Captain America’s Debut Comic Sells for $716,750 After Nearly 80 Years in a Cardboard Box

Long before Captain America became a pillar of the Avengers, he was a bold piece of propaganda printed on cheap newsprint. His debut issue hit newsstands in December 1940, a full year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that pulled the United States into World War II, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Its cover, drawn by creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, remains one of the most famous in comics. It shows the hero punching Adolf Hitler in the face, and the Heritage Auctions listing notes that he did so nearly a year before the U.S. entered the war.

Now one copy of that landmark issue has made headlines for a very different reason. A copy of ‘Captain America Comics’ No. 1 that spent nearly 80 years in a cardboard box sold for $716,750 at auction, according to NY Post.

The comic was graded 9.0 by CGC and was the top lot at Heritage Auctions’ Comic Books Signature Auction in Dallas in late September. It came from the Merrimack Valley Collection, a recently discovered trove of Golden Age books that were bought off the rack by their original owner and kept in the same box ever since.

The issue itself is a milestone. It contains the first appearance and origin of Captain America and Bucky, along with the debut of the Red Skull.

Heritage’s vice president, Aaron White, said the condition of the books was stunning given that they spent roughly 75 to 80 years in a cardboard box. He also said it was gratifying to see collectors respond to top-condition examples of foundational Captain America and Batman issues.

The price is not quite a record. A near-mint copy graded CGC 9.4 sold for $3,120,000 at Heritage in April 2022, which made it the fourth-most expensive comic ever sold at auction at the time.

That same copy had sold for $915,000 in 2019. At that point, it was a world-record price for the title, and it nearly doubled the previous record of $343,000 set in 2011.

Some reports put the final figure slightly higher. A syndicated report lists the Captain America sale at $722,143, while Overstreet Access reports the book hammered at $716,750.

The Merrimack Valley books did well across the board. The same syndicated report says a 2.5-graded copy of issue No. 1 realized $159,793, while a 9.0 copy of No. 9 went for $104,480. A Batman issue, ‘Detective Comics’ No. 68, brought in $478,573 for featuring Two-Face’s first cover appearance.

The sale also helped lift the auction house’s totals. The comic book auction reached $8.4 million, with a separate comic art auction adding $9.7 million, and the syndicated report puts the combined total of the two auctions at more than $18 million.

It is easy to see why the character still draws that kind of money. White told Antique Trader that people are drawn to the ideals Captain America embodies, and that the character has been in near-continuous publication since 1941, which has inspired generations of fans and collectors.

For a comic that spent most of its life in a box, it has become one of the most talked-about sales of the year.

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