CLEANING OUT THEIR LATE MOTHER’S HOUSE, THREE BROTHERS DISCOVER WHAT WOULD BECOME THE HIGHEST-GRADED COPY OF ‘SUPERMAN’ NO. 1
By Jesse Hughey | November 4, 2025
Three brothers were on their second or third day of the long-postponed task of sorting through their late mother’s belongings when they found their birthright hidden in a box of brittle yellowed newspapers tucked away in the attic. Cleaning out their family home in San Francisco during the holiday season last year, the brothers discovered a belated gift from their mom and late uncle: a near-mint condition copy of Superman No. 1 from 1939, plus a few other well-preserved copies of early Action Comics issues. These were the first adventures of what would become the most iconic comic character in history, the very symbol of truth, justice, and the American way, the origin and archetype of a global superhero entertainment and merchandise industry that in the decades to come would churn out billions – trillions, even – of dollars.
They had almost thrown the box away. Fortunately, the brothers decided to read a few headlines from the distant past to see if any provided a clue as to why their mother had kept these ancient newspapers. Then one of them caught a glimpse of the Man of Steel as he was first depicted, 85 years earlier.
This copy of 1939’s ‘Superman’ No. 1 earned a 9.0 grade from CGC, the highest grade ever bestowed on the issue. The book is available in Heritage’s November 20-22 Comic Books Signature® Auction.
Their mom had mentioned some potentially valuable comic books to the older two boys when they were little, but they were in their 60s now. The youngest of the three, their junior by eight and 11 years, had only heard about this inheritance secondhand from his siblings. It was essentially a family legend, as far as he was concerned. Now here they were, this debut issue and a handful of others from Superman’s first year on this planet, in the open air after having been protected for nearly a century by nothing but a stack of newspapers.
“The first thing we did was: My middle brother went and got a mylar sleeve for it,” the youngest brother says of their stunning find. “We at the time didn’t know quite what to do, didn’t have a plan. The new Superman movie was coming out, so we were like, ‘You know there will be hype around Superman. Let’s wait, make a plan, don’t do anything rash, then figure out what to do.’”
Even before calling the experts at grading service CGC to grade their newly discovered copies, the brothers were surprised at the good condition they were in. They had no firsthand experience with the grading process, but after some internet research on the matter, they were hopeful they were now in possession of some copies worthy of a 5.0 or maybe even a 6.0 grade.
Some three months after their discovery, the brothers contacted Heritage Auctions through the auction house’s website, and Heritage Vice President Lon Allen was in San Francisco examining their collection within a matter of days. CGC would bestow the Action Comics issues with grades varying from fine to near-mint, but most thrilling was the news about Superman No. 1. It achieved the highest grade CGC has ever given a copy of the issue: 9.0. Evidently the Northern California climate and the conditions in a box full of newspapers were conducive to the preservation of those comic book relics.
Matt Nelson, president of CGC, was astonished at their condition, particularly that of the near-mint Superman debut. “It’s almost unbelievable that, out of nearly a million copies of Superman No. 1 printed in 1939, only 200 have made it to CGC for grading over 25 years,” he says. “In addition to the considerable rarity of Superman No. 1 today, the fact that this copy is the most well-preserved CGC has ever seen is extraordinary.”
The unlikely near-mint condition is even more incredible when one considers how much the uncle and mother had loved the book and the others. Somehow, they managed to keep the pages clean, the corners sharp, the spine tight even as they read and reread it.
In addition to ‘Superman’ No. 1’s iconic cover art, Joe Shuster created the issue’s back-cover pin-up of the Man of Steel.
As the children of immigrants growing up in a cramped apartment in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the wake of the Great Depression and on the cusp of World War II, the young siblings had few luxuries. The two pooled their meager savings to buy a comic book featuring this new type of protagonist, Superman, and bonded over their love of his extraordinary acts of heroism. When they could afford to, they bought more.
As adults, the mother moved to the suburbs and raised a family while the uncle stayed in that Chinatown apartment, dedicating his life to teaching English to parishioners at his church. They remained close, and together they determined to pass along their treasured comics to her sons.
“Until then, she carefully tucked the box away, deep into the recess of the attic, hidden but safe,” the youngest brother says. “But as the years unfolded, life brought about a series of losses and changes. The demands of everyday survival took center stage, and the box of comics, once set aside with care and intention, was forgotten.”
Their mother, father, and uncle were all avid readers, and the boys similarly grew up with a love of books. Intentionally or not, the youngest brother says, that included comics, which all three brothers collected. The older two counted Superman, Batman, and X-Men as their favorite heroes while the youngest brother was a fan of the New Teen Titans. They collected DC and Marvel and early Image titles up into their early 20s. Their parents never discouraged them from buying and reading comics: “They were just happy we were reading,” the youngest brother says.
Now that all three brothers are parents themselves, their children share this love of reading, including comics, though they generally favor manga titles over superheroes.
As for Superman No. 1 and the others, they will be the headline items of Heritage’s November 20-22 Comic Books Signature® Auction and likely bring the family a life-changing windfall. A copy of Action Comics No. 1 sold for $6 million through Heritage in 2024. That issue’s condition was graded an 8.5 on a 10-point scale by CGC. The current runner-up for most valuable issue is a Superman No. 1 that sold for $5.3 million in a 2022 private sale. CGC graded that issue at 8.0, but the following year CGC raised the grade to 8.5, rendering it even more valuable. At 9.0, the brothers’ Superman No. 1 has a very good chance of taking that top spot.
Still, for the brothers, that premiere issue is more than just a comic book. “This isn’t simply a story about old paper and ink,” the youngest brother says. “This was never just about a collectible. This is a testament to memory, family, and the unexpected ways the past finds its way back to us.”
