5 graded copy of Action Comics #1—the issue that first introduced the Man of Steel—fetched $6 million back in 2024. Max Spiegel, President of CGC, commented that the $9.12 million sale clearly demonstrates the robust health of the collectibles market and the strong confidence buyers place in CGC certification services.

The family responsible for this incredible find, consisting of brothers in their 50s and 60s, has chosen to remain anonymous. This discovery offers a twist on the typical narrative of discarded comics, as the mother had carefully preserved the collection for decades. She and her brother had acquired the comics shortly before the outbreak of World War II. Beyond the record-setting Superman #1, the collection also contained other rare treasures, including five early issues of Action Comics. This transaction, soaring past the $5 million mark, joins an exclusive club, becoming only the third comic book sale ever to cross that threshold—and all three landmark sales have involved Superman.