Maybe you’ve acquired a book from a relative, found a comic in an attic, flea market, estate sale, garage sale or while cleaning out the house? Is there a quick way to decide whether it is valuable or not?

While no list is exhaustive, in this article I’ll give you some things to look for that may point to some real comic book treasure!

Here’s the list:

First Issues – this is the most common characteristic most people look for. “Hey, it’s a number 1!” The older the comic book, the more this holds true. If you have a comic from the 1940’s to the 1970’s, there is a fairly good chance it is worth something

First Appearances or Origin Issues – First Superman? Action Comics 1. First Batman? Detective Comics #27. First Spider-man? Amazing Fantasy #15. See the trend here? The first issue of a comic book is not always the first appearance of the character. You may be holding a comic that looks worthless but actually holds a lot of value! Make sure you check the price guides (as a research tool) to see if the comic book is historically important.

Big Name Artist – Big name artists also can bring in big bucks. Their first artwork and also their “runs” in specific titles can be worth more than the surrounding issues.

Now you may be saying, “hey, everyone knows about the X-men, that’s no secret” but that is why I am covering them – hang with me for a few moments.

The wonderful thing about the X-men is they are so popular that almost every collector over the last 20-30 years probably has some of the title in their collections. The amazing part is they are still pretty valuable. What we’ll do today is tell you about some later year issues that could be glossed over but are really the gems of the run. If you were to sell you may actually receive what you would consider a “good” price for your comics, but are really being ripped off because you have some “closet gold” issues!

Okay, let’s look at the issues I’m talking about (and keep in mind these are going to be 1980’s and on):

Uncanny X-men 201 – Most people focus on first issues and “anniversary numbers” like issue 200. But 201? What’s so important about that? Well in this case we have the first supposed appearance of Cable as a baby (baby Nathan). Also, it is the first issue for popular artist Whilce Portacio on the X-men. It is listed in the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide for 3x the price of surrounding comics!

Uncanny X-men 212 and 213 – Wolverine versus Sabretooth in the Mutant Massacre storyline. Also keep a lookout for 210 and 211 for the beginning of the storyline. Not much more to say here, they are popular issues and go for about 4x the price of issue 214.

Uncanny X-men #244 – First Jubilee. A key character in the X-men universe and stands out from the crowd in price – by about 4x the surrounding issues.

Uncanny X-men 248 - First Jim Lee art on the X-men, this book again guides for about 4x the price of surrounding issues. Beware of the second printing though, it is worth much less.

Uncanny X-men #266 – First full appearance of Gambit. This issue has been very popular over the years and has seen a recent upsurge in popularity due to his inclusion in the X-men Origins: Wolverine movie. Recent CGC 9.8 copies have sold for $160-$200 and up to $450 this past year. Wow!

Current Uncanny X-men Prices and Values – Click Here

Strange Tales 110 really doesn’t look like anything. The cover in no way lets the reader know what importance lurks inside. Add to this the often beat up black cover and you have the makings of a comic that most people would toss aside.

But what a mistake that would be!

Strange Tales 110 introduces Dr. Strange to the world. He has been a supporting character and hasn’t achieved the fame of say, Spider-man, but don’t dismiss this survivor. Add to this the fact that even beat up 4.0 graded copies of this comic book bring well over $250 on a consistent basis and we have a real closet winner.

Take a close look at the cover of this often overlooked comic book and start searching!

Strange Tales 110 For Sale – Values – Prices

Strange Tales 110

Action Comics featured Superman for most of the run, and because of this popular character many casual fans picked these comics up off the newsstand. A significant number of these comics aren’t worth very much, but there are a few hidden gems that can bring a pretty penny, even in lower conditions. One issue that jumps out is Action Comics 285. If you look at the picture below it doesn’t look like much, just your typical Superman and Supergirl cover. But there is more than meets the eye!

Action Comics 285 reveals Supergirl’s identity to the world (big deal), but also has a bonus cameo from John F. Kennedy and Jackie. With all the fanfare over the Barack Obama comic books, this is a fun Presidential comic book to own and is very easy to overlook.

The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide lists this for $350 in NM- 9.2, but the last copies in 9.2 condition have sold for a minimum of $600!

Keep an eye out for this piece of closet comic book gold!

Action Comics 285 For Sale – Values – Prices

One of the “grails” for Disney and Donald Duck collectors is issue #222. Many of you remember the packs of Whitman comic books found in grocery stores that were abused and overlooked. Now, Donald Duck 222 had risen from the racks to be worth a small fortune. The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide lists the book for $310 in NM 9.2 condition. The latest results I’ve seen have it selling for about $260-$330 over the last few years.

Take a good look at the cover scan below and keep your eyes out for this hidden treasure!

Most folks know to look for first issues hoping for an uncovered comic book gem that will yield a small fortune. But did you know there are many other lesser known issues, found in many collections, that could bring you a tidy profit?

It’s true!

Whether in your closet, under a bed, in a basement or garage, or in a box at a flea market, this new feature will give you some comics you may overlook but could be worth a pretty penny! These hidden gold comics range from the old to the new, and many of them are found in you average collection.

Keep watching the Closet Gold category for these books, who knows, you may find a small fortune!