Pedigree Comics Grand Auction April 2010

This highest graded Invaders 6 30 cent variant just brought a hammer price of $300 at the recent Pedigree Grand Auction.

...and sometimes more than one Variant collector finds the Hidden Western Variant lot.

There is nothing quite as exciting for a variant collector than finding the needle in the haystack.  In this case, the "needle" is the hidden western 30 cent price variant lurking in an ebay auction but not described as such in either the title or the description.  Every once in awhile, several variant hunters find the same needle and that is where the fun begins.  I suspect that seller porkyscomics was surprised when his listing for 45 well read bronze age westerns fetched $178.49 at a recent auction.  Or maybe he was just cagey because the one extremely rare Two-Gun Kid 131 30 cent western variant is inserted right in the middle of the picture.  Yes, the tell-tale starburst is almost in the middle of the picture.  Anyway, if the buyer is a collector of 30 cent price variants, he got a good deal on this one.  If the buyer is a speculator, he may have paid a bit more than he thought he was going to have to pay.

There is still hope...

for finding rare raw western hidden variants.  Here is proof.  An ebay seller recently posted a "beater" lot of eleven western bronze age books with an auction start of $23.95.  Ebay is filled with lots like this of beat-up bronze-age books that sit forever because they are overpriced.  No one is going to pay $2 bucks a book for dreckage like this except there is that Rawhide Kid 134 30 cent western variant sitting in the bottom right of the picture.  You would think that a seller going with the handle "sherlockseller" might have checked a little more closely, but the fact that the Rawhide Kid is a western price variant is not noted in the title or in the description.  Hidden lots like this get a variant collectors crazy excited when they see one.  They get even more excited when the hammer hits for the minimum bid which means that none of the other variant collectors out there found the listing.  They get even more excited when the book actually arrives in the mail. 

If you don't currently have the budget to collect 30 cent variants, start looking for the needles in the hay stack and you just might find them cheap.  Warning!  It may take a long time.

GPA variant report for May 2014. Fantastic Four 184 and Iron Man 100 join Four-Figure Club

The May 2014 features some strong variant sales.  There were three solid sales of Star Wars 1 books.  An 8.5 sold for $3100.  A 8.0 sold for $2500.  A 6.5 sold for $1850.  The 6.5 sale was a record price for the grade and the prices give a pretty good idea of the range of prices for the most expensive bronze-age book in comics.

I want to highlight two record breaking sales of two sensational 35 cent variants.  The first book is a simply unimprovable Fantastic Four 184 in 9.8.  35 cent price variants which have been certified at 9.8 are the rarest of the rare bronze-age books.  This book is the highest graded by two grades over three 9.4s.  This book was snapped up almost instantly when ebay seller Zillaf4 listed it for $2000.  To repeat myself, again, and again.  These never come up for sale.  The only other recorded sale in GPA of this issue was a 7.0 which sold nine years ago for $53.  2005 prices for 35 cent variants are long gone.

The other highlight was one of the three highest graded Iron Man 100 35 cent variants in 9.2.  Like the Fantastic Four, this book was sold as a Buy-It-Now for $1100.   Iron Man was a second-tier title back in 1977, but Robert Downey has helped make it a first-tier title now and the 100th issue is a great book.  This is the highest graded of 17 currently certified.

GPA variant report for April 2014; record prices for Jungle Action 21 and Iron Fist 13

Every so often I post the GPA variant report that is produced by GPA every month.  As I have written before, I highly recommend GPA to high-quality comic collectors, especially high-quality variant collectors.  Overstreet does not come close to a correct value for these books - GPA is the only useful guide and as you will see in upcoming posts - GPA is only a guide, each sale can bring a new high.

As you can see from the report, there were a couple of highlights for the month.  Here is the sale of the Jungle Action 21, one of the toughest 30 centers particularly in high grade.  The black cover and low distribution of this book add to the difficulty.  $565 is a record price for this issue which isn't surprising because it is the single highest graded of only six specimens.  This book also doesn't come up for sale very often.  The only comparably graded book sold for $82 back in 2005.  Pretty solid appreciation for a hard-to-find 30 cent variant.  One 9.2 on the census and only one 9.0 on the census.

Another record sale propelled Iron Fist 13 into the rapidly growing Four-Figure club.  This book was purchased as a Buy-It-Now Best Offer for $1700.  This 9.4 is one of two highest graded books of this ever-popular Iron Fist issue.  How often does this book come up for sale in high grade?  The previous high sale was a 9.0 for $282 back in 2004.  Yes, 10 years ago.  There are still only 10 of this issue that have been certified.

Mycomicshop sells nice Amazing Spider-Man 173 35 cent price variant on ebay

Dallas comic dealer mycomicshop sold a solid mid-grade Amazing Spider-Man 173 35 cent price variant on ebay for $374.  mycomicshop is generally regarded as decent (if not conservative) grade and they had the book pegged as a 6.5.  The only recorded sale of certified book in the last nine years was an 8.5 which sold for $612 in 2010.  There are still just eight of this price variant issue certified in ANY grade so I think this might have been a bargain.

A trio of Rawhide Kid price variants hit the 'bay.

It has been awhile, but a nice trio of Rawhide Kid 30 cent price variants were auctioned off on ebay.  The first was a nice Rawhide Kid 133 from ebay seller msjackhammer which brought $350 in the auction.  There are only eight Rawhide Kid 133s which have been certified.

The same seller auctioned a second 133 (which I thought was nicer than the first) and it brought $202 at auction.

The seller had both variants as msjackhammer auctioned off a VG Rawhide Kid 134 which brought a hammer price of $522.

Kid Colt 208 sale shatters record for western price variant

It seems like it has been forever, but it has only been five years since the last Kid Colt 208 price variant came up for sale on ebay.  As part of a group of very hard-to-find 30 cent price variants that ebay seller msjackhammer listed on ebay, the Kid Colt 208 was bound to catch the attention of price variant collectors everywhere.  The book is a very solid mid-grade.  I think that the bottom right corner creasing will keep the book in the 7 range, but it would be very attractive for the grade. The auction brought $1628 for the book.  The highest graded 208 resides in a CGC 9.2 holder with another in a CGC 9.0 holder.  There are currently only five copies in any grade on the CGC census.

Here is a picture of the CGC 9.2 copy of the book.

Interestingly, at the same time, another copy of Kid Colt 208 was being auctioned on ebay.  This Kid Colt was in what variant collector's call a "hidden" auction.  A "hidden" auction is one where the seller lists the issue, but doesn't know and doesn't note anywhere in the listing that the book is a price variant.  Ebay seller, ethrift_superstore, must have been shocked when their listing for two Kid Colt Marvel Comics fetched $250 in an auction.  Hopefully, they are not going to go out and buy a bunch of similarly beaten up bronze age comics or they will take a bath on them.  However that pretty white 30 cent starburst makes all the difference in this case.  If they had correctly listed the book as a marvel price variant, I think that would have made several hundred dollars more.  Interest in this book is that high.  It is usually the last book needed to complete the 30 cent marvel price variant set.

A couple of nice Amazing Adventures 37s sell on the "bay"

Ebay seller Topnotchcomics auctioned off a couple of nice certified Amazing Adventures 37 price variants on ebay.  On December 1, he sold this spectacular CGC 9.6 copy of the issue.  It brought $218.  It is one of three highest graded 9.6s on the census.  Perfectly centered, full star burst, and white pages... they don't come nicer than this one.

Later in December, he sold this very nice CGC 9.4 graded copy of the same issue with almost the same results - $200.  Fittingly so, since from the pictures, it is hard to tell a difference between the two books.

Weird Wonder Tales 15 brings $255 in auction.

I have always felt that Weird Wonder Tales 15 along with Kid Colt 208 (and the rest of the Marvel Westerns) is the key to completing the 30 cent price variant set.  This is one reason why a this book in what would graciously be called a Fair to Good grade brings $255 in the auction.  If a collector needs the book to finish the series, it wouldn't matter if the book came off the bottom of the bird cage.

Nice Tomb of Darkness 20 price variant brings shocking result, shatters high price record.

A very nice (F/VFish?) copy of Tomb of Darkness 20 brought $437 in an ebay auction.  Noted ebay seller and Marvel price variant hunter/collector Flyingdonut sold the book.

There are no recorded sales of a CGC certified copy of this issue so the value of these books is anyone's guess.  Everyone knows that the price variant horror titles are very tough.

I always felt that issue 21 was tougher than issue 20, but that may be just personal experience.  They are both tough books since there were not a lot of people collecting reprint horror titles back in the 70's.  The single highest graded 21 which is graded in 9.6 sold in 2012 for $750.

Warlock sales break record, highest graded.

The three Warlock 30 cent price variants are some of the rarer price variants.  Two very nice price copies of Warlock 13 have sold in the past couple of months.  The first is this single highest-graded CGC 9.8 blazer which brought $795 as a Buy It Now on ebay.  It is one of only two 9.8s on the census.

A 9.6 of the same issue sold for $200.  There are eight 9.6s on the census.  You will note that this is an October sale and the above 9.8 is a December sale.  These are definately two different books, not the same book just resubmitted to CGC.

One of the six highest graded Warlocks of Issue 12 was also sold on ebay for $200.  9.6 is the highest grade for this issue.  There are no 9.8s.

Proof that all of the high-grade X-men books belong in the Four Figure Book Club

Ebay seller Filter81 sold one of the highest graded X-Men 100 30 cent price variant books for $1850 on ebay as a Buy It Now item.  Since 9.4 copies of this book regularly sell for more than $1000, this was just confirmation that if you want a high grade X-Men registry set, the six issues will cost you what a decent car would cost.

Another nice X-Men 100, this one in CGC 9.0 sold for $394 in December.

Also, a pretty nice raw X-Men 105 35 cent price variant sold for $305.

So just exactly how much would the highest graded X-Men set cost nowadays if you could acquire all the books at once.  Yes, I know that this impossible, but let's examine the hypothetical just for fun.

The three 30 cent issues are 98, 99, and 100.

There are three copies of issue 98 graded in CGC 9.6.  The last of which sold in 2012 for $2225.

There are only four copies of issue 99 graded in CGC 9.4, which is the highest grade for this issue.  There are no recorded sales of a 9.4.  The last recorded sale of a 9.2 of this issue is back in 2009 and was for $975.  I suspect that it would take at least $2000 to snag one of the four 9.4s in today's market.

As seen above, $1850 is a realistic price for a 100 in 9.6.  I suspect that if the seller had auctioned the book instead of listing as a BIN, the price would have been higher.  The last private sale of that book was for $3000 so who knows?  

The three 35 cent issues are 105, 106 and 107.

The last recorded sale of a 105 was an 8.5 which sold in 2010 for $799.  What would one of the four highest graded 9.4s sell for today?  My guess would be at $2500 to $4000.

The last recorded sale of a 106 was a 9.2 that sold for $1000 in 2011.  There is a single 9.6 on the census and it is the highest graded by two grades over the three 9.2s on the census!!!  I would guess that this book would easily bring $5000.

The last recorded sale of a high grade 107 was a 9.2 that sold back in 2005, yes nine years ago.  That sale brought $910.  There is just one 9.4 and one 9.2 on the census.  I think the 9.4 would easily bring $4000 to $5000 in auction.

Totaling the damage on the six books makes me think that it would take $17,500 to $21,000 to get all six of the top graded books on the census.  I don't think it will ever happen, but it would be fun to see the fireworks if it ever did.

Marvel Feature 5 - Red Sonja is hot and Red Sonja books are hotter, record price realized.

Coming on the heels of the spectacular Marvel Feature 4 in CGC 9.8 that sold for $1850, this extraordinary Red Sonja Marvel Feature 5 in CGC 9.6 sold for $500.  This is a record price for the book

This is one of just three copies that have been graded in 9.6 (one is a signature series book!!!) which is the highest grade for the book.

There are only the two 30 cent price variants (issue 4 and 5) for this ever-popular, but short-lived (7 issues) series.  Of course Red Sonja went on to her own title and remains one of the most popular Marvel characters of all time.  Bikini armor is really all that needs to be said.

GPA Price Variant report for December 2013 - Marvel Feature 4 joins Four Figure Club

I haven't posted in awhile, but there have been some very nice top census books sold lately so it is time to catch you up with the recent significant book sales.  We can start with one of the best resources, GPA's price variant sales report.  As always, if you don't have a subscription, I highly recommend the service if you buy or sell high-grade comic books.  The service is invaluable and one of the bonuses is the GPA price variant report.  The report for December 2013 is below. 


The highlight of course is the Star Wars 1 in CGC 9.2 that sold for $6550.  This is a new high for the grade and points to the fact that the Star Wars 1 35 cent price variant is still the most desired bronze age book.


The other highlight is the exceptional Marvel Feature 4 in CGC 9.8 which sold for $1850.  This is also a new record for the book and the 9.8 that sold is one of only two 9.8s on the census (the other is a Signature Series book!!!) followed by two 9.6s.  Vintage Red Sonja books are always in demand and this book, with its spectacular cover is no exception.