A
What happened
A rare copy of the 1938 comic Action Comics No 1 sold in a private sale to an anonymous collector for $15m (£11.2m). The copy was once stolen during a party at actor Nicolas Cage’s home in 2000 and was found in a California storage unit in 2011. Cage bought the comic in 1996 for $150,000, then sold it at auction for $2.2m six months after being reunited with it. Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect negotiated the $15m sale and said fewer than 100 copies of Action Comics No 1 are thought to exist.
★
Key insights
-
1
Association with a high-profile theft was cited as a value driver: Metropolis/ComicConnect CEO Stephen Fishler said the comic’s value rose sharply while it was missing and said its association with Nicolas Cage increased its value.
-
2
Recovery was compared to the Mona Lisa theft: Stephen Fishler compared the comic’s history to the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa, saying recovery helped turn it into an icon of American pop culture.
Takeaways
The Action Comics No 1 copy connected to Nicolas Cage’s 2000 theft has now sold privately for $15m.