Batman #1.

The first issue in the Batman comic series. The first appearance of The Joker and Catwoman. SUCH an iconic comic. Being from 1940, it is such a great Golden Age comic. Now, the highest-graded issue is going on auction with Heritage. It has never sold before... What do you think it will sell for?

Auction ended! Sold for $2.22M including buyers premium!

The auction ends on the 14th. Enough time to challenge you guys to see who can get closest to the winning bid (including buyers premium). There has only ever been ONE 9.4 grade Batman #1 and it has no recorded sales. Let's go over some of the current stats so that you have something to think about as you make your guess.

Batman #1 Sales

The highest graded sale was a 9.2 that sold in 2013 for $567k. Only nine graded sales of this comic took place last year; four of those were restored labels, and one was CBCS. The grades ranged from 0.5 to 6.5 and the prices ranged from 12.6k to $117k.

Let's compare this to another iconic comics book, Action Comics #1 (of which there are so few sales we can't even create an estimated FMV). I know it may not be a fair comparison. Batman #1 isn't the "original" superhero.  However, they both launched incredibly popular franchises that went on to do amazing things. AC #1 is much rarer with only 72 issues in the CGC Census. The highest grade for AC #1 is 9.4 as well - this time (2.) However, they are purple (restored). In terms of blue labels, 9.2 is the highest grade. One of the 9.4's was auctioned off in 2019. It sold for $252k.

Looking at the current standing (I will try to update this as I see the bid change;) it is sitting at $2.22M. The highest sale of AC #1 was $3.2M for a blue label 9.0 back in 2014. That's INSANE(LY COOL)!

Batman #1 Quantities

There are 273 graded copies of this comic according to the CGC Census. The most common grade is split between 4.0 & 1.0 with 20 each. For the higher grades, there are:

(16) 8.0s
(6) 8.5s
(3) 9.0s
(7) 9.2s

Then the lonely 9.4 is the highest grade available currently. The current estimated FMVs for those grades start at $500k for an 8.0 and then $1.75m for the 9.2. The estimated FMV for the unsold 9.4 is $2.7M. The current bid is $2.22M (just a reminder.)

Extra Info Available to Heritage members

If you didn't see our blog about our partnership with Heritage, check it out. Heritage members (it's free) will get free access to extra data that only premium GoCollect members have access to currently. On the auction page of a specific comic, you can scroll down and see a link over to GoCollect. This started on the 14th so be sure to check it out! It's limited to the comics on auction.

What do you think?

At this point, I want to open it up to the comment section. Please let me know your guestimates or assumptions on this iconic comic getting auctioned off. Do you think it will go above and beyond the current estimated FMV? Let's see who can get closest to the winning bid (including buyers premium)! We will announce the winners.

Be sure to check out the auction HERE!