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Action comics #1 for $1800.00
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Started by earlyactions-migration,

47 posts in this topic

FFB

FFB

Posted
Posted

What's the date of the article? That's pretty cool. That must have been right before Beerbohm sold the (IIRC) Reilly/San Francisco copy of Detective #27 to Burrell Rowe for $2000 back in the 1970s.

 

thought collectors would enjoy this read. 924728-0914b003.jpg
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tth2

tth2

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Posted
What's the date of the article?

Just figure out Bruce Hamilton's age when he passed away, and then work backward to when he would've been 40 years old.

 

I was struck by the statement that there were only 9 copies in existence. Did people ever really believe there were only 9 copies of Action #1?

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Aman619

Aman619

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i dont know, but back then, there WERE probably only 9 known copies. And probably only 90 known collectors!! Comics collecting was in its infancy. BTW - I was in college at the time and remember hearing about the big sale on the news. Sure seemed like a crazy amount of money for a comic book to ME too! I was still getting em for 5 for a dollar.

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Norrin_Radd

Norrin_Radd

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whatever happenned to Mehdy, and that copy??

 

Mitchell Mehdy at the time of the purchase.

 

mitchell.jpg

 

 

"In the summer of 1973, I happened upon Lacey Listens, a weeknight talker on WBT in Charlotte, NC and was hooked - there was something about the young host Bob Lacey's easygoing style and informed interview technique that kept me tuning in.

 

Because I was a big comic book nut, I wrote to Bob Lacey and suggested some people that might make good interviews. Much to my surprise he had them as guests on the show. Artist Carmine Infantino, then the head of DC Comics, was one I remember - and I recently stumbled upon this recording of an interview with Phil Seuling.

 

This broadcast occurred right after a fellow named Mitchell Mehdy (right) made national news when he bought Action Comics number one for a little over $1,800. He was the laughing stock of the nation, but today that single comic book sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars! "

 

source - Phil Seuling inteview with Billy Ingram

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Norrin_Radd

Norrin_Radd

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From the Vanderbilt Television News Archive...

 

NBC Evening News for Tuesday, May 15, 1973

Headline: Superman Comic Books

Abstract: (Studio) 18 year old Mitchell Mehdy of California pays $1800 for first edition copy Action Comics Superman book.

REPORTER: John Chancellor

 

(Carmichael, California) [MEHDY - says Superman was first superhero. Comic book is priceless.]

REPORTER: No reporter given

 

Begin Time: 05:56:00 pm

End Time: 05:57:20 pm

TVN Record Number: 470259

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markseifert

markseifert

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Posted (edited)
What's the date of the article?

I was struck by the statement that there were only 9 copies in existence. Did people ever really believe there were only 9 copies of Action #1?

 

Years ago I had access to a near-complete run of Rocket's Blast, which was one of the major comic fanzines of that era. There were some articles on this sale or the Hamilton/Holstein sale, I can't remember which.

 

Somewhere along the line, one of these transactions apparently got picked up by newspapers around the country (perhaps this $1800 sale) and it's my impression that publicity was one of the significant events in slowly starting to bring Action #1's and other big books out of the woodwork. The impression I got from the articles was that before the publicized sale, Action #1's were virtually unheard of on the market.

 

This was discussed a little bit in one of Robert Beerbohm's threads:

http://boards.collectors-society.com/sho...part=3&vc=1

Edited by markav
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FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

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Mitchell Mehdy apparently still lives in San Diego, CA...

 

http://www.phantasm.com/hpages/GBJul00.html

 

Unfortunately, the email address link doesn't work.

 

 

 

Mitchell Mehdy, Attorney at Law

 

cardmitch.gif

 

 

Damn, I'm good. laugh.gif

 

Somebody call him and ask him if he knows where the book is now.

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