June 2010 Variant Sales

June was a big month for variant sales, highlighted by a nice mini-hoard from ebay seller zillaf4 .  The zilla books are highlighted in dark blue and my experience has been that they are accurately graded.  This is the most complete list of varinant sales for June 2010 that you will find anywhere.

1.  Amazing Adventures 36 (F-) $12.162.
2.  Amazing Adventures 36 (F) $16.99
3.  Amazing Adventures 37 (VG/F) $7.49
4.  Amazing Spider-Man 155 (F) $43.03
5.  Avengers 146 (VG-) $11.99
6.  Avengers 148 (CGC 8.5) $65.00
7.  Avengers 161 (CGC 8.0) $124.99
8.  Conan the Barbarian 62 (VG) $8.28
9.   Conan the Barbarian 63 (VG) $8.17
10. Conan the Barbarian 64 (F) $26.00
11. Conan the Barbarian 65 (F) $26.00
12. Doctor Strange 14 (VG/F) $18.50
13. Doctor Strange 15 (VG/F) $18.50
14. Doctor Strange 16 (VG+) $20.01
15. Doctor Strange 17 (G) $10.49
16. Eternals 2 (CGC 7.5) $18.00
17. Ghost Rider 17 (F-) $32.51
18. Ghost Rider 18 (F-) $20.17
19. Ghost Rider 19 (F) $20.28
20. Ghost Rider 19 (CGC 8.0) $78.00
21. Godzilla 2 (CGC 9.0) $225.00
22. Howard the Duck 4 (F) $15.00
23. Human Fly 2 (VF) $131.29
24. Incredible Hulk 201 (VG/F) $19.99
25. Inhumans 11 (VF+) $46.09
26. Iron Fist 4 (CGC 9.6) $285.00
27. Iron Fist 6 (VG/F) $9.99
28. Iron Man 85 (CGC 9.6) $415.00
29. Iron Man 100 (VG+) $41.09
30. Jungle Action 22 (F) $26.99
31. Ka-Zar 15 (F-) $17.50
32. Ka-Zar 17 (VG/F) $15.50
33. Kull the Destroyer 16 (F) $10.28
34. Marvel Adventures 4 (NM-) $49.99
35. Marvel Chillers 4 (VG/F) $6.78
36. Marvel Chillers 5 (VG) $6.60
37. Marvel Chillers 6 (VG+) $7.39
38. Marvel Double Feature 16 (VF) $19.99
39. Marvel Double Feature 17 (F) $9.99
40. Marvel Feature 4 (VG/F) $16.49
41. Marvel Feature 4 $29.99
42. Marvel Feature 4 (VF/NM) $49.99
43. Marvel Feature 4 (CGC 8.0) $83.00
44. Marvel Feature 5 (VG+) $17.49
45. Marvel Premiere 31 (F+) $26.00
46. Marvel Super-Heroes 57 (F) $36.01
47. Marvel Super-Heroes 58 (F) $41.01
48. Marvel Tales 70 (G) $5.59
49. Marvel Tales 71 (G) $1.00
50. Marvel Tales 80 (F) $73.28
51. Marvel Team-Up 45 (F-) $20.50
52. Marvel Team-Up 59 (F) $43.59
53. Marvel Two-In-One 16 (VG/F) $15.50
54. Marvel Two-In-One 16 (G) $1.00
55. Marvel's Greatest Comics 63 (VG-) $1.45
56. Omega the Unknown 2 (F+) $8.39
57. Omega the Unknown 3 (VG-) $5.50
58. Powerman 32 (VG) $5.59
59. Powerman 33 (F) $38.99
60. Powerman 34 (G) $3.28
61. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos 133 (VG/F) $51.99
62. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos 134 (VG/F) $30.99
63. Skull the Slayer 5 (VG/F) $11.95
64. Skull the Slayer 6 (F-) $10.17
65. Skull the Slayer 6 (PGX 6.0) $22.50
66. Son of Satan 3 (VG/F) $12.28
67. Son of Satan 4 (F) $16.16
68. Son of Satan 4 (G) $1.00
69. Son of Satan 5 (F+) $26.35
70. Spectacular Spider-Man 8 (F) $49.00
71. Star Wars 1 (CGC 6.5) $750.00
72. Star Wars 1 (CGC 8.5) $2,200.00
73. Star Wars 3 (CGC 8.0) $898.88
74. Strange Tales 186 (VG+) $18.51
75. Tomb of Dracula 17 (VG/F) $30.99
76. Tomb of Dracula 43 9VG) $17.17
77. Tomb of Dracula 44 (VG/F) $26.99
78. Tomb of Dracula 45 (F-)$32.99
79. Tomb of Dracula 46 (F-) $31.00
80. Warlock 13 (CGC 9.4) $143.51
81. Werewolf by Night 39 (VG+) $52.99
82. X-Men 98 (CGC 9.2) $500.00
83. X-Men 99 (9.2??) $269.00
84. X-Men 99 (CGC 9.0) $295.00
85. X-Men 99 (CGC 6.5) $103.00
86. X-Men (old red label) 99 (CGC 9.0) $440.00
87. X-Men 100 9CGC 6.5) $165.00
88. X-Men 105 (CGC 8.50 $799.01

Iron Fist 14 in CGC 9.2 brings $4625

One of only three Iron Fist 14 certified by CGC in 9.2 was sold by ComicLink for $4625 in an exchange (as opposed to auction) transaction.  This is truly an important book and there is still only one book graded higher at 9.4.  The last sale of a 9.2 was in October of 2008 for $4100.  Regular issue 9.2s of this issue sell for about $250 or 1/20th of the price variant amount.  Here is an interesting back of the napkin calculation - regular issue 9.8s sell for around $2000 so if a 9.8 Iron Fist 14 price variant issue is ever found would it go for $40,000.  What do you think?

Two four-figure sales of Iron Fist books in one month begs the question of which price variant issues have broken four figures.  There will be others but only if and when the books are ever found and if and when they come up for auction, particularly high-grade mainline titles like Spidey and X-Men and the exceptionally rare war, western, horror and Hanna Barbara books.  Here is the list of the ones I know of including some near four figure books.  This is a list you won't find anywhere else.  If you know of another transaction that I need to add to the list, please let me know.

Amazing Spider-Man 155 CGC 9.8      $950.00
Amazing Spider-Man 171 CGC 9.6   $1,150.00
Incredible Hulk 200 CGC 9.8            $1,434.00
Iron Fist 5 CGC 9.8                           $1034.00
Iron Fist 14 CGC 9.4                        $5,100.00 (and fifteen other four-figure sales)
Kid Colt ebay raw                                $800.00 +
Kid Colt ebay raw                                $800.00 +
Kid Colt 220 CGC 9                            $925.00
Kid Colt 208 CGC 8                            $800.00
Kid Colt Outlaw 219 CGC 5.5             $799.00
Rawhide Kid 141 CGC 5.5                  $786.00
Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos 141 CGC 7     $999.00
Star Wars 1 CGC 9.6                      $26,250.00 (and thirty other four-figure sales)
Star Wars 2 CGC 9.4                        $2,700.00 (and five other four-figure sales)
Star Wars 3 CGC 9.2                        $1,950.00 (one of two four-figure sales)
Star Wars 4 CGC 9.6                        $2,151.00 (one of two four-figure sales)
X-Men 98 CGC 9.6                          $1,875.00 (one of three four-figure sales)
X-Men 99 CGC 9.2                             $975.00
X-Men 100 CGC 9.4                        $1,825.00 (one of two four-figure sales)
X-Men 105 CGC 9.2                        $1,026.00 (one of two four figure sales)
X-Men 107 CGC 9.2                           $910.00

ComicLink June Auction highlighted by Iron Fist 5 CGC 9.8 for $1037

To make a long story short, it has been a couple of weeks since I have posted.  I upgraded my computer but between traveling and trying to get the new computer reloaded and back up to speed, it seems like I have taken a two week sabbatical.

Speaking of long stories, as opposed to short ones, Charles Dickens" A Tale of Two Cities opens with the line 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times".  That kind of describes the June ComicLink auction.

There were three nice thirty cent price variants in the auction. 

Amazing Spider-Man 157 in CGC 9.4 sold for $103.  That price is a bargain for a 2nd highest graded Spider-Man issue with only 5 higher graded copies.  In fact, in the last three years, GPA only records one other sale of a 9.4 book.  $675 in March of this year.  I suspect that the Cream to Off-White page quality affected the price. but I also think that many times price variants get lost in the focused ComicLink auctions.  Unless a collector looks closely, the price variant books can get lost in sea of 9.8 graded bronze.  Anyway, CGC Registry set points don't distinguish on page quality and page quality is the most inconsistent CGC metric.  Still, I like my bronze-age books to have Off-White to White or better page quality but I will settle for less on price variants.  In fact, I would take a brittle Flintstones 1 35 cent price variant in a second.

The next price variant in the auction was an old label Howard the Duck 3 which has been passed around more than a bottle of Mescal Tequila (yes, the one with the worm) at a frat party.  I think this book has changed hands at least three times in the past twelve months.  It is commonly believed that the old label books are more conservatively graded than more recently graded books.  I have not found this to be particularly true and I am guessing that maybe this book is getting passed around in hopes that someone will crack it out and resubmit it to try and get that elusive 9.8.  There have been twelve HTD 3s that have been graded 9.6 but no 9.8s.  Howard the Duck 3 and Eternals 1 are the most common 30 cent variants, particularly in high grade.  However, if a 9.8 ever shows up at auction, it is going to go real high.  Alas, this copy of an apparently unimprovable 9.6 went for 9.4 money and sold for an absolute bargain price of $43. 

The highlight of the auction, or any auction for that matter, was the sale of a CGC 9.8 Iron Fist 5 with white pages and a full starburst.  The series ran for only 15 issues but there are six price variant issues.   Price variants don't come much nicer than this one and there are more than a few bronze age Iron Fist collectors, so when a book like this one comes up at auction you can throw the price guides in the trash. This book brought a hammer price of $1037 and joins the growing list of price variant issues to achieve a four figure price.