In 1938, D.C. Comics wrote a check for $412 to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster as a payment to acquire the rights to Superman. This week that same check sold for $160,000 at auction to an unnamed buyer.

The check was up for auction on ComicConnect.com and received 56 bids. The check was used as evidence in legal disputes over copyright and almost got thrown out in 1973, when the copyright issue was settled.

ComicConnect.com explains: “When the lunch meeting ended, a box of old court documents that had accumulated over the years was handed over to one of the D.C team. When the box was delivered back to the D.C. executive office, the employee was told, ‘Just throw it all out. We don’t need any of it anymore!’”. Via The Guardian UK.