Selling via auction at 23 Collectors Auctions, an action house based in Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia are 7 Phantom comic books published by Frew Publications.

The numbers are 1, 3, 4, 27, 28, 29 and 30.

The 7 comic books, published between 1948 and 1951 in Australia all represent an opportunity to own hard to find editions, especially by those working towards compiling a complete series published by Frew Publications.

Seeing such early Phantom comic books available for sale on the open market provides a good insight to their value at the time of sale. It’s also a good opportunity for those who own these editions to gauge the value of their own editions in their collection.

Of course condition plays a part in final selling prices, not to also mention how desirable or sought after a particular edition may be by a collector.

The 2 earliest editions up for auction were numbers 1 and 3. The front cover of Phantom comic book edition number 3 can be seen above. The front and back cover of edition number 1 can be seen below

The final selling prices (in AUD) for each Phantom comic book achieved by 23 Collectors Auctions are as follows:

• Edition number 1 (printed in 1948) – $8,000
• Edition number 3 (printed in 1948) – $0
• Edition number 4 (printed in 1948) – $2,000
• Edition number 27 (printed in 1950) – $0
• Edition number 28 (printed in 1950) – $0
• Edition number 29 (printed in 1951) – $1,800
• Edition number 30 (printed in 1951) – $0

A buyers premium of 22% was collected by the auction house.

As can be seen above, only 3 Phantom comic books were bid on, whilst the majority not receiving a bid. Several reasons could be noted for the poor results, including collectors not being aware of the auction taking place or possibly collectors not liking the condition of the comic books.

Early Phantom comic book editions published by Frew Publication continue to be highly desirable amongst collectors of not only early Australian memorabilia, but also amongst Phantom collectors. Recent eBay sales of a high volume of early Phantom comic books is a testament of their desirability.

Early editions, especially numbers between 1 thru to 20 continue to be highly elusive and are generally sold privately amongst collectors.

Congratulations to the new owners of the 3 Phantom comics which did sell, I sure their new owners will be very happy with adding these comic books to their collection.

The 23 Collectors Auctions website can be found HERE

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