Many collectors steer clear of anything from the Golden Age. We all think that the prices would be way out of our league. However, if you sacrifice a little on the grade you can score some gorgeous books almost guaranteed to rise in value. Below I have 5 Golden Age books with an FMV lower than $300 in 6.0 Grade. I want to be able to show you that anyone can own a piece of comic book history for the right price.

 

Crime SuspenStories #24 (1954)

Published by Entertaining Comics (EC, known as Educational Comics beforehand) this book features 4 murder and suspense stories. The first story is about a man who murders a look-alike millionaire in order to claim his place in life. As a result, he comes to find out the man he killed also committed a witnessed murder and gets arrested regardless. No FMV is currently listed and the last one to be sold at a 6.0 grade sold for $293 in June of 2020. Four years prior it sold in the same grade for $145. There 63 total copies in the CGC census with 17 of them being in the 5.0-6.0 range alone. This is a great book for any collector to hold proudly in their collection.

Superman #74 (1952)

This beauty is the 2nd Lex Luther cover in this series. Everyone loves owning a nice piece of Superman history so why not start here. Currently, there are a total of 105 copies in the CGC census. Twelve are listed as 6.5 with an FMV of $230. This makes this book easily attainable. With so little copies in the census, value is bound to only go up. Besides, you do not want to miss Lex trying to turn the Man of Steel to the Man of Stone!

Weird Fantasy #16 (1952)

Featuring adaptation of works by Ray Bradbury, this book is a steal. Another book is listed with the same issue number published in 1950, but it actually is the 4th issue in the series. This is the actual issue 16. The census shows 119 books total being graded. Thirteen of them being in the 6.0-6.5 range. Current FMV is $210 at a 6.0 and $230 in the 6.5 grade. As I stated, you can own a Golden Age beauty for less than most modern books are selling right now. The most recent sale was a 6.0 in March of 2020 for $169.50.

Captain Marvel Adventures #50 (1945)

Imagine owning a book by Fawcett Publications. Now you don't need to imagine! Many know Billy Batson as Shazam but before that, he was Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel loses his power but Billy Batson somehow has them. This issue also has a 2 page National War Fund story about a teacher capturing a German town. Can't beat history with a great story. As of now there are 76 books in the census. A 7.0 sold in March of 2020 for $253.99. You can't beat the price or the value.

Sensation Comics #92 (1949)

The Amazons join forces with the warriors of Infanta to battle the Duke of Deception. This 52-page beauty features Wonder Woman on the cover holding scales. You even get to see, well if you want to call it that, Wonder Woman's Invisible Plane. I left one of the best for last. This book has a very low amount on the census. As a result, this book will maintain much of its value easily, at least I believe so. Two books with a grade of 6.0 sold this year, one for $264 and one for $320, still making this easy to grab. The issue is trying to find one for sale.

 

Golden Age Goodness Bottom Line

Golden Age books remind us of a time long ago. When comics were created for the readers and not for the various variants. These also provide a piece of history that we should hold on to. Although you can absolutely find many more Golden Age books in lower grades that are keys, I chose these because of the grades. I figure starting off with a mid-grade Golden Age book, will whet the appetite for future books. I will be posting some more books that are reachable very soon. Till then feel free to comment with some finds or books you think should be on my next list.

Hope you enjoyed!

Till Next Time, Happy Hunting!

 

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