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.