There is no first appearance in this comic. No origin, no debut, no death, nothing a checklist would flag. Superman 14 value traces back to it.
Superman #14, from 1942, earns its place among the Golden Age hundred entirely on Fred Ray’s cover, Superman in front of a bald eagle perched on a shield, one of the defining patriotic images of the war years.
Two sales, four grades apart
| Grade | Result | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| CGC 9.0 | $43,000 | ComicLink, September 2025 |
| CGC 5.0 | $5,900 | Hake’s, July 2024 |
| guide record | around $35,000 (reported, undated) | , |
Two sales four grade points apart, and roughly seven times the money. That is a steep curve, and it is what you expect on a book bought for how it looks: a 5.0 shows the image with visible damage, a 9.0 shows it close to as printed.
Notice the third line as well. The documented sale is above the figure the guides list as the record, which tells you how far behind the published guidance is. A 9.0 brought $43,000 against a listed record of about $35,000.
Patriotic covers as a category
Wartime covers with flags, eagles and shields are collected as a group across publishers, in the same way Schomburg covers or L.B. Cole covers are. Buyers want the image, and they will cross titles and companies to get a good one.
That is why a comic with nothing significant inside can outprice issues of the same run that do carry a debut. It is competing in a different market from the one a checklist collector is shopping in.
It also explains the steep condition curve. A historical first appearance retains most of its meaning in a worn copy. A cover bought to be looked at does not.
The ladder, top to bottom
What follows for Superman #14 is all 104 documented results, each one dated:
| Grade | Result | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| CGC 9.2 | $35,850 | Heritage Auctions, May 28, 2015 |
| CGC 9.0 | $31,200 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 21, 2019 |
| CGC 9.0 | $26,400 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 1, 2019 |
| CGC 8.5 | $14,938 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 20, 2014 |
| CGC 8.5 | $15,535 | Heritage Auctions, Dec 14, 2014 |
| CGC 8.5 | $22,200 | Heritage Auctions, Jun 28, 2022 |
| CGC 8.5 | $24,000 | Heritage Auctions, Sep 30, 2025 |
| CGC 8.0 | $3,680 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 15, 2003 |
| CGC 8.0 | $4,255 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 7, 2004 |
| CGC 8.0 | $9,560 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 27, 2012 |
| CGC 8.0 | $8,365 | Heritage Auctions, May 16, 2013 |
| CGC 8.0 | $7,768 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 1, 2013 |
| CGC 8.0 | $10,158 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 20, 2014 |
| CGC 8.0 | $12,000 | Heritage Auctions, Apr 30, 2020 |
| CGC 8.0 | $16,200 | Heritage Auctions, Apr 19, 2022 |
| CGC 8.0 | $16,300 | eBay, Sep 28, 2024 |
| CGC 7.5 | $2,415 | Heritage Auctions, Apr 3, 2004 |
| CGC 7.5 | $8,365 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 19, 2009 |
| CGC 7.5 | $6,572 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 15, 2011 |
| CGC 7.5 | $4,780 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 21, 2013 |
| CGC 7.5 | $6,871 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 27, 2015 |
| CGC 7.5 | $8,700 | Heritage Auctions, May 16, 2019 |
| CGC 7.5 | $7,800 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 1, 2019 |
| CGC 7.5 | $10,200 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 9, 2020 |
| CGC 7.5 | $12,000 | Heritage Auctions, May 26, 2022 |
| CGC 7.5 | $14,400 | Heritage Auctions, Jun 28, 2022 |
| CGC 7.0 | $4,182 | Heritage Auctions, May 3, 2007 |
| CGC 7.0 | $3,586 | Heritage Auctions, May 20, 2010 |
| CGC 7.0 | $3,226 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 15, 2012 |
| CGC 6.5 | $2,185 | Heritage Auctions, Jan 19, 2006 |
| CGC 6.5 | $5,497 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 17, 2016 |
| CGC 6.5 | $7,170 | Heritage Auctions, May 19, 2017 |
| CGC 6.5 | $8,664 | eBay, Oct 2, 2021 |
| CGC 6.5 | $8,664 | eBay, Oct 7, 2021 |
| CGC 6.5 | $12,000 | Heritage Auctions, Apr 19, 2022 |
| CGC 6.5 | $9,600 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 1, 2024 |
| CGC 6.5 | $9,900 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 1, 2024 |
| CGC 6.5 | $9,600 | Heritage Auctions, Oct 10, 2024 |
| CGC 6.0 | $1,447 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 11, 2006 |
| CGC 6.0 | $2,270 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 20, 2014 |
| CGC 6.0 | $2,330 | Heritage Auctions, May 15, 2014 |
| CGC 6.0 | $10,980 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 23, 2026 |
| CGC 5.5 | $1,434 | Heritage Auctions, May 12, 2006 |
| CGC 5.5 | $1,912 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 17, 2011 |
| CGC 5.5 | $2,868 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 14, 2016 |
| CGC 5.5 | $3,346 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 18, 2016 |
| CGC 5.5 | $3,107 | Heritage Auctions, May 13, 2016 |
| CGC 5.5 | $5,520 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 15, 2018 |
| CGC 5.5 | $5,040 | Heritage Auctions, Mar 3, 2019 |
| CGC 5.5 | $2,200 | eBay, Feb 28, 2026 |
| CGC 5.0 | $1,502 | Heritage Auctions, Mar 6, 2005 |
| CGC 5.0 | $2,032 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 4, 2007 |
| CGC 5.0 | $4,150 | eBay, May 14, 2025 |
| CGC 5.0 | $6,500 | eBay, Aug 19, 2025 |
| CGC 4.5 | $1,314 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 26, 2012 |
| CGC 4.5 | $5,280 | Heritage Auctions, Jan 26, 2024 |
| CGC 4.0 | $1,374 | Heritage Auctions, May 30, 2015 |
| CGC 4.0 | $2,160 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 1, 2020 |
| CGC 4.0 | $3,850 | eBay, Apr 19, 2024 |
| CGC 4.0 | $3,050 | eBay, Aug 5, 2025 |
| CGC 4.0 | $2,400 | eBay, May 31, 2026 |
| CGC 3.5 | $1,121 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 4, 2002 |
| CGC 3.5 | $747 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 15, 2007 |
| CGC 3.5 | $1,016 | Heritage Auctions, Oct 5, 2008 |
| CGC 3.5 | $956 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 24, 2011 |
| CGC 3.5 | $896 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 23, 2013 |
| CGC 3.5 | $3,360 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 2, 2022 |
| CGC 3.5 | $2,500 | eBay, Oct 25, 2023 |
| CGC 3.5 | $4,000 | eBay, Dec 6, 2023 |
| CGC 3.5 | $2,676 | eBay, Sep 15, 2025 |
| CGC 3.0 | $657 | Heritage Auctions, May 6, 2011 |
| CGC 3.0 | $717 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 17, 2011 |
| CGC 3.0 | $986 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 22, 2014 |
| CGC 3.0 | $3,600 | Heritage Auctions, Jun 19, 2021 |
| CGC 3.0 | $2,995 | eBay, Jul 21, 2025 |
| CGC 2.5 | $3,360 | Heritage Auctions, May 26, 2022 |
| CGC 2.5 | $2,950 | eBay, Jul 20, 2026 |
| CGC 2.0 | $1,434 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 25, 2018 |
| CGC 2.0 | $2,950 | eBay, Mar 4, 2024 |
| CGC 2.0 | $2,028 | eBay, Feb 24, 2025 |
| Raw | $4,830 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 24, 2001 |
| Raw | $2,760 | Heritage Auctions, Mar 16, 2002 |
| Raw (GD) | $287 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 6, 2006 |
| Raw (GD+) | $621 | Heritage Auctions, May 23, 2010 |
| Raw (Apparent GD) | $311 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 3, 2011 |
| Raw (Apparent FN) | $836 | Heritage Auctions, May 27, 2012 |
| Raw (GD+) | $621 | Heritage Auctions, Sep 1, 2013 |
| Raw (GD-) | $645 | Heritage Auctions, Oct 6, 2013 |
| Raw (FR/GD) | $621 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 17, 2013 |
| Raw (FR/GD) | $502 | Heritage Auctions, May 15, 2016 |
| Raw (PR) | $1,080 | Heritage Auctions, Oct 14, 2018 |
| Raw | $1,724 | eBay, Jan 27, 2022 |
| Raw | $2,275 | eBay, Dec 18, 2022 |
| Raw | $2,005 | eBay, Sep 18, 2023 |
| Raw | $1,027 | eBay, Nov 27, 2023 |
| Raw | $2,750 | eBay, Dec 5, 2023 |
| Raw | $910 | eBay, Mar 19, 2024 |
| Raw | $3,550 | eBay, May 21, 2024 |
| Raw | $938 | eBay, May 23, 2024 |
| Raw | $960 | eBay, Jun 13, 2024 |
| Raw | $1,700 | eBay, Dec 25, 2024 |
| Raw | $1,376 | eBay, Jan 17, 2025 |
| Raw | $2,000 | eBay, Oct 30, 2025 |
| Raw | $1,625 | eBay, May 28, 2026 |
Sale records assembled from Heritage Auctions results and eBay completed sales via PriceCharting’s public feed, cross-checked against CGC’s published auction reporting. Heritage lots are verifiable in the catalog at comics.ha.com.
CGC 7.5 has 10 results to its name: $2,415 (2004), $8,365 (2009), $6,572 (2011), $4,780 (2013), $6,871 (2015), $8,700 (2019), $7,800 (2019). Front of the lane, end of the list: $14,400, 2022.
Selling a Superman #14
- Photograph the front properly. Flat, even light, no glare. On a cover book I want to see the front before I say anything about price.
- Check for fading. Sun exposure hurts a cover book more than most defects and it is easy to miss.
- Do not use the guide record. The documented sale is already above it.
- Grade if it presents well. The gap between mid and high grade here is roughly sevenfold.
Have a copy?
Send three photos: front, back, and the small print. That is all I need to tell you where your copy really sits.
I read every request myself.
Related
- Superman #2, from the scarce early run.
- Captain America Comics #36, the other wartime cover on this list.
- The 100 most valuable Golden Age comics, and what each one really sold for.
Cover images on this page are shown small, for identification, with the publisher credited in the caption. If you are a rights holder and want an image removed, contact me and it comes down.
