Pedigree Comics has reported that it brokered the sale of Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 9.2 for a record price of $392,000. Featuring the origin and first appearance of Spider-Man, Amazing Fantasy #15 is the most popular and valuable early Silver Age key, ranked as #1 according to latest Overstreet Guide listing (2015). It is the most valuable by quite a wide margin, and is also one of the most difficult Silver Age Marvel first appearance issues to locate in high grade.

Cover dated August 1962 (the same month as Thor’s initial appearance from Journey Into Mystery #83), Amazing Fantasy #15 is one of the hottest books on the market right now, with record sales in each grade being recorded over the past year or so. A copy graded CBCS 9.0 sold at auction in late March for a record price of $237,000, a CGC 9.4 example fetched a record $454,100 at auction in February, and a CGC 7.5 copy went for $73,500 in October 2015. The prior high sale for a CGC 9.2 was the one Pedigree Comics had made for $190,000 in their February 2009 Grand Auction.

According to the CGC census, only eight copies in the world (out of 2,495 so far submitted to the CGC) has graded higher than this 9.2 copy. Three are graded 9.6 (one of which sold for a record price of 1.1 million in March 2011) and only five in 9.4. Amazingly, only one other copy has certified at 9.2. High grade copies of this important comic book rarely change hands and when they do, it is almost always at record prices.

The book is characterized by great color strike, exact cover alignment, tight staples, sharp corners, and off-white to white pages. It is further identified by a small and unobtrusive date stamp (5-31) near the top left center of the front cover. The book does not contain any Marvel Chipping. It is the ninth nicest existing copy in the world as of this writing.

The transaction took over a few weeks as the seller and buyer could not initially agree on a price, partly because of the seller’s reluctance to part with it, but after numerous telephone calls over two weeks, the price of $392,000 was confirmed on Monday, May 9, 2016. The buyer is a high grade Golden and Silver Age collector who concentrates on keys and first appearance issues and is extremely happy with the book.

If you have any comic books to sell or consign, contact Pedigree Comics or check out their website at www.PedigreeComics.com. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns, contact Mr. Schmell at (561) 422-1120 or (561) 596-9111 or by email at DougSchmell@pedigreecomics.com. Mr. Schmell has been involved in the sales of many high grade CGC and CBCS investment quality Silver Age Marvel keys, either by purchase, brokerage or consignment, and he keeps all calls and information confidential for your protection.

Pedigree Comics is now accepting consignments for their upcoming June Grand Auction. The sooner you consign your books the more exposure they will receive. Pedigree promotes and advertises each auction and sends periodic newsletters to all of their over 22,000 customers announcing the auction items. Pedigree also offers cash advances for quality consignments so check the site for consignment instructions and get your books in now.

The higher the value of the comics sold in a Grand Auction, the more money the consignor takes home under Pedigree Comics’ Climbing Scale as follows:

10% Commission
for any consigned item that sells up to $10,000 (Consignor's Proceeds = 90% of the final bid price); 
9% Commission
for any consigned item that sells over $10,000 and up to $25,000 (Consignor's Proceeds = 91% of the final bid price); 
8% Commission
for any consigned item that sells over $25,000 and up to $50,000 (Consignor's Proceeds = 92% of the final bid price); 
6% Commission
for any consigned item that sells over $50,000 and up to $100,000 (Consignor's Proceeds = 94% of the final bid price);  
5% Commission
for any consigned item that sells over $100,000 (Consignor's Proceeds = 95% of the final bid)

There are three easy ways to consign your books to any of Pedigree's upcoming Grand Auctions. The only criteria is that the books must be CGC or CBCS graded and worth no less than $100. If you have high grade raw books that you want to have certified and sold in the Grand Auction, you can utilize Pedigree’s Raw To Riches Consignment Service, in which they will have your books certified under their account and will lay out all the CGC or CBCS grading fees in advance for you (refer to the website and their Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide advertisement for all the details of the Raw to Riches Consignment Service). 

To consign you can ship your books directly to their offices in Wellington, Florida. They will inventory, scan, and upload each book into the Grand Auction listing. The books will be listed under your personal account and you will receive email notification at the conclusion of the auction with a list of every consigned book that sold along with the winning bid made.

Email the scans of the books you wish to consign directly to them at DougSchmell@pedigreecomics.com. They will format and upload each scan onto their server and then put each book into the Grand Auction listing. Use a .jpeg format with the resolution set at 72 and the pixel width at 550 for optimum clarity. If you do not have a scanner you can use a digital camera.

You can upload your own scans, item information, book descriptions and reserve amounts, if any, by utilizing their Automated Consignment System. Just register onto the site and login, click the “Customer Page” tab under “Your Account” and then click “Consignments” (under the “Auctions” heading). You will then be able to enter the Pedigree Comics Consignment Management System and list your own CGC or CBCS certified books and magazines. Pedigree will receive an email once you have uploaded the scan and book information for each individual item into the system and they will then review the information imparted for accuracy. The items will then be added to the Grand Auction listing to be bid on. You will be amazed how simple it is to use the Automated Consignment System.

If you have any questions or comments about the consignment process, any of the auction lots in the upcoming June auction or about the Grand Auction in general, contact Mr. Schmell at (561) 422-1120 (office) or (561) 596-9111 (cell) or at DougSchmell@pedigreecomics.com. For any financial related and consignment payment questions, contact Pedigree's CFO, Lisa Shapiro, at LisaJoy@pedigreecomics.com and for any technical related questions or concerns, contact their Web Master at WebDesigner@pedigreecomics.com.