A brown cardboard box sat untouched for decades, preserving a slice of American pop culture history. Heritage Auctions is now pulling the Merrimack Valley Collection into the spotlight, offering a rare original-owner group of Golden Age comics to the public. The collection, stored for roughly 75 to 80 years, features high-grade copies that collectors have waited years to see on the market.
The headline item is a 9.4 grade Captain America Comics No. 3. Heritage identifies this 1941 issue as the second-finest known copy, containing Stan Lee’s first text story for Timely Comics. Only seven of the 135 known copies carry a grade of 9.0 or higher, making this specific book a significant find for any serious collector.
The collection also holds a 9.0 Captain America Comics No. 1, a title ranked No. 7 on Overstreet’s Top 100 Golden Age list. Just two other copies exist at this grade, with six graded higher. Alongside these, the lot includes the first nine issues of Batman, with eight of them grading 6.5 or higher. Three of those early issues—Nos. 5, 7, and 9—carry 9.0 grades, a rarity for the character’s debut run.
Aaron White, Vice President at Heritage Auctions, called the group a "really, really exciting collection" and noted the striking colors preserved over the decades. The auction forms part of Heritage’s September 24-26 Comic Books Signature Auction, which spans more than 700 comics from the 1930s to the present. Bidders can participate in the live floor session starting at 12:00 p.m. Central Time on September 24, or use proxy bidding until 11:50 a.m. that same day.
The event overlaps with Heritage’s separate Comic Art Signature Auction, running September 25-27. That secondary event features original artwork, including the opening splash page from Iron Man No. 1 by Gene Colan and Johnny Craig, consigned by Marvel Studios founding chairman David Maisel. Collectors and investors are watching closely as the hammers come down on these vintage treasures.