Price history & market evidence
Price observations belong to this edition. Guide estimates, catalog references and completed sales are separate kinds of evidence.
| Grade | Amount | Evidence | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.0 | $926.00 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_10_0_valueguide | 1970-09-01 |
| 4.0 | $15.62 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_4_0_valueguide | 1970-09-01 |
| 6.0 | $36.24 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_6_0_valueguide | 1970-09-01 |
| 8.0 | $115.97 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_8_0_valueguide | 1970-09-01 |
| 9.2 | $150.50 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_9_2_valueguide | 1970-09-01 |
| 9.4 | $227.00 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_9_4_valueguide | 1970-09-01 |
| 9.6 | $784.00 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_9_6_valueguide | 1970-09-01 |
| 9.8 | $712.56 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_9_8_valueguide | 1970-09-01 |
| RAW | $12.50 | PANEL_PROFITS · ungraded_valueguide | 1970-09-01 |
Reading this edition’s market
Compare the same cover, printing and grade before setting a bid. A raw guide or a higher-grade price does not establish a slab’s value. Include selling fees, shipping and the depth of completed-sale evidence when assessing an exit price.
The table includes 9 guide observations and 0 catalog references. These are reference values, not guaranteed sale proceeds.
Graded population
CGC records 44 graded copies for Aquaman #53 (1970). Population is the number recorded by this grading source, not the total print run or all surviving copies.
Is California Sinking?
An agent of O.G.R.E., masquerading as a scientific researcher, visits the California home of millionaire Elliot Harlanson. He tells him that Atlantis is slowly rising and that if it continues, California will sink into the sea, thereby destroying Harlanson's luxurious, palatial home. Despite its greater implications, Harlanson refuses to let his home be destroyed and agrees to help the researcher in any way he can. The man tells Elliot that if he could finance the purchase of an atomic bomb, then they could destroy Atlantis and California would be safe. Harlanson agrees, though he has no idea of the man's true affiliation, nor the fact that Atlantis is actually a populated country.
To guarantee that Aquaman) will be in Atlantis when the bomb is dropped, O.G.R.E. manipulates his old foe Black Manta) into staging a fight with him. Black Manta and Aquaman square off and Aquaman summons an army of sea animals to attack Manta. The villain repels the barrage however by way of a scrambler device that affects the animals' nervous systems.
As Aquaman and Manta continue fighting, an O.G.R.E. submarine carrying the bomb nears Atlantis. Aquaman spies the ship and suspects that it intends on attacking Atlantis. He summons a giant squid to entangle the ship in its tentacles. Elliot Hanlanson is aboard the vessel and accidentally falls upon the lever which releases the bomb. Unfortunately, the submarine is too close to escape the explosion. It turns out that the bomb is a dud and the city is safe. Hanlanson is furious that the men he dealt with would trick him into purchasing an inadequate weapon.
Meanwhile, off the coast of Florida, Federal agents execute a sting operation against the members of O.G.R.E. They knew of the organization's plot to trick Elliot Hanlanson and had an agent named Honey James replace the real atomic weapon with a fake one. The FBI apprehend the O.G.R.E. thugs and the organization is dissolved.
Creative credits
Writers: Steve Skeates
Interior art: Jim Aparo
Source records & attribution
Panel Profits keeps each source identity attached to its edition record.
GCD: 23690
PANEL PROFITS: 2391478