CAPTAIN AMERICA #326

Cover shows sharp corners, strong glossy surface, and vibrant color with no visible fading. No spine stress lines or ticks are apparent along the spine edge, and there are no visible creases, tears, or stains. The Marvel corner box has a small diagonal indicator (direct edition graphic) rather than a barcode, consistent with a high-grade copy; interior and back cover were not assessed.

Captain America #326 arrived in February 1987 during Mark Gruenwald's long tenure as writer, with Paul Neary handling art chores as the series continued its mid-1980s storytelling arc following the departure of the Mike Zeck/John Beatty art team. The issue is a representative chapter of the ongoing Captain America saga of the period rather than a landmark installment: it introduces no new characters of lasting significance and features no death, origin, or first appearance that collectors track in price guides.

Market data reflects this status. The certified population is modest (43 Universal copies logged against 62 total graded), and sales activity is thin outside the top grade, where a healthy run of 9.8 transactions has kept fair market value near $60 with a trailing one-year average in the low $50s. Grades below 9.6 show minimal recorded sales, consistent with a book that trades occasionally as a filler or run-completion purchase rather than as a sought-after single issue.

This is a book collected primarily by Captain America run-builders and Gruenwald-era completists rather than key-issue speculators. Raw copies in low and mid grade move cheaply and steadily through dollar bins and online lots, while the CGC 9.8 tier commands a real but limited premium driven by relative scarcity at the top of the census rather than by character or story significance. Long-term demand should track the broader Copper Age Captain America collector base rather than outperform it.