Three brothers find R168 million treasure in late mother’s attic
A cardboard box gathering dust in an attic turned out to be worth R168 million. Makes you think twice about what your parents might have tucked away.
My mom collected silver spoons and thimbles. Sadly, they weren’t worth R168 million (£7 million).
I’ve picked up her habit and collect antique corkscrews and very specific Constantia wines. I can’t see any of them, even if locked up for a lifetime, being worth R168 million.
But someone’s mother had tucked away something far more valuable than silver spoons.
The cardboard box worth millions
Three brothers clearing out their late mother’s attic discovered a cardboard box containing what would become the most expensive comic book ever sold.
Inside, protected only by old newspapers, was a copy of Superman #1 from 1939.
The comic sold for $9.12 million (around R168 million or £7 million) at Heritage Auctions. Despite its humble storage, it received a CGC 9.0 grade, the highest ever awarded to this particular issue.
The previous record holder was Action Comics #1, which sold for $6 million (R110 million).
South Africa’s own auction record
While that Superman sale would make any South African collector’s eyes water, back home we’ve had our own remarkable auction moment.
The most expensive item ever sold by South African auctioneers Strauss & Co was Vladimir Tretchikoff’s “Lady from the Orient”, which fetched R31.11 million (approximately £1.285 million) in May 2025.
The 1955 painting of Valerie Howe, daughter of a Cape Town grocer, set a new world auction record for the Russian-born South African artist.
The portrait, featuring Howe in Tretchikoff’s signature emerald-green gown with gold detailing, became an iconic image widely reproduced in 1960s Britain.
It’s proof that extraordinary valuables aren’t just hiding in American attics. Sometimes they’re right there in Houghton or Camps Bay, waiting to be rediscovered.
A Depression-era purchase with a remarkable story
The comic had been bought by the late owner and her brother somewhere between the Great Depression and World War II, when it cost just 10 cents.
Later in life, the pair decided to pass the collection on to her sons, as her brother never married or had children. The box ended up hidden in the recess of the attic, where it was promptly forgotten as life, losses and changes unfolded.
It wasn’t until last Christmas, while clearing out their mother’s belongings, that the brothers rediscovered the box.
Why this comic mattered
Superman #1 was particularly valuable because it came from DC’s first print run of half a million copies.
More importantly, it was historically significant as the first time a superhero appeared in a comic entirely devoted to them.
That 10-cent Depression-era purchase turned into a R168 million inheritance. Not bad for something that spent decades gathering dust in an attic.
What are your parents hiding?
It makes you wonder what’s tucked away in your parents’ attic or garage back home. Probably not a pristine Superman #1 or a Tretchikoff original, but perhaps something with a story worth telling, if not selling.
My antique corkscrews and Constantia wines are more about the joy of collecting than any future windfall.
But those brothers and that Cape Town painting have proved that sometimes, the real treasure is exactly where you least expect it.
Have your parents got some treasures locked away?