BEVERLY HILLS, CA.- A CGC-certified Very Fine (VF) 8.0 copy of More Fun Comics #73, recently discovered unprotected in a closet for three quarters of a century, is now expected to sell for one million times its cover price when Heritage Auctions offers the book in Beverly Hills, California, Nov. 17-29.

More Fun Comics #73 is famous in collecting circles for featuring the origin and first appearance of Aquaman and the first appearance of Green Arrow. The copy offered by Heritage, retaining white pages despite having been published in 1941 and sold for 10 cents, is the jewel in the crown of a fresh-to-market, original-owner Golden Age collection titled "The Columbus Collection." It was assembled by a poor, young boy who grew up during the 1930s and 1940s in the Wisconsin countryside.

"The great condition and page quality of the books in The Columbus Collection – especially the More Fun Comics #73 – are all the more stunning considering the books' age and the way in which they were kept for 75 years," said Matt Griffin, a comics grader and consignment director at Heritage Auctions.

As he was fond of telling his family (who eventually inherited the collection after he passed), every time he had a dime, he would walk into town – eight miles away – and buy a comic book. He remained proud of his collection throughout his life, and kept the comics in stacks in the closet, stored in a part of the house without heat or air conditioning.

Recent market sales of More Fun Comics #73 include another VF 8.0 copy that sold for $99,000, in June, 2015, and a Very Good/Fine (VG/FN) 5.0 that sold for $75,000 in March of 2015. The prices are a marked difference to an 8.0 condition copy which brought $10,157 in 2008.

"Longtime collectors and hard asset investors who are new to the hobby will be vying for this scarce, high-grade comic book," Griffin said. "Especially since Aquaman will be in the upcoming 2017 Justice League of America movie, and his own 2018 movie, which will star Jason Momoa; and Green Arrow is featured in the CW Network's Arrow, starring Stephen Arnell as the Emerald Archer.