CASH IN THE ATTIC: How an old comic book could fetch more than £18k
Only one Beano first edition, pictured, with the mask has come up for sale in recent years
Every week Toby Walne gives the low-down on the value of forgotten treasures that may be gathering dust in your attic.
A first issue of The Beano comic recently sold for £8,700.
Launched in July 1938, it featured well-known favourites Lord Snooty and his Pals. But other early characters, such as Big Eggo and Morgyn the Mighty, are now long forgotten by most readers.
Despite the comic making a rip-roaring return on the initial tuppence investment, had it included a rare free gift ‘whoopee mask’, it would have fetched more than double this price.
Only one first edition with the mask has come up for sale in recent years – and fetched £6,200 in 1999.
The record price comes from its stable mate The Dandy – where a first edition including an ‘express whistler’ free gift sold for £18,500 in 2004.
This December 1937 copy introduced cow pie-eating strongman Desperate Dan as well as Korky the Cat.
Beano annuals are also highly sought after – few have survived clear-outs over the ages.
A 1940 Beano Book sold for £2,700 last year. The last print edition of The Dandy appeared on its 75th anniversary in December 2012 but The Beano is still going strong.