Rare Captain America No. 1 comic sells for over $722,000 at auction

By Dean Murray

A Captain America comic has made $722,143 at auction.

The CGC 9.0-graded copy of 1941's "Captain America No. 1" was the headline lot in two comic auctions over four days, which took in a combined total of $18,310,880.

The Dallas-based Heritage Auctions sales also featured the original art for the cover of Detective Comics No. 68 from 1942, which featured Two-Face's first cover appearance and realized $478,573.

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The "Captain America No. 1" came from the Merrimack Valley Collection, a recently discovered trove of high-grade 1940–41 comics.

Other significant lots from the collection included the first nine issues of Batman. Its 2.5-graded copy of issue No. 1 realized $159,793, and its 9.0 copy of No. 9 — one of three copies at that grade with only three higher — went for $104,480.

"The Merrimack Valley Collection is a wonderful discovery," says Heritage Auctions vice-president Aaron White. "For an original-owner collection that spent the last 75 or 80 years in a cardboard box, the condition of the books was stunning. It was gratifying to see results prove that collectors appreciate top-condition examples of foundational Captain America and Batman issues."