So you've got a less than pristine comic book in your collection? Perhaps there's a giant rip in its cover? Don't despair; it may still be worth something. Indeed, if it happens to be one of the world's oldest and most sought-after comics, it could still be worth six figures.
A copy of Action Comics #1 from 1938, the very first comic book to feature Superman, went under the hammer this week on auction site ComicConnect.com for $175,000, the site announced Wednesday. The buyer's name was not released.
There are only about a hundred copies of Action Comics #1 left in the world. This one was discovered by Minnesota man David Gonzalez, wrapped between old newspapers in the insulation of an abandoned house he was fixing up. He'd bought the house for $10,000 -- less than a tenth of the comic book's worth.
It would have been worth more but for Gonzalez' wife's aunt, who grabbed the rare copy when Gonzalez showed it to her, according to the Star Tribune. Gonzalez grabbed it back -- and the front cover ripped off.
That downgraded the copy from a 3.0 to a 1.5 on a 10-point scale used to assess the condition of comics. Without the tear, experts say, it could easily have fetched a quarter of a million dollars or more.
An 8.5-graded copy of Action Comics #1 sold in March 2010 for $1.5 million. An almost-mint 9-graded copy, owned by Nicolas Cage, was sold the following year for a record $2.16 million.