Think your comic book collection has some hidden value to it? It probably can’t compare to the recent auction of Amazing Fantasy #15, where the very first appearance of Spider-Man sold for $3.6 million as part of Heritage Auction’s Signature Comics and Comic Art event. That officially makes this issue the most expensive comic ever sold, beating the previous $3.25 million record set by Action Comics #1.
What made this issue especially valuable was its grade from Certified Guaranty Company, as the comic is essentially in near-mint condition with a CGC of 9.6 out of 10. For a comic book that was printed in 1962, it’s an incredible feat for it to be in what can be considered close to flawless condition.
This isn’t the first time that Heritage has broken records with comic book auctions–a 9.4 CGC-graded issue of Batman No.1 sold for $2.2 million recently–but it does come under increasing scrutiny for the company.
Having ventured into the collectible video games space, Heritage and video game grading company Wata have been accused of manipulating the market and artificially inflating the value of retro games for personal gain.
In a 52-minute video investigation, journalist Karl Jobst alleged that that Wata president and CEO Deniz worked with Heritage Auctions co-founder Jim Halperin to take advantage of the speculator’s market of classic video games, leading to astronomical prices such as a copy of Super Mario Bros. being sold for $2 million.
