Rare Batman Comic Found In Attic
It seems that a man in western Pennsylvania found a rare, near mint, Batman comic, Detective Comics No. 27. This pre-World War II comic featured Batman’s debut. He discovered this rare comic in an attic while cleaning. He took it to a local collector, Todd McDevitt, who purchased it from him. McDevitt says that the comic has a value of about $250,000 although he declined to reveal the exact amount he paid for the comic himself.
Two things pop out to me in this story.
First, the collector says he hasn’t read the comic yet even though he’s been looking for this particular one for years. This kind of collecting things just doesn’t register with me. It’s like the act of ownership of the rare item is more important than the item itself. Sure, it shows a lot of personal financial success to be able to pay for something that expensive, for that I salute him. But I’ve just never understood the reason why behind buying rare wine, guitars, cars, comics, or whatever and never putting them to use. What do you think? Do you have an explanation for this?
Second, cleaning out your attic can yield some valuables, sometimes truly amazing ones but usually ones of lesser value. Sometimes cleaning out someone else’s junk, like I mentioned in my article Tips for Successful Storage Unit Auction Buying, can lead to the discovery of some diamonds in the rough. You’ve got to wonder though if the finder and seller of this comic got top dollar for it. We don’t know since the terms of this sale weren’t disclosed. If you found a potentially rare item what would you do? I’m not exactly sure myself but I certainly wouldn’t sell it to the first offer I got unless I was desperate for cash.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let me know.
Can you even begin to imagine what it must feel like when the guy on the other side of the counter tells you that the comic book in your hand is worth quarter of a million dollars? I have scoured my parents home from top to bottom, in the hopes of finding anything that would even remotely approach this kind of find — but no, nothing.
What were they thinking? Weren’t they Batman fans? Why didn’t they run out when they were kids, buy a copy of Detective Comics number 27, enshrine it in plastic, and tuck it away in the attic so that my brothers and I could pay for college?
Hi Nothing,
I sold off the bulk of my comic collection a few years ago for a few hundred dollars. I kind of regret selling it now but I needed the cash. I mostly had a bunch of early 1970’s Conan the Barbarian comics. My son will probably be like you, wishing I had put them aside for him.
If I had something truly valuable I would sell it the same year I started to receive my social security checks. Want to be sure I get some fun out of the money but not have to pay too many taxes on the sale. I sure wish I had my old comic books now. I loved Dennis the Menace in Washington D.C. Remember that one?