Goldin Shatters Auction Records for Rare Comic Books
The bidding was topped by a $1.47 million price tag for a rare copy of Batman No. 1.
Runnemede, NJ – 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:
• 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
• 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)
• 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)
“This is our first auction to solely focus on non-sports collectibles and we couldn’t be more excited with the results, as we blew past eight figures in sales right out of the gate,” said Goldin Executive Chairman and Founder Ken Goldin. “The interest in comic books, trading card games and video games has exploded into the mainstream in the last decade and the collector appetite is incredible. We’re also seeing the enthusiasm for superhero movies translating into surging popularity for comic books, which was reflected in our record-breaking Thor, Avengers and Superman sales. Our next non-sports auction will be in November so check your closets and your attics before then -- you might be sitting on a gold mine!”
Goldin has built a reputation as the trusted leader in trading cards, memorabilia and collectibles. So far this year, the company has already done over $260 million in sales. The auction was the company’s first to solely focus on collectibles beyond sports and featured 250 rare and valuable video games, comic books and trading card game items.
Goldin is actively accepting consignments for its future auctions featuring comics books, trading card games and video games that will take place in November. To inquire about consigning items, email info@goldinauctions.com.
