To all you working stiffs out there, yes, it IS possible to actually become bored binge-watching Law & Order, NCIS, and Blue Bloods re-runs all day! Especially, if that is all you’ve been doing for two weeks.
Ya see, that image I posted above pretty much represents my only activity, except occupying my barcalounger for 95% of the day and night for the past fortnight. Before you cast dispersions, remember that I have had to endure WAY more ads from insurance companies reminding you to update social security benefits or law firms seeking plaintiffs suing for having caught a disease due to living near Camp Lejeune decades ago – than anyone should have to tolerate. Oh, the humanity!
Why have I become such a lazy slug, you ask? Well, I don’t fly much, but I’m told that I will set off the metal detectors now that I have a new titanium hip. So, besides watching the tube, doing my arm chair leg exercises and the occasional stroll with the walker, I’m living life through the internet, trying to stay current with the collectibles market.
My timing for retiring was terrible! Certain collectibles, and comics definitely being one, have really taken off since the pandemic started. New records seem to be broken with every major auction that takes place. I relied on the Overstreet to price my comics since the mid 70s. Of course, I knew that prices were generally rising since those prices were compiled, but my take was to offer a price that a potential customer could compare to “the bible” and not feel gouged. It worked and I hung in there for over 45 years; but times have changed. It’s not only the top tier, top conditioned, issues that are going for more than guide, but incomplete comics, even single pages, are commanding big bucks - if they are from a key issue.
Every Spider-Man collector would love to have a copy of Amazing Fantasy 15. Of course, even a low-grade copy is out of the reach of the average collector. BUT, what about a piece of one? I see individually slabbed pages from it, as well as other key issues, constantly being offered online now – even from such major auction houses as ComicConnect and Heritage. CGC does not give a grade, but will authenticate that the page is from the comic in question. eBay member BLISSARD seems to always have a number of single pages listed in its weekly auctions. What do they bring? Well, naturally, it depends on how rare and desirable the comic is and also what happens on that page. Is it a splash page? Is the main character even shown on this page? And in costume? Many older comics were missing their centerfold and finding a slabbed one to help complete that one in a collection is a true find. Just last night, eBay seller BLISSARD sold the following individual pages on eBay: Fantastic Four #1 page 15 ($467.62), Fantastic Four #5 page 4 ($104.49), Fantastic Four #52 page 13 ($74.09), Tales of Suspense #39 page 8 ($291.00), X-Men #1 page 11 ($465.00), Amazing Spider-Man #1 the centerfold! ($ 402.99), Amazing Fantasy #15 page 11 ($202.59), Amazing Fantasy # 15 Page 6 ($2,250.00) Whoa! Why the huge difference in those two pages? Remember, AF 15 was an anthology comic and the first page above was part of the Mummy story. The second one, however, was the last page of Spidey’s introduction where you see him in costume (with those two dots in the eyes) and a message in the last panel that states “with great power there must also come … great responsibility”! A comic book classic line! Some previously saved “watches” I had were of a TOS 39 page bringing $510, the 6th wrap to Hulk 181 only going for $90.09, but page 2 of an AF 15 sold for $1,486 (Peter is not in costume yet but you see him being bitten by the spider!) and a page from Superman #1 went for $955.00 BLISSARD has a bunch more individual pages listed current again. How about all those coverless copies out there? Covers, even “non-keys”, especially golden age issues, are in high demand. Think of it, they’re great pieces of art.
Not all of my time has been spent watching crime dramas. Recently I caught a 2017 episode of Pawn Stars where a customer brought in a complete set of Hulk 1 – 6 while “Big Hoss" was tending the counter. Admitting that he isn’t that knowledgeable about comics, he calls in a local expert for help. All of the comics were “raw”, but signed by Stan Lee. Big Hoss explains his hesitance, especially since they are signed, due to his belief that it will be a turn-off to potential customers. The expert assured him that even though Stan signed loads and loads of comics, it wouldn’t be a problem. He came up with a grade of 6.0 for the number one and didn’t even bother with the other 5 (and they appeared pretty decent from the little shown on the TV) stating that the first issue was the cream and the rest “just icing”. According to him, it was a $35,000 issue. Prior to the expert showing up, the owner said he wanted 40 grand for the set. Big Hoss offered him $18,000. The customer took them back home, saying that he'd hold on to them for a while – smart man! Here’s a piece of trivia I learned during that episode – What character did Stan Lee actually want to play (not as just a cameo) in a movie? See bottom of this drivel for the answer. While I’m at it – just watched “Elvis” and according to the movie, his favorite comic book hero was…
Revisiting an earlier blog related to buying a piece of a collectible, I still get emails from RALLY (https://app.rallyrd.com/app/home). If you don’t remember, this site is taking advantage of that collector who would love to own some cool stuff, but just can’t afford it. They buy interesting collectibles in all types of markets – comic books, coins, trading cards, artwork, gems, toys, historical papers, exotic cars, you name it, and then sell “shares”. Wanna get in on an 8.0 CGC graded copy of Batman #1? Got ten bucks? Then you can buy as few a one share or multiple ones (as long as you don’t control more than 50% of the total). How do they make money? They inflate the value of the item. For example, they have determined that this Batman comic is worth $1,800,000. They are selling 180,000 shares at $10 a pop to cover that figure. Okay, maybe it's over-priced, but you can have it in your portfolio! Here’s the extra incentive – after the original shares have sold out (if they sell out), the shares sit dormant for a certain amount of time. Then, those who wish to sell their shares to others may do so – but agent fees now apply. As this is being posted, it just went “live” and 65% of the shares have sold (2,768 investors have grabbed almost 120,000 of those shares – you can still get in at $10. You can do research on their site and see that some items have grown significantly as other collectors discover this arena. However, just like the stock market, some items have not fared so well. Hmmm… I wonder how that tract of land on Mars that I bought my grandson a few years ago is doing? I hope he didn’t lose the deed!
Not all comic book collectors are completists. Some just seek key issues or those done by their favorite artist or writer. For us comic book completists, at least when we store our issues in those long white boxes, the missing issues aren’t staring back atcha as a big hole in the collection/set. That’s true for card people, also. Not so true for us numismatists! As a coin collector (and I’m sure a few of you out there are, too), one usually houses one’s collection in an album designed specifically for that set. Being a kid in the 50s, I collected not only coins, but baseball cards, comics, and even rocks and minerals. Being a kid in the 50s, you frequently found Indian head pennies, buffalo or, occasionally, “V” nickels, mercury dimes, Barber dimes and quarters and standing Liberty quarters in regular change. The Lincoln cent, my favorite, started in 1909, commemorating his 100th birthday. They hadn’t been around even 50 years when I starting collecting in earnest. Try finding a “wheat cent” (pre 1959) nowadays! They’re all at least 63 years old. Back then, the typical album for pennies had two volumes – one covering the years 1909 – 1940 and the second from 1941 and up. (Volumes 3 and 4 are now needed to cover up to 2022) A hole was provided for each coin regularly minted, depending upon which of the three mints produced one that year. There were three mints back then – Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. If minted in Denver, there was a “D” below the date. If minted in San Francisco, you saw an “S” below the date. If produced in Philly, there wasn’t a mint mark. Most years, all three mints produced pennies, with Philly usually putting out the most. In 1922, Denver was the only mint that produced the penny. Due to a problem with the dies getting clogged at a point during the process, some of the pennies did not appear to have that “D” mint mark showing up well, if at all. These made it out to circulation and the error was discovered sometime afterward. It was not designed to be that way, it was an error, an oddity, and very, very scarce. Guess what, they put a spot in the album for the 1922 “Plain” cent!! Back in the 50s, this “tweener” found (in change mind you) every coin needed to fill my album, except the 1909 S VDB and that damn ’22 plain. Why put a spot for a coin in the album that wasn’t an official release? You know I had to get one! Couldn’t stand staring at that hole. I paid dearly for one years later. Didn’t mind it so much shelling out the moolah for the ‘09 S VDB. Come 1955 and for some reason, a number of pennies at the Philly mint appeared to be struck twice in the press – a “double die”. These are certainly impressive-looking, but, again, it was a mistake, an error, but again – the albums left a space to be filled for this one. I won’t bore you with the details, but more errors since then have managed to get good PR and a space reserved for them in albums of today. Though interesting, I’m sure that not all Fantastic Four collectors feel the need to get a copy of FF 110 with the green Thing on the cover. It was an error in inking – not meant to be!
Coins, like comics and trading cards (even toys and gaming cartridges have been added lately) are sent in for third party grading, and there are a number of companies that offer this service. In fact, for this market, it’s been around for over 70 years, dating back to a system created by Dr. William Sheldon in 1949 to be used for large cents. The scale goes from a low of 1 (Poor) to 70! Of course, as with all grading, it is open to subjectivity, and there are always those upset with a grade received. Consider that a coin that gets a grade of “Mint State” (never got into circulation) can run from MS 60, MS 61, MS 62,…,MS 69, to MS 70. And just like a comic getting a 9.8 instead of a 9.6, a grade of MS 66 instead of MS 64 is considered huge regarding value. One company has just announced that after all of this time, it will go to a system based on 1 – 10, like other collectibles. Will this be accepted? Although it makes sense to conform to what others are doing, it will be hard to break a tradition this old.
Oh, yeah, another thing about being a kid in the 50s - I don't remember what happened to my comics and baseball cards from back then !$#@&^%!
Pushing 2,000 words already and due to take another stroll in the walker, I better stop here. Hope I don’t see that flock of turkey vultures swirling above my head again. Kinda creeps me out. Oh, and if you actually read this, the first answer is: J. Jonah Jameson. The second answer is: Captain Marvel, Jr.
Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving and an even better Holiday coming up – no matter what you celebrate!
Paul
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