Results in Heritage’s first CGC-Certified Magazines Online Auction yielded prices well above their preauction estimates when it realized $118,224 in total sales. The sale proved popular with collectors, boasting a 100% sell-through rate by value and by lots sold.

“Nobody has ever done an entire auction devoted to certified magazines before, but the results showed there’s demand for this niche,” Heritage Vice President Barry Sandoval said. “Many of these are harder to find in the highest grades than comics from the same era, since the larger size made them harder to store.”

Nearly two dozen bidders made a play for Vampirella #1 CGC 9.4 before it closed at $7,200. Featuring the first appearance and origin of Vampirella, it features a cover and frontispiece by Frank Frazetta, art by Neal Adams and Reed Crandall, and a story by Forrest J. Ackerman.

The Playboy #1 Red Star copy CGC 7.0 saw bids from 34 collectors before it realized $6,600. A Red Star copy is rarer than the regular or the Page 3 versions, and this was only the fifth one that Heritage has sold.

The high grade Eerie #2 CGC 9.8 cleared $3,600, prompted by bids from 15 collectors. The first magazine-sized newsstand issue begins with a Frazetta cover and includes the first appearance of Cousin Eerie. According to the February 2020 CGC census, this copy is one of just two at CGC 9.8 with none higher.

Vampirella grabbed another top spot when the 1972 Annual CGC 9.8 finished at $3,360. The only known copy graded 9.8, with none higher, this issue with the notorious Asian skull cover and art by Jose Gonzalez includes the retelling of the origin of Vampirella.

MAD #66 Pacific Coast pedigree CGC 9.4 was pushed to $3,120. This issue comes with the JFK cover by Kelly Freas and includes art by Mort Drucker, Joe Orlando, Antonio Prohias and Dave Berg. It is one of just two copies with a 9.4 grade, with none higher, according to the CGC census.

Other highlights in the auction were MAD #58 Pacific Coast pedigree CGC 9.6 for $2,880, Spectacular Spider-Man #1 CGC 9.8 for $2,880, and Playboy #1 CGC 2.5 signed by Hugh Hefner for $2,640 and a CGC 3.0 for $2,280.

Sandoval said that even the discontinuation of some popular titles has not hurt the demand among collectors for magazines from years past.

“While both Playboy and MAD have recently ceased publication, it’s pretty clear that the classic 1950s-1960s issues of both are much sought-after in collectible condition,” he said.