Over 250,000 copies were printed originally “but only nine are known to exist today”, said auctioneer Malcolm Phillips. The condition of this copy was only average, hence the estimate of £2000-3000, but it eclipsed the previous record of just over £6200 paid for a good first edition in February 1999 by selling to a Hertfordshire collector at £6877 (plus 10 per cent buyer’s premium).
Beano achieves the highest price ever paid for a British comic
The Beano and Dandy were the first British comics to be published entirely in colour when they appeared within months of each other in 1938. With a cover price of two old pennies, this first edition Beano achieved the highest price ever paid for a British comic when bidding closed at Comic Book Postal Auctions in London last week.
