Captain America’s First Comic Book Appearance Sells For $3.1 Million
A near-mint condition comic book featuring the first appearance of Captain America was obtained by an unidentified buyer at an auction on Thursday for $3.1 million, putting it in the top five priciest comic books ever sold.
Captain America Comics No.1 was originally sold on newsstands in early 1941, nearly a year before the U.S. entered World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor. When it was first published, it sold for just 10 cents per book.
The cover features the now-iconic superhero punching Adolf Hiter.
“Smashing thru, Captain America came face to face with Hitler,” the cover reads.
The storyline introduces now well-known characters like the enthusiastic but frail Steve Rogers who undergoes a science experiment and becomes Captain America and his best friend Bucky.
The 81-year old book was given a grade of 9.4, per the Certified Guaranty Company which grades rare comic books. The book is among three copies in the world that rank so highly. One came up for auction just one other time. There is one existing copy that ranks 9.8, but it has never been made available.
Amazing Fantasy No. 15, which marked Spiderman’s first appearance in a comic book sold for a whopping $3.6 million in September 2021 which made it the highest-selling comic.