A rare and pristine copy of the first issue of Action Comics (#1), famed for introducing Superman, has set a record for the most money paid for a single comic book: $2.16 million (€1.6 million).
The issue was auctioned online by Comicconnect.com.
The starting bid was just $1 but there was a reserve of $900,000. Neither the name of the buyer nor seller was disclosed.
It is the first time a comic book has broken the $2 million level. The issue cost 10 US cents when it was published in 1938.
Stephen Fishler, chief executive of ComicConnect.com and Metropolis Collectibles, said when another first issue Action Comics was sold for $1.5 million in March 2010 he believed that record would last for many years.
That sale was shortly followed by the purchase of another copy for over $1 million.
But neither of those issues was in as good a condition as the issue sold yesterday.
This issue has twice before set the record for the most expensive book ever, selling for $86,000 in 1992 and $150,000 in 1997.
But in 2000, it was stolen and thought lost until it was recovered in a storage shed in California in April this year. About 100 copies of Action Comics No 1 are believed to be in existence but only a handful are in good condition.
AP