A pristine copy of “Superman” No. 1 sold for $9.12 million at Heritage Auctions on Thursday, November 20, making it the most expensive comic book ever sold at auction. The closing price beat the record previously set by the sale of a copy of Action Comics #1 which sold for $6 million through Heritage Auctions in 2024.

The iconic first issue of Superman comic was part of a trove of comic books found by three brothers in Northern California who were sorting through their late mother’s belongings. The collection had been tucked under a pile of old newspapers and cobwebs in the attic of their family home, according to a press release from Heritage Auctions.

The copy of “Superman” No. 1 was graded 9.0 on a 10-point scale by the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), a third-party service that authenticates and grades collectibles, including comics, trading cards and video games. It’s the highest-ever graded copy of the 1939 comic book.

Superman made his comic book debut in 1938 in “Action Comics” No. 1, an anthology comic often credited as marking the beginning of the superhero genre in comics. The character got his own series in 1939.

In addition to the launch issue of “Superman,” the mother’s comic book collection included issues of “Action Comics” Nos. 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21.

This copy of “Superman” No. 1 is one of just seven known with a CGC grade of 6.0 or higher. A CGC graded 8.0 copy of “Superman” No. 1 sold for $5.3 million in 2022. The grade of 9 means “Very Fine/Near Mint”. The scale only goes up to 10, and this is the highest grade ever given to a copy of this issue. It is believed that the even, dry climate in California contributed greatly to the preservation of the comic in its current condition.