Ooops! I missed that in the OIP. I'll look to other months.

Buying off the rack the month I was born. October 1969.

in no particular preference order

 Avengers 71 (taking on Cap,Torch and Subby in WWII) 
 Amazing Spider Man 80
 Silver Surfer 11 (O Bitter Victory!)
The Incredible Hulk 123 (The Leader)
Fantastic Four 94 (Frightful Four)
 X Men 63 (Magneto Triumphant!)

Where's my change?

I honestly doubt that the future monetary value of my selection would even come into the equation - money is meant to help you accomplish your dreams down the road, but if you're standing in front of a newsstand with your pick of a litter of ten publications during the Golden Age of comics then your mission has already been accomplished.  I'd also want most of my selections being stuff I haven't read yet so that it actually feels like a new experience and not me trying to recapture what things sort of felt like when I read this stuff at eight or nine (as reprints naturally).  Of course, my eight year old self would kill me if I didn't pick up at least some stuff I would have wanted at that age, so...

October 1940: 

Action Comics #31
Batman #3
Big 3 #1.  The Blue Beetle, The Flame, and Samson
Detective Comics #45.  Yeah, I already picked a Batman comic, but that one doesn't have The Joker and this one does.
Feature Comics #39.  I'd have to get something with The Doll Man and this is it. 
Green Hornet Comics #1.  I've skimmed through some of these early Hornet stories and couldn't get into them, but I wouldn't be able to pass up that cover and I'd want something with a Pulp/Serial Hero feel.
Marvel Mystery Comics #14.  I really should get at least one Marvel comics and hey, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, The Angel, Vision, and Electro are all pretty good though I've never really been into The Sub-Mariner.
Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics #3.  Would have to get this for Bill Everett's Hydro-Man, but even on top of that, when the next story in this issue opens with a blind man standing next to a robot tearing at his fake skin to reveal a metal skeleton in preparation for his battle with a zombie, I don't think any of us would have a choice but to pick this one up.
Shadow Comics #8.  The Shadow as The Shadow.  Not The Shadow as a silly looking superhero.  Plus, some fun looking bonus features.
Top-Notch Comics #10.  The Black Hood plus a bunch of heroes I'm barely familiar with or not familiar with at all but look pretty cool at first glance - Galahad, The Firefly, The Wizard, plus another incredible cover I wouldn't be able to pass on.




Then I get back to 2020 where a group of scientists gather around me.

Scientists:  Did you do it?  Did you kill Hitler?  Please tell us you used those dimes to call Washington and England like we asked.

Chad:  OK, now, before you get angry...

Scientists:  ...are those comic books you're holding?

Actually another powerfully tempting time and place for me would be the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, and I'm sure there'd be some amazing DC comics from some month of that, but again... temptation! I'd be sooo tempted to try and save the lines of those two officers who got killed in the bombing there. I highly recommend this book about it!


Maybe they were after Einstein?

July 1971...

A large indoor garage sale is held inside Sherwood Elementary School in Arnold, Missouri.

I head in before my Mother and find the seller of:

X-Men #1,2,3 and 8
Hulk #1
Fantastic Four #24 (possibly the coolest FF story ever... well, excluding a whole bunch more!)

... and whatever else i could by with my leftover 40 cents (six books @ 10 cents each!!). She said they had other books there, but she was out of change and wasn't going to break a dollar!

-z

Please forgive my indulgence on this one, the more I wrote, the more I got into it... Thanks beccabear67 for the inspirational topic!



(It's late January 1940. The following is an excerpt from the inner monologue of a 10-yr old boy.)

Granny sent me a Christmas card last month about a week before Christmas with one whole dollar inside! Of course, she sent a dollar bill, because a silver dollar would probably slide around and break the envelope, and some wiseguy at the post office would end up with a free silver dollar! But just because it's a paper dollar doesn't matter... what matters is that it's been burning a hole in my pocket for a month now. Mom wanted me to put it in my piggy bank to "save for college", but Dad, as the man of the house, nixed her suggestion and said that it was "gift money" and should be spent... Good ol' Dad... he always understands.





Ummm, but if I buy a bunch of candy, I'll probably eat it all in one sitting, and then what will I have? Nothin' but a lousy belly ache and empty pockets... Naw, candy and baseball cards ain't gonna cut it. Besides, I can get money for that anytime by just picking up old pop bottles...

Hmmm... There's also some neat stuff at Woolworth's that I could buy, not some stupid paddle ball set or bag of marbles, I've already got plenty of those.
I've seen that really neat G-Man tommy gun, just like the one Eliot Ness uses... boy, would that be neat!


I've also seen a really great little drum set down at the Kress dime store, it comes with sticks and everything! Naw, probably the first time I play it in the house, Mom would yell at me to "Keep that racket down!"


Hey, what about that rubber dart gun target game, like my pal Johnny has? I think he bought his for a dollar that he got for his birthday...


Nah... I can play with Johnny's dart guns any old time, why buy one for myself?... Boy, this is harder than I thought... Hey, I know! I saw a neato set of boxing gloves in the Montgomery Ward catalog! I could be just like Joe Louis or Max Baer! And then when that dumb ol' bully Jimmy Wilson shows his ugly mug, BOFFO! Chin music for him!


But no, I guess not... Dad would take me to the woodshed if I busted Jimmy in the nose for no reason at all... Gee Whiz... What's a fella to do?

I s'pose I'll walk on down to the candy store and think about it over an egg cream...🎵(whistling while walking)🎵...
Ah, here we are, at good ol' Mr. Epstein's Candy Store... gee, haven't looked at the comics rack in a while, wonder what's new?


Let's see... Wow! they've got some pretty swell looking books out this month! Hmm... Granny always says I should read as much as possible so's I can grow up to be a whiz-brain scientist or something... and there's always lots of science stuff in comic books. Of course, it's not just science stuff, 'cuz there's always lots of wham-o fights and stuff, where the bad guys always lose in the end! Then there's the "funny" books too... I always like it when Popeye gives Bluto "what for", but I really don't see why he's so crazy about Olive Oyl... she's as skinny as that dumb ol' Margaret Spencer girl in my class at school... the one that's always making "goo-goo" eyes at me... yechh! Why do girls have to be so silly?

Hey! What's this? They got a SHADOW comic now? Wow, looks like it's the first one too! Yup, I'm definitely getting that!


Looky here! Never seen this guy before... the Spectre??? What's a "Spectre"? Looks like some kinda ghost... maybe it's creepy... I'll give it a shot...


Oh, here's the latest CrackaJack book... I always like the Red Ryder stories in there! I'll take it.


Wowee! A new issue of Tip Top Comics! I don't have this one! Best Tarzan stories on the planet, and those Kaztenjammer Kids always crack me up! Yup, gotta have this one!


There's more good stuff here than I thought-- yup, there's also a new issue of Adventure Comics! I gotta say that Sandman fella gives me the heebie-jeebies sometimes... wouldn't like to meet him in my dreams! I'm adding it to the pile for sure...


Hmmm... hang on, that's 50 cents so far... so, if I buy four more books, I'll have money left over for that egg cream, and still have a nickel to spare for a rainy day! Yeah, that's the ticket... OK, now to pick just four more books...

Hey! here's another brand new one! What? The Blue Beetle got his own book now? Looks swell to me! I'll take it!


Oh Boy! Another issue with that Captain Marvel guy! Lucky I got that one last month, it sold out fast, and the fellers at the schoolyard were offering a dozen aggie marbles for trade just to get there hands on it! Captain Marvel is as strong as Superman AND Tarzan! I'm definitely getting this... Maybe I can trade it later with Ralph for that Joe DiMaggio baseball card that he has!


OK, let's pick two more... ummm... that Marvel Mystery is pretty good-- don't care much for that Sub Mariner guy, but I do like the Human Torch! And Ka-Zar is almost as good as Tarzan! I'm gonna buy it...


Now... just one more... which will it be? Still lots of good stuff to choose from... OK, let's do it this way...
Eenie-meenie-minee-moe... Detective Comics! With the Batman! Boy, ALL the crooks are afraid of Batman! It's mine now!



Well, I suppose that's that... now to sit down and read some of them with my egg cream... Think I'll start with Captain Marvel... yeah, that's it...