Heritage February Signature Auction Results
Published March 20th, 2008
The Heritage Galleries Signature Auction of vintage comic books and original comic art, held February 28 & 29, 2008 in Dallas, Texas, brought $3,291,301 for 1,558 lots.
“This was a very strong and impressive auction across all categories,” said Ed Jaster, Vice-President for Heritage, “with strong, above-Guide prices realized in many areas, and five $100,000+ consignors.”
“The top piece in this auction was a beautiful copy of Action Comics #7, the second cover appearance of Superman, CGC-graded VF 8.0 with off-white to white pages,” Jaster said. “There was quite a lot of bidding activity on this exceptional book, but when all the dust cleared, it emerged boasting a final price of $143,400, an amazing six times current Guide!”
“Golden Age books were strong overall,” said Jaster, “with an impressive selection in this auction led by a brilliant run of Mile High Adventure Comics, all offered unreserved. From key books to classic covers, Golden Age collectors had plenty to choose from in this auction, and the bidding activity, on the floor, on the phones, and on our new live bidding platform, Heritage Live, reflected the high degree of interest in these vintage titles. Aside from the Adventure run, other important Golden Age books performed well, including the Chicago copy of All Winners #1, which brought $83,650, a nice copy of Marvel Comics #1 that realized $71,700, and a More Fun Comics #52 – featuring the first appearance of the Spectre – that sold for $65,725.”
“Another strong area of the auction was our outstanding selection of original art,” Jaster said. “As expected, Carl Barks’ oil painting, ‘The Goose Egg Nugget,’ led the field here, selling for a strong $119,500. Charles Schulz’s Peanuts art maintained its high degree of desirability, including later pieces. We were very impressed to see a 1988 daily fetch $22,705, and a baseball-themed Sunday page bring an astounding $47,800, most likely a record price for Peanuts pages from this late date. It’s a testament to Schulz’s enduring popularity that his material continues to bring such strong prices auction after auction.”
“Aside from the big pieces, there were several other results that bear pointing out,” Jaster continued. “A copy of Walt Disney Comics and Stories #47, CGC-graded NM 9.4 with cream to off-white pages, brought $6,572, an impressive ten times Guide for a non-key issue. In a similar vein, a copy of Superman #111 from the Toronto Collection, CGC-graded VF/NM 9.0 with off-white pages, and also a non-key issue, fetched $2,390, seven times Guide. By the way, the magnificent Toronto Collection realized more than $100,000 in this auction. Also, the Stan Lee File Copy of Tales of Suspense #39, the origin and first appearance of Iron Man, which brought $2,875 when we sold it the first time in 2003, rang in at $5,377, an impressive profit for the owner!”
“We’re thrilled with these strong results,” Jaster said, “and we’re already hard at work putting our next Signature auction together. Keep the date on your calendar, May 22-23, 2008, as you definitely won’t want to miss this exciting event.”
