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Huge Golden Age Comic Auction in Pawnee, Oklahoma

Started by Shark,

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Shark

Shark

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I just got back yesterday afternoon from attending an estate sale of the largest Golden Age comic collection I have ever seen in person. I drove up to Pawnee, OK (about 100 miles from my house) on Friday for the 5-hour preview session. There were so many books I didn't get to look at all of the books I wanted to even though I was there all 5 hours. I then drove back yesterday morning for the auction.

 

To make a long story short, this collection was incredible. Early Action Comics, early Batman and Detective Comics, Superboy #1, Adventure Comics #247, Lois Lane #2, Showcase #4 and #13, early Wonder Woman and Sensation Comics....just a ton of great old Golden Age books.

 

Here's a link to the auction results:

 

Golden Age Comic Auction

 

I managed to pick up 5 small lots (basically the scraps). The dollar total for each lot is updated to what that lot actually sold for. Crazy, crazy numbers on some lots. There were internet and phone bidders spending BIG bucks on some of these lots. Maybe a boardie or two? hm

 

Anyway, you can see that some lots went for $4,000, $5,000, $6,000, $7,000 each. All told, the comic book collection brought in about $130,000 (probably more than the house sold for)! The comic book market is alive and well (at least for Golden Age comics anyway). :)

 

Each lot on their website shows a group picture. I also took a bunch of pictures on Friday. I've attached some of those pictures below and will include more as I get time. Enjoy! :cloud9:

 

th_Showcase413_zps0138254f.jpgth_SensationComics4950_zps89c32c25.jpgth_SensationComics5559_zpseb8727a1.jpgth_Superman4751_zps0906a92f.jpgth_Superboy1AdventureComics247_zps7a8707d7.jpg

 

th_MarvelMysteryComics6773_zps9b329601.jpgth_KidColtOutlaw2425_zps0fd5b390.jpgth_KidColtOutlaw2627_zps3412f811.jpgth_LarsofMars11PlanetComics64_zpsb24c3f64.jpgth_Superman5254_zpsad4059fe.jpg

 

th_WorldsFinest1421_zpsc2791818.jpgth_WorldsFinest3942_zps8bfc6a2c.jpgth_WonderWoman1016_zpsc7e03ce2.jpgth_ThrillingComics4152_zpsc598f93a.jpgth_WeirdTales7475_zps1415ff5e.jpg

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Shark

Shark

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which dealers showed up to bid?

 

Myself and All Star Comics from OKC and Josh from Missouri Comics (Springfield, MO). Didn't know any of the other bidders. There were actually only 9-10 floor bidders. One internet bidder and one phone bidder took most of the higher dollar lots. That really put a damper on the auction for those of us who did show up in person. :(

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Shark

Shark

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Looks like most of it is low to mid grade so I would say some very strong prices paid. The coverless Batman lot may have been a good deal depending on how old the issues were.

 

Yeah. Everything I was able to look at on Friday was in the Good to Very Good range with most leaning towards the VG side. Very few books were close to Fine.

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DvilleBookstore

DvilleBookstore

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We were there along with Missouri Comics. We won 13 lots, including the coverless Batman lot. There were 2 internet bidders and one phone bidder who did the most damage. The phone bidder was a collector out of Texas who I won't name. He paid extremely healthy prices for what he won, which was just about all the hero lots. If the prices are still posted, look at the Captain Marvel/Whiz/Master comics lots. This was a great reader copy original owner collection. This was not a high-end, cgc type collection but it was nice to see something like this come to market in a venue where some of the mid-level guys, like myself, have a chance to pick up some hard to find inventory.

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Dr Chaos

Dr Chaos

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Someone stole this lot for $650:

 

Lot of assorted comics

Wow Comics No. 34, 40, 41, 50, 56, 60, 64, 65 The Kilroys No. 37, 38 Planet Comics No. 53, 54, 56, 57, 63 Funny Stuff No. 44 Funny Forks No. 4, 24, 49 Giggle Comics No. 45, 58 65, 67, 73 Ace Comics No. 103, 107, 116, 128, 131, 138

 

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Shark

Shark

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We were there along with Missouri Comics. We won 13 lots, including the coverless Batman lot. There were 2 internet bidders and one phone bidder who did the most damage. The phone bidder was a collector out of Texas who I won't name. He paid extremely healthy prices for what he won, which was just about all the hero lots. If the prices are still posted, look at the Captain Marvel/Whiz/Master comics lots. This was a great reader copy original owner collection. This was not a high-end, cgc type collection but it was nice to see something like this come to market in a venue where some of the mid-level guys, like myself, have a chance to pick up some hard to find inventory.

 

You must have been the guy sitting close to the comic tables. I saw you had Texas plates as I was leaving. I was the one in the dark green windbreaker sitting next to Josh (Missouri Comics).

 

And if you're mid-level, I must be low-level. lol It always seems like these great collections come up when I'm mostly broke. :cry:

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DvilleBookstore

DvilleBookstore

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That was me Shark. I saw you taking the pictures Friday and I was wondering if you were doing market research or scouting for somebody. I am glad you posted the pictures on here. It was cool see the comics in person. It is hard for me to believe the prices they were getting from on-line and over the phone when they posted poor pictures and very little in the way of descriptions on the website. That is taking nothing away from the auction company because they did an overall good job, they just don't have the experience with comic books.

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Shark

Shark

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That was me Shark. I saw you taking the pictures Friday and I was wondering if you were doing market research or scouting for somebody. I am glad you posted the pictures on here. It was cool see the comics in person. It is hard for me to believe the prices they were getting from on-line and over the phone when they posted poor pictures and very little in the way of descriptions on the website. That is taking nothing away from the auction company because they did an overall good job, they just don't have the experience with comic books.

 

Cool. I have more pictures to post. As soon as I get the chance (probably early this evening), I'll add more pics to this thread. (thumbs u

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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

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Thanks for the info and pics of the auction.

 

I'm curious, did they allow you to inspect the books before the auction. I'd be afraid to bid that high on most of the better lots considering the pics leave a lot to the imagination and the books aren't graded and could be incomplete.

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Shark

Shark

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Thanks for the info and pics of the auction.

 

I'm curious, did they allow you to inspect the books before the auction. I'd be afraid to bid that high on most of the better lots considering the pics leave a lot to the imagination and the books aren't graded and could be incomplete.

 

Yes. They did allow us to inspect the books on Friday during the 5-hour preview session. That's the worst thing about bidding by phone or on the internet. It's basically a krap shoot if the books are complete and everything's attached.

 

I did find a number of books on Friday where covers and centerfolds were detached or partially detached. I believe they were all complete though (at least the ones I looked at).

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Senormac

Senormac

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WOW !!! Thats so amazingly awesome, that old comics are still surfacing these days..... today..... that no one has seen in years !! :applause:

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Shark

Shark

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WOW !!! Thats so amazingly awesome, that old comics are still surfacing these days..... today..... that no one has seen in years !! :applause:

 

I met the brother of the guy who passed away on Friday. When I asked him if his brother died just last week he said "Oh, no. He's been gone about 4 or 5 years now." So apparently this guy's house (and the comics I assume) sat for those 4-5 years before they did anything with them.

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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

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Thanks for the info and pics of the auction.

 

I'm curious, did they allow you to inspect the books before the auction. I'd be afraid to bid that high on most of the better lots considering the pics leave a lot to the imagination and the books aren't graded and could be incomplete.

 

Yes. They did allow us to inspect the books on Friday during the 5-hour preview session. That's the worst thing about bidding by phone or on the internet. It's basically a krap shoot if the books are complete and everything's attached.

 

I did find a number of books on Friday where covers and centerfolds were detached or partially detached. I believe they were all complete though (at least the ones I looked at).

 

tks :foryou:

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