He added: “This isn’t simply a blurb of words and phrases. This is not just a stock statement from an LLM.

This is a testament to outsourcing, laziness and the unexpected ways technology finds ways to change every press release.”

Reminded me of an exchange I saw decades ago in some TV show or movie (I forget where it was from but it stayed with me):

Person A: “We’re going to be so rich.”

Person B: “How many times do I have to tell you? It’s not about the money.”

Person A: “It’s about all the things we’ll be able to buy with it.”

Person B: “Exactly.”

To them I’m sure it really is all that plus the $9M they get, but mostly the $9M.

Made me want to vomit

Did Silicon Valley VCs give that comic its valuation?

Yea, would he have said the same for some old worthless TV program magazine?

gotta add those "values" so the bidder got worth its money

Funny how the time of day affects the visibility of posting on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46002609 :)

Do you think a sculpture by a pre-civilization human is worth more than something banged out yesterday?

Heritage has great value. It is one of the few things that cannot be manufactured at will.

Also, since its uniqueness holds its value, its value becomes a "strange attractor". You can put a lot of money into one of these artifacts, fairly sure to get most or more back. Since future buyers will have a similar assurance. So it isn't money thrown away, but money stored in a medium the provides satisfaction and pride.

Not so different from buying real estate in some exclusive area for some crazy price. It really isn't that crazy if you are likely to get your money back later if you want. Likely at a higher amount due to a growing economy pushing prices up.

Crazy would be spending millions on something unique then grinding it up.

The salvator mundi was bought at an auction for $1.2k, restored & appraised, then eventually sold for $450 million. The art/collection world is fascinate everything latches onto experts putting their reputation on the line, precious metals and gem stones make way more sense to me as their authenticity is undeniable for now

Imagine some rich asshat at a pretentious cocktail party going

"I have a da Vinci at home."

Vs

(pointing at a picture on the phone) "I have this painting at home"

Which one impresses the other rich asshats more? Maybe even millions of dollars worth more.

Maybe not the one you're thinking, but this is notable recent case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvator_Mundi_(Leonardo)

The attribution to Leonardo is extremely dubious, but the whole thing seems to have been motivated as yet another attempt to wash the reputation of oil theocracies and their monarchs.

Let's say that I gift you a suitcase with ten thousand $100 bills that seem legit, but you're not sure. How much would you be willing to pay for a proof that they are indeed legit?

It doesn't sound right away to me:

>The brothers found six comic books, including Superman #1, in the loft underneath a stack of newspapers inside a cardboard box and surrounded by cobwebs in 2024, Heritage said.

> They waited a few months before contacting the auction house, but once they did, Heritage Auctions vice-president Lon Allen visited them in San Francisco within days, according to the auction house.

>The brothers, who have chosen to withhold their names, are "in their 50s and 60s, and their mom had always told them she had an expensive comics collection but never showed them", Mr Allen said.

It's more of an emotional reaction to the life-changing impact of $9 million, expressed that way, rather than a literal feeling to be taken word for word.

I agreed with the first sentence, but then the second one had me scratching my head. Could you clarify/expand on what you’re saying there?

It's not worth twice as much. There was a buyer willing to pay twice as much. For something like this, the fact that value is completely subjective really sticks out. Trying to sell it again tomorrow might go for half or double.

It really doesn't make sense to read a 9.0 condition key comic like this. If you really wanted to read it, you would be better off buying a second reading copy in terrible condition.

The cost of the reading copy would end up being less than the negative impact to the condition (and therefore value) of your mint copy from reading it a single time.

You can read it (illegally) here:

https://www.zipcomic.com/superman-1939-issue-1

And I dare say, someone spending 9 million clams on this comic book is more than likely going to have it sitting in a very UV-protected vault somewhere ..

EDIT: Sorry - I didn’t realize that zipcomic.com is infringing the copyright - adding this note to point that out, but I will maintain my original link as intended. Better to read it on DC Universe Infinite, if you have access, or maybe it’s available through Libby or Hoopla library apps.

You’re better off just getting UV protective film on your windows.

I ask because I think the price is only as high if the item in question is still cultural relevant.

Les Poseuses Ensemble by Georges Seurat was sold for $149m. Very few people have heard of it, care about it, or even like it considering it's pointillism which no one buys modern versions of. The world of art and collectables is entirely rich people speculating that the price (not value) will go up in the future.

It's valuable because we know with high certainty that it wasn't created using GenAI.

I would say something like this is an analog version of nowadays crypto currency.

The price is determined by the depths of pockets of buyers. High price for such items means only that too many stupid people have too much money in our time.

Really? After all the bogus valuations on HN, this one surprised you

The ha.com press release that this summarizes makes it clear that the mother and uncle bought the comics for their own enjoyment then decided to pass them down to the sons once they knew the comics were valuable. It doesn’t explicitly say they bought them on the news stand, but that’s the impression I get.

What's missing in the story is when did she buy it and how much she spent... Maybe it was an expensive purchase at that point already, like in 5 digits, and she invested a considerable portion of her savings?

I had a British edition of Star Wars #1 at my parent's house that an English friend gave me when we were kids back in the early 80's. I always wondered what it was worth, as I could only find price guides for the US edition. But when I finally got around to go get it a couple years ago, it was nowhere to be found. So the question became only academic.

the article explicitly states that this original Superman #1 is the highest graded copy of all-time

it’s valuable for the same reason the mona lisa is valuable. it’s iconic, it is a singular object, it is one of a kind, it is a stable investment vehicle. they ain’t making more of them.

An earlier submission of the auction house source had some details like it's one of only seven copies that have a grading score over 6.0 (it scored a record 9.0), and one of only 100 ever of any quality ever auctioned there.

Your question is why is issue #1 of a very old and popular thing valuable?

For how they could tell it was from the first run, it says in the article you referenced:

> For decades, Allen says, nobody knew of a way to distinguish which copies came from that initial run. Then a grader noticed a key difference in a small in-house promotional spot advertising the upcoming Action Comics No. 14. In the first run, those ads included text reading “On sale June 2nd.” Subsequent print runs had updated it to “Now on sale.”

Definitely not. It's CGC graded, and you can bet only their top graders would be involved. https://www.cgccomics.com/news/article/14678/superman-herita...

Why do you say that? I'm unfamiliar with Heritage Auctions.

Why? Similar comics have been sold for upwards of 6 mill, and this one is better graded.

The photo (scan?) of it looks like it could've been printed yesterday. Quite amazing that it's survived in such good quality.

As usual, generalising all of Europe based on your individual country is a mistake as there are some Euro counties where comics are quite popular. France, Belgium, Italy and the UK all have thriving native comic book industries, and I have Swedish friends who tell me Donald Duck comics are very popular there.

I imagine a pristine 1st edition Tintin or Asterix would be quite valuable.

I remember as a kid that Superman #1 was going for thousands of dollars and we just oohed and aahed.