Other notable High Grade 30 cent Variant Sales from the May Comiclink Featured Auction

The May 2011 Comiclink Feature Auction was remarkable for the size and quality of its Marvel Bronze Age price variant offerings. 

Amazing Spider-Man 155 - CGC 9.6 White (one of three in grade, two higher)  $305

Amazing Spider-Man 159 - CGC 9.6 White (one of two highest graded) $391 absolute bargain, by the way.

Avengers 148 CGC 9.6 White (one of three in grade, two higher)  $216

Avengers 149 CGC 9.4 Off-White to White (one of five, all highest graded, and the first time any have been auctioned)  $140

Jungle Action 22 CGC 9.4 White (one of three in grade, one higher)  $345.  The last and only time another of these books sold was in 2005 for $200.

Marvel Tales 67 CGC 9.8 White (single highest graded) $330

Marvel Team-Up 45 CGC 9.4 White (one of two highest graded) $330

Marvel Team-Up 46 CGC 9.4 White (one of five, highest graded) $198.  The price on this book, like many variants, has more than doubled in five years.

Marvel Two-In-One 17 CGC 9.6 White (single highest graded) $250

Also, it is always good when a Star Wars 1 comes up for auction.  Star Wars 1 CGC 8.5 Off-White to White $1628. 

There is only one variant listed so far in the June 2011 Comiclink auction.  But... it is a doozy.  The second copy of Star Wars 1 to be graded in 9.6.  I would bet that it is a Queen Angelica book that has been pressed.  If you remember, the last and only other 9.6 to auction, ended north of $25,000 in a Comiclink auction a couple of years ago.

Highest Graded Silver Age Journey Into Mystery 76 Sets Auction Record

I haven't blogged on the three Silver Age Marvel Price Variants yet.  The single highest graded of one of these issues and the easiest of the three issues to find (don't get me started on the Love Romances one), Journey into Mystery 76 recently came up for sale in the May Comiclink Feature Auction.  When the dust settled and all the snipes were set, the auction finished at $1687 which is more than twice the amount of any previous auction of this price variant.

What exactly are the black circle variants.  They are the silver-age brethren of the bronze age marvel price variants.  The three issues were all published by Marvel in January 1962.   Marvel decided to up their price from 10 cents to 12 cents and apparently still had three issues to print in January - Journey into Mystery, Love Romances, and Gunsmoke Western.  They made the decision to change the price on these but somehow the word didn't get to the printer or the printer didn't follow instructions until after the printing had started.   Some of the initial books were printed with the standard 10 cent price in a white circle.  After the mistake was discovered, the books were corrected by overprinting a black circle over the 10 cent price and printing 12 cents near where the price circel had been.  The remainder of the print run was printed with the new correct 12 cent price in the white circle.  The correctly printed 12 cent issues are the regular issue while the "black circle" ones are the variant issues. 
One question that has nagged variant collectors for years is "Did any of the 10 cent copies escape the printers?"  I have never seen or heard of one, but finding one would be a lot of fun.

Iron Man 88 in CGC 9.6 White sets record

One of only three NM or better copies of the 30 cent variant issue of Iron Man 88 and the single highest graded at 9.6 White set a new price record of $450 for the issue in the May Comiclink Featured Auction.  This price is 40 times higher than the last sale of similarly graded regular copy of this issue.  The brilliant blue background on the cover of this issue always makes this issue tough in grade.  The slight stress at the top staple is all that appears to keep this issue from grading higher.

Daredevil 134 in CGC 9.6 White sets record

In the May Comiclink Featured Auction, the single highest graded copy of Daredevil 134 set a new price record for the issue of $425.  At only seven times the average price for its regular issue brethren, I think it was a relative bargain for the auction. 

X-Men 106 35 cent price variant in CGC 9.2 Off-White to White Pages Breaks $1000 barrier

The 2nd highest graded copy of the 35 cent variant issue of X-Men 106 recently sold on ebay for $1000 which means this issue joins the $1000 club for price variant sales.  One of two copies that have received a grade of 9.2, this book trails only one book that has been graded higher at 9.6.  Regular issue copies certified in 9.2 trade for $50, so the price of the variant issue is twenty time higher than the regular issue.

What is the 9.6 worth?  A premium for certain since the book is a single highest graded copy right in the sweet spot of bronze age X-Men greatness.  Twenty times the regular issue value of $150 in CGC 9.6 would be $3000.  Who knows?  What we do know is that there have been 553 copies certified of the regular issue and only 13 copies certified of the variant issue.  Putting together a complete set of high grade X-Men price variants is a major challenge.

Amazing spider-man 157 in CGC 9.8 sets record in Comiclink feature auction

A beautiful copy of Amazing Spider-man 157 in CGC white sold for $1628 in the May 2011 Comiclink Feature auction. This is one of two highest graded copies of this variant issue and the first to come up at auction. The is the first sale of a certified spider 30 cent price variant to break the $1000 dollar barrier but it is also the first sale of a 9.8 graded spidey book to close at auction. 9.8 copies of issue 155 have sold in private treaty sales for near four-figure amounts.

This price is approximately fifteen times the amount of a regular issue 9.8.  The previous high sales price for a price variant copy of this issue was $510 for a 9.6 copy.