From 1985's Overstreet #15.

The biggest news of the year was when the pristine-mint "Mile High" copy of Marvel Comics No. 1 sold for a staggering $35,000! This does not mean that every high grade Marvel No. 1 will sell within this range. In fact, three other high-grade copies changed hands in the $20,000 to $24,000 range. Obviously, possessing the most perfect copy of the most valuable comic book is worth a premium which that collector was willing to pay. We cannot close our 1984 books on "Mile High" just yet. More record prices were set at year's end. The "Mile High" copy of Action #1 sold to a dealer for $20,500 and Action Nos. 2-13 for $29,500. The dealer resold the set to a collector. The cash/trade value received for the No. 1 was set at $25,000. The "Mile High" copy of Batman No. 1 sold for the projected price of double the 1985 guide mint price. The "Mile High" copy of All-American No. 16 sold for triple the guide's mint value.

Based on the guide that year, the Batman #1 sold for something like $11,400 and the All American #16 sold for about $9000.

Was there ever a better year for books changing hands in the history of the hobby? All of those Church books? Even the recent $1,000,000 sales don't really compare because they aren't the legendary level of the books that traded hands all those years ago. Look at the roll call:

• The best Action #1 and the most valuable comic book in the world today. By any realistic measure a $3-5,000,000 comic book.
• The best All American #16 and a potential seven figure book.
• The best Marvel #1 and one of the ten most valuable comic books in the world.
• The best run of early Actions. Many or alll of which are likely worth more than six figures.
• Potentially the best Batman #1. If it is, it would also potentially be a seven figure book.

What a year!

Action Comics 2 DC Comics CGC 4.0

Winning bid: US $15,100.00 Seller: swapto (474)

Description:

Action Comics 2 – D.C. Comics CGC 4.0
Cream to Off-White pages

Featuring the second appearence of Superman!

Pictures are of actual item.

And the book:

This, of course, is the biggest book of the auction. Crazy that it could be a Bronze Age book but that's the hand we're dealt.

Not that I'm complaining. I'm a fan.

Anyway, on with the show:

Journey Into Mystery #106 White Mountain pedigree CGC NM 9.4 Off-white pages

There are several White Mountain books in this auction. Old labels even. Nice books. Here's hoping there's no SCS.

Let me use this opportunity to remind people that I would really, really, really, really like to buy white mountain Daredevils. Got any? Know where any are? Lemmeknow!
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This book now represents the 3rd, 4th and 8th highest prices paid for a comic book.

Here's what Heritage had to say:

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Oh, look, another list. This one is based off of a Google search I saw, so there's at least one person out there wondering what the most valuable slabbed books are. As always, I want to hear feedback on these books. Is there anything I missed? How would you rank them? Please feel free to share in the comments.

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Release Date

June 1938

Overstreet 39 NM- Value

$750,000

Best Known Copy

Mile High/Edgar Church copy (approximate value $2,500,000- the most valuable comic book in the world)

Highest Unrestored CGC Grade

8.5

Record Price Paid

$1,000,000 in a private sale by ComicConnect, February 2010. The 1st Million Dollar Comic Book

Significance

1st appearance of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster.

Why it's profiled

First Superman.

First superhero, period.

The book that forever changed American comics.

Of course it's going to be featured.

Clearly, this book is at the top of the hobby. The excitement generated by the recent Comic Connect sale was basically unprecedented and if a mid-grade copy can get people talking for two months straight and can garner coverage all over the mainstream media you know you've got a special book on your hands.

Test it out. Walk into a convention with even the most jaded collector or dealer and watch them gravitate to any copies of this book in the room. I know I get excited when I see an Action #1.

Now that's a comic.

Search for Action Comics #1 on eBay

Obviously this isn't a "pure" best sampling since I bought these with a discerning eye and obviously assumed these books would grade pretty well to send them in in the first place, but it's still interesting to compare the Heritage raw grades versus the CGC grades for some of the books in my latest submission (which came back this morning):

House of Mystery #186 and 189 Group (DC, 1970) Condition: Average VF

Came back: House of Mystery #189 CGC 8.5

Firehair Comics #10 Mile High pedigree (Fiction House, 1951) Condition: VF-

Came back: Firehair Comics #10 CGC 6.5

Green Lantern #12 (DC, 1962) Condition: FN/VF

Came back: Green Lantern #12 CGC 7.5

Green Lantern #14 (DC, 1962) Condition: VF-

Came back: Green Lantern #14 CGC 7.5

Green Lantern #16 (DC, 1962) Condition: FN/VF

Came back: Green Lantern #16 CGC 7.5

Green Lantern Group (#59 (FN/VF))

Came back: Green Lantern #59 CGC 8.5

The only one I'm disappointed in is the House of Mystery. I thought it was at least 9.0. Otherwise, I'm pleased with this submission.

In case you're wondering, I'll be posting the rest of the books later on today.

Great Result.

Unless you were the underbidder

Flash Comics #6 Mile High pedigree (DC, 1940) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages

Just because

Since I'm a complete idiot and never really thought of it, it was just today that I realized I had an image of the Mile high/Edgar church Marvel Comics #1 sitting not a foot away from my left elbow as I type this. Yeah, John Verzyl let Ernst Gerber photograph his books for the Guide, which means the Marvel Mystery run pictured is the Church run.

Which means this:

…is one of the most valuable books in the whole wide world.

I can't get a scan of the book from the inside, since it's against the spine, so this shot from the cover will have to do. It's good enough

John said it had excellent registration, and it appears that it does, being one of the most attractive copies of the book I've seen. Obviously the scan is too small and too cropped to guess at condition, but it's still nice to be able to give it a once over.