RUNNEMEDE, NJ, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 – Comic books featuring superheroes including Batman, The Avengers, Superman, Thor and others smashed records at auction this weekend. The bidding was topped by a $1.47 million price tag for a rare copy of Batman #1, the first comic dedicated exclusively to The Dark Knight, and was an all-time record for the comic in its grade. The auction was hosted by Goldin, the leading marketplace for trading cards, collectibles and memorabilia and was the company’s first non-sports auction.
In addition to the massive price paid for Batman, the auction boasted a copy of the 1962 Marvel “Amazing Fantasy” #15 comic featuring the first-ever appearance of Spider-Man, which sold for $707,000. It also included a comic featuring the first-ever appearance of Thor, which sold for $319,800, an all-time record for this comic in any grade.
In total, the auction finished with more than $10.7 million in sales, and included several highly sought-after comic books as well as some of the rarest retro and modern video games and trading card items ever, dozens of which set all-time highs for sale prices in their grades. Select notable items from this auction include:
“Batman #1,” featuring one of the most iconic covers from the Golden Age of comics, drawn by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, released in March of 1940. It sold for nearly $1.5 million.
- 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 Copy of Avengers #1, one of only five copies to achieve such a high grade (CGC 9.6): $369,000 (an all-time record for Avengers #1 in any grade)
- 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
Pokemon card portrays Tsunekazu Ishihara, the president of The Pokemon Company, accompanied by the Pokemon Rotom and a Master Ball. It sold for just over $236,000.
- A 1939 Superman #1 comic, the first comic dedicated to Superman (graded CGC 1.0): $137,760 (an all-time record for this comic in this grade)
- 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)
The auction description states that the classic comic has the spine of the cover completely split & cover & centerfold re-attached with tape. Despite the damage, it sold almost $138,000.
- 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)
