Last week I discussed the complete slapdown some Bronze Age keys have taken over the last few years. Today I want to look at Silver Age Keys and see if they are following the same trend.

Let’s look at some numbers.

Daredevil #1

I’ll start out with Daredevil because it highlights the risk you take with some of these comics. The highest grade Daredevil #1 that has been sold was graded CGC 9.6. In 2010 sold for a high of $62,000 and a low of $37,344. In 2011 a CGC 9.6 copy sold for $32,999. Overall a down trend and quite significant at that.

CGC 4.0 books were more stable. A CGC 4.0 copy could be had in 2009 for as little as $390. In 2011 that increased to a low of $480.

Fantastic Four #1

High grade Fantastic Four #1 is a much rarer book than high grade Daredevil. CGC 9.4 copies are very difficult to come by and sales are rare. Copies sold in 2002 for $111,000, in 2010 for $210,000 and in 2011 for $300,000.

CGC 4.0 copies were selling from $2,500-$3,450 in 2009 and a copy sold for $4,750 in 2011.

Amazing Spider-man #1

Spidey has also held up, with CGC 9.0 copy selling for $37,000 in 2009 and $38,838 in 2011.

Want a CGC 4.0 copy? They haven’t done as well. In 2010 the high was $4,740 and the high so far in 2011 is $3,390.

Hulk #1

Hulk #1 is tough. It is a difficult comic to get in high grade and most copies have Marvel chipping and don’t have great eye appeal. I found a CGC 7.5 copy for $8,900 and in 2010 they sold for $22,000 and $17,925.

X-men #1

X-men #1 has taken some hits. CGC 9.0 in 2009 sold for $33,333 and a copy sold for $28,680. Today? $24,751. CGC 4.0 copies have been holding their own. From 2009 to 2011 we have seen highs go from $1,654 to $1,900. Add to that a CGC 9.6 sold for $200,000 this year. Not too bad for a 12 cent funny book.

and….

Avengers #4

I saved Avengers #4 for last because I wanted to highlight how comic book movies can really alter the values of these books.

As an example let’s look at a CGC 9.4 copy. In 2007, before there wasn’t any confirmed movie news and you could get a copy for $7750. Not too bad. Fast forward to 2011 and the same grade will set you back $30,000! If you make the right pick you can really capitalize on this movie trend.

Overall the values of Silver Age keys over the last few years illustrate the investment comic book game is not for the faint of heart. Prices have made some huge swings with very few “sure things.” If you want to invest a subscription to GPAnalysis is a must, as well as perusing completed auctions at site such as Heritage. Solid trend research will at least give you a fighting chance.

Good luck!

The most recent Heritage Comics Auction just finished and high grade Bronze keys still bring big money, but significantly off the highs of two years ago.

Twin Cities Pedigree copies of Batman 227 CGC 9.8 and Batman 232 CGC 9.8 fetched $6,273.75 and $2,031.50 respectively. While these are respectable numbers, just two year ago in 2009 a Batman 227 CGC 9.8 sold for $13,000 and Batman 232 CGC 9.8 sold for around $4,000.

The Twin Cities copy of Green Lantern #76 CGC 9.6 brought $9,560. Compare this to 2009 sales that ranged from $25,000 on the high end to $14,340 as a low.

Amazing Spider-man #129 CGC 9.8 sod for $3,883.75 and X-men #94 CGC 9.6 sold for $2,509.50. Both are off highs of a couple of years ago.

When you look at the overall decrease in actual sales prices for these books over the last two years it is quite a blow.

What can we make of this? Is the uncertain economic future taking a toll on the high end comic book market? Today’s drop of about 420 on the Dow didn’t help. If you look at the trend lines they have been moving down over the last couple of years with a few random issues breaking the trend.

Could this be a bottom and a good time to buy? Only time will tell. My thought is to be very careful out there if you are hoping to retain value in high end comics. If you are looking to buy lower grade non-CGC keys, this may be the time to strike while the upper end books are falling in value.