I found a valuable item in the walls of a home I was renovating – my jaw dropped when I sold it for $175,000
COMIC collector Vincent Zurzolo has seen it all over the years.
The New York-based specialist has uncovered plenty of rare finds in his 37-year career, many bringing in millions of dollars.
But his greatest moment came when a client was rummaging around in a run-down, dilapidated house in Minneapolis.
In today’s world, surprise discoveries are becoming rarer.
Zurzolo, however, will never forget what was found stuffed in the walls.
The house was a mess and it wasn’t until his client started pulling everything down inside that an incredible discovery was made.
“He begins finding old newspapers which have been used as insulation,” Zurzolo, co-owner of ComicConnect.com online auctioneers, tells The U.S. Sun.
“And then he comes across comic books that have been stuck into the walls and notices one with man holding the car over his head.
“It just happens to be Superman. Not just any Superman though. Superman number one. The first ever Superman from 1938!”
In terms of comic book holy grails, his client had just hit the jackpot.
Of course, in any situation like this, condition is key.
Zurzolo estimates pristine copies of such highly-sought after comics can now bring in millions of dollars – the most expensive sale ever was the same edition of Superman which went for an eye-watering $5.3 million at the start of 2022.
This situation was different – the pages had all been separated and needed to be pieced together. It wasn’t pristine by any stretch of the imagination, yet the book was still worth a small fortune.
And it would have been worth even more if the man’s wife and sister-in-law had been just a little more patient.
They failed to appreciate the importance of the find and drove the husband over the edge – and it cost them a whopping $50,000.
“They were nagging him to sell it,” Zurzolo recalls.
“He looks at his sister-in and says, ‘You want to see how much I care about this comic book?’
“So he takes it, throws it across the room, and puts a tear on the back cover.
“That tear cost him about $50,000. It would’ve been much greater value at a higher grade condition.”
Nevertheless, finding the first-ever edition of Superman was a super find. Zurzolo’s pal drove from Florida to Minneapolis to take charge of the situation and from that point, they were given the task of selling to the highest bidder.
“When he told me this story, I’m just sitting there with my jaw-dropping,” he said with a smile.
“God, can you imagine?”
The comic was eventually auctioned and fetched an impressive $175,000 so not all was lost.
Zurzolo is always on the look-out for rare collectibles but admits the industry has changed. When he started out as a 15-year-old, he claims valuable collections were just ‘coming out of the woodwork’.
The times are different – but the fun remains.
“People were finding stuff all the time,” he said.
“But as time goes on and more and more material goes into the marketplace, it’s very hard to find fresh options or things that people find in their attics. It’s a lot more recycled, for lack of a better term.
“It doesn’t make it bad material, it just doesn’t make it as exciting. You want to find that find, in an attic or barn.”
Which is exactly what happened a few years ago.
“I had a guy who found a box of comic books in his car,” he recalled.
“He was in Iowa and said to me, ‘I have nothing to do with these, so I’m going send them over to you and let me know what you think.’
“They were great books. I couldn’t believe he just put them in a box and sent them. There were some very valuable comic books in there.
“He’d just found them in a barn behind some bales of hay. I told him I would pay 18 for the collection. He said ‘$1800? Great.’
“No, I replied. $18,000. His jaw dropped on the phone. They eventually went for $34,000.”
Another fantastic find came when a man had passed away and stored his extensive collection of horror comics in some furniture that had been sold, leaving the new owner unaware of what they’d just purchased.
“It turned out to be one of the most highly touted horror collections,” he said proudly.
“There were over 1500 books. It was really incredible.”
Zurzolo says any first appearance of many of the superheroes who are still popular today are worth fortunes.
So if you manage to somehow come across early editions of Batman, Captain America, Spiderman, Incredible Hulk, The Avengers or Wonder Woman, for example, seek out an expert and get in touch.
Zurzolo will never give up hope of striking gold.
“We give a shot to everything,” he said. “It’s never wasted time.”