Time to look at the recent Heritage Signature Auction. I wrote up a preview of the auction last month and today I'm going to take a look at how some of the notable results.
Suspense Comics #3 Mile High Pedigree CBCS 9.2
This was the most interesting book in the auction, for sure. I really had no idea where this would go. The Magik Woo copy, while lower in numerical grade was a real stunner, so I wasn't sure how much of a real premium point two plus the Church pedigree would garner. I think, at the most extreme you could have expected this book do double (or more) a copy one rung lower. It ended up doing 1.5x, which is healthy, but not outrageous.
I can't help but wonder what this book would have done if it had been the first out of the blocks.
Patsy Walker #1 Mile High Pedigree (Timely, 1945) CGC 9.4
$28,000 for a Church Timely #1 is a bargain.
Wonder Woman #1 (DC, 1942) CGC VF- 7.5 White pages
How does the buyer of the Rockford Copy in 2010 feel? They paid $16,2000 for a pedigree copy. 7 years later? How about $95,600?
For my part, I know a collector can only focus on so many books at once, but I can't help but feel like I should have gone all in to buy a Wonder Woman #1 back in the day. Oh well.
Joshua Middleton NYX #3 Cover and Concept Art X-23 First Appearance
I'm not sure what to make of this result. On one hand, I'm not one of those people who can't get his head around new stuff selling for big bucks. I'm cool with new books and art selling for big sums of money. On the other hand… $71,700! I mean, that's a big number.
Neal Adams Batman #222 Cover Beatles Original Art
See, this is where the "get off my lawn" happens. This classic Neal Adams cover sold for just slightly more than a Josh Middleton cover from a decade ago.
"Get off my lawn!"
This is still the 2nd highest price paid at Heritage for a piece of Adams art.
"Get off my lawn!"
And…. finally, one lot I didn't talk about before, but certainly need to mention now.
Robert Crumb R. Crumb's Fritz the Cat Cover Original Art
$717,000! This is the most valuable piece of comic art ever sold at Heritage. Can I get a "wow?" Wow! I don't talk much about underground comix as I know next to nothing about them (not entirely true, but true enough) but even I know this cover is a big deal. And the result? Crazy. Take that Wolverine! Take That Todd McFarlane! Take that Jack Kirby!
That's it for this recap. I'm going to follow-up shortly with a review of the epic ComicConnect John Berk Collection sale.
By vfighter June 25, 2017 - 8:26 am
Do graded books take some of the aura away from pedigree books when people see that "normal" books can have just as good as or better grade than a book from a pedigree? I think people lose sight of how amazing the Church books are due to the sheer size and quality of the collection overall when they are seeing just one book for sale and it barely grades better than another book. So many people have their own big comic book collections filled with high grade copies that they think it is just natural. But it isn't natural when the collection is 18,000+ Golden Age books in high grade, that is something on a whole other level.
By Rob June 25, 2017 - 10:47 pm
There is a bit of a difference in the way that pedigrees are treated. The thing about the church books is that they're so damned nice on an individual basis they still get a lot of attention. Pedigrees that are real quality still go very well because the number on the label is still high.
By vfighter June 26, 2017 - 9:16 am
But like you say, the 9.0 Suspense #3 selling a year earlier maybe took some of the wind out of the sails of the Church copy. I honestly thought the Church copy was going to hit as much as $500K. It barely did better than half that.
By Rob June 26, 2017 - 9:34 am
oh, i didn't see it going for that much. i think that would have been Earth shattering
By vfighter July 3, 2017 - 8:46 pm
There was a time when Church copies would sell for 3-5 times Guide, $500K would have been 5 times guide. But it seems like those days are gone, and my point is, slabs may be part of the reason why. When a non pedigree slab grades almost as hugh as a Church copy, why pay that 3-5 times guide price anymore?
By Rob July 4, 2017 - 9:16 pm
I think that the number on the label drives a lot of the multiplier these days, for sure. But the best pedigrees can still add a multiplier on top of just the grade. I think this is less of a factor with really unique books like these, but it can be a factor still.