Rarity in comic books is usually measured using a scale developed by Ernst Gerber and published in his Photo-Journal Guide To Comics volumes.
Gerber's scale is as follows:
(1) Very Common (new comics)
(2) Common (80's books)
(3) More Than Average (70's, some 60's)
(4) Average Scarcity (1,000-2,000 existing copies)
(5) Less Than Average (200-1,000 existing copies)
(6) Uncommon (50-200 existing copies)
(7) Scarce (21-50 known copies)
(8) Rare (11-20 known copies)
(9) Very Rare (6-10 known copies)
(10) Unique (less than 5 known copies)
(11) Nonexistent (but known to have been printed)
So using Gerber's Scale, here are the scarcest books.
35 cents
Gerber 10
Flintstones 1 (2 known copies)
Scooby 1
Kid Colt 218
Kid Colt 219
Kid Colt 220
Rawhide Kid 140
Rawhide Kid 141
Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos 141
Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos 142
Gerber 9
There are too many titles to list here but most of the superhero reprint books and horror books fit in this category. In fact, there are several reprint books like Marvel Triple Action 36 which could be included in the Gerber 10 category.
The Iron Fist 14 price variant has been known almost since the day it hit the shelves and was soon after a wall-book and still it is a Gerber 6 or Gerber 7 with only 24 certified copies.
In fact, the Star Wars 1 (because of its huge print run and popularity) is the only for certain Gerber 6 35 cent price variant. Of course, the collector demand for the book is also at the top of the chart.
30 Cents
Gerber 9
Kid Colt 208 (eight known copies)
Weird Wonder Tales 15 (ten known copies)
Gerber 8
Kid Colt 205
Kid Colt 206
Kid Colt 207
Kid Colt 209
Mighty Marvel Western 45
Rawhide Kid 133
Rawhide Kid 134
Ringo Kid 27
Ringo Kid 28
Two-Gun Kid 129
Two-Gun Kid 130
Two-Gun Kid 131
Gerber 7/8 (less than 30 copies)
Chamber of Chills 22
Chamber of Chills 23
Jungle Action 22
Jungle Action 23
Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos 133
Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos 134
Tomb of Darkness 20
Tomb of Darkness 21
Weird Wonder Tales 16
Weird Wonder Tales 17
A couple of additional notes are in order.
1. Gerber never assigned an 11 to a book. I guess it is a bit like the old riddle about if a tree falling in a forest makes a sound if no one is there to hear it. I kind of think it would be cool for Marvel to print a comic and immediately destroy every copy so that we could say that the comic was a Gerber 11. Of course, there have been some comics that should have been immediately destroyed but that is another story and is also why we still have Squirrel Girl around. Yes, her superpower is that she can talk to squirrels. I don't feel the need to pain you with any puns.
2. While we have a good idea of the number of known copies, it is very difficult to try and predict the number of bronze age marvel variants hiding unknown in closets, basements, attics, and garages. I suppose it is possible that one day a warehouse with long boxes filled with bronze age marvel variants might be found. However, the exact print runs of the price variants are unknown but very small. Sales of the western, war, and horror books, particularly reprints, was very poor and most collectors did not collect them so I think most were returned or read and thrown out. For several years the price variants have had enough collector interest to bring strong bids and still the money has not been able to chase out a bunch of copies. If the past 10 years are any indication, I speculate that at most two or at three times the current number of known books will be found over the next 10 to 20 years which means that the western, war, and Hanna-Barbara books will still be Gerber 9 and 10s.
Finally, I am very interested in the census of these books. If you have any additional information or corrections, please drop me a line.
Thanks.
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