Artunderwraps

First Edition Prices, Values and Auction Results

One of the most popular in the James Bond spy series, the novel Goldfinger continues to enthrall readers with Ian Fleming's seventh 007 adventure. The evil antagonist, Auric Goldfinger, plans to enhance his obsessive collection of gold by robbing Fort Knox only to be foiled by the indomitable Bond. The first edition published by Jonathan Cape (London) in 1959  with the author's signature have sold for nearly $7,000 ($2500 without the signature). The American first edition first published in 1959 by Macmillan (New York)  sell for as much as $500.

We collected a sample of 41 auction results of Fleming, Ian's Goldfinger from 3 different auction houses. The lowest overall price realized in our sample was $80 and the highest overall price realized was $6688. The overall average price was $872 and the median price realized for the book was $553. There were 8 auctions (38%) with a price realized below the low estimate, 4 auctions (19%) exceeding the high estimates, and 9 auctions (43%) within the range of the low and high estimates. Auctions of interest include: a Bonhams sale on November 22, 2011 of a 1959 - Jonathan Cape edition for $6688 that signed by the author; a Bonhams sale on November 22, 2011 of a 1959 - Jonathan Cape edition for $5350 that signed by the author;