What An Avengers Comic Was Actually Worth On Pawn Stars
The salesmen on "Pawn Stars" are known for driving a hard bargain, especially when it comes to something they think they can resell at a higher price. During the more than 600 episodes of the series that have aired on History, Rick Harrison has faced down sellers of all different items. From Spider-Man comic book strips that fetch thousands of dollars to 250-year-old documents that somehow sell for less, the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop has always had an expert on hand to answer the important question: How much?
Such an expert is needed in "Pawn Stars" Season 11, Episode 26, when a man walks into the shop with two iconic pieces of Marvel history. The first item is a 1975 "Giant-Size X-Men" #1, for which the man is asking $1,200. The X-Men comic book features the first appearances of Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus. Additionally, the comic book features the second appearance of Wolverine. However, the real prize of the man's collection was a 1963 "Avengers" #1 — the very first appearance of the Avengers team, for which he asked $4,600.
To help appraise such rare items, Rick calls in an expert from Certified Guaranty Company to grade each book's condition and estimate their value.
The grade of the comic is important
As Paul Litch — a primary grader at Certified Guaranty Company — explains, several different qualities go into grading rare comic books. Any number of things like missing pages or discoloration can reduce the value of an old comic. In the case of the 1975 "Giant-Size X-Men" comic book, Paul determines that a few creases have negatively impacted its worth, and he estimates its value at around $550 to $600, well below the seller's initial asking price. However, the real disappointment for the seller lies within Paul's estimation of the value of his 1963 "Avengers" #1 comic book.
As a result of a small amount of chipping at the top and discoloration on the cover, Paul grades the Avengers comic book at only a 6.5. According to "Pawn Stars" (via YouTube), a 9.6-rated "Avengers" #1 once sold for $250,000. Sadly, a significant dip in grading also leads to a steep drop in value. Paul estimates that the 6.5-rated Avengers comic is only worth about $4,200 — below the asking price of $4,600. More importantly, Rick only offers the seller a maximum of $3,200, also well below their stated minimum of $3,300. Ultimately, Rick could not come to a deal with the seller, who instead chose to keep ahold of his comic book treasure.