ComicLink sale of Star Wars 1 35 cent Price Variant Crushes Previous Price Record

One of the two highest graded copies of the 35 cent price variant issue of Star Wars 1 shattered the previous record sale of a price variant by more than $10,000.  The June ComicLink auction of the CGC 9.6 Star Wars 1 price variant closed at $36,500.  This sale is over 60 times higher than the current price of a regular issue certified 9.6.  Interest in the classic bronze age Star Wars books has been stoked because of the upcoming launch of new Star Wars films starting in December 2015.   You can search this blog for the previous two record sales of 9.6 Star Wars 1 price variants back in 2010 and 2011.  

The regular edition Star Wars 1 has risen in price in the last year from the $600 dollar level to around $2500.  It is not surprising that interest in the much, much, much rarer Star Wars 1 price variant is at an all-time high.  This is the only mainstream Star Wars collectible to be released before the release of the first Star Wars movie.  The CGC census of Star Wars 1 price variants currently has two 9.6 copies certified and lists eleven 9.4 copies.  The number of 9.4s is probably inflated a bit because both 9.6 copies were a result of resubmits to CGC.


These numbers will give you an idea of the rarity (and the justification for the high prices) of Near Mint or higher price variant issues versus the regular issues of Star Wars 1.

There are 339 copies of Star Wars 1 that have been graded 9.8, 921 copies that have graded 9.6, and 861 that have graded 9.4.  This is a total of 2121 books graded 9.4 or higher.

There are two copies of the 35 price variant in 9.6 and somewhere between seven to eleven copies in 9.4.  In other words, there is about one NM or better 35 cent price variant of Star Wars 1 for every 200 NM or better regular editions.

Here is the information on the ComicLink auction.  ComicLink does not report sales to GPA, but this blog keeps track of the important ComicLink variant sales.

Also featured in the ComicLink auction was a very nice CGC 9.0 Star Wars 1 price variant with Off-White to White pages.  I think that this is the first time that two high grade copies of this book have been auctioned in the same event.  This auction closed at $5764. 

These two sales imply current prices of $18,000 to $20,000 for 9.4 certified Star Wars 1 price variants and $9000 to $11,000 for 9.2 copies.

 

GPAnalysis Price Variant Report for november 2012

I always recommend GPAnalysis.com to serious collectors of price variant books, particularly high grade.  There is no better source, with the possible exception of this humble blog, for pricing information on these books.  High-grade examples of most of the books trade so infrequently that it is very hard to price them.  Forget using the Overstreet guide for high-grade price variants - it is simply not useful.  Actually, Overstreet is great if you are a buyer.  I would buy books at Overstreet prices all day every day and twice on Sunday.

Anyway, here is the price variant sales report for certified books for November 2012.

Highest Graded X-Men 99 30 Cent Price Variant brings Record Price

This exceptional copy of X-Men 99 brought an issue-record price of $2211 in the July 2011 ComicLink auction.  The 30 cent price variant issue is of X-Men 99 is rare enough but ultra-high-grade copies of X-Men 99 are impossible because of the total black cover.  This issue is as nice as they come and is currently tied with two others as highest certified, although it is hard to imagine that this variant issue comes any nicer than this one. 

As a comparison, in the same ComicLink auction, a CGC 9.4 regular edition sold for $180 with is right at the GPA average.  A 9.8 regular edition sold for $1600 which will give you an idea of the interest in this issue.

Here is the ComicLink auction description.


X-MEN #99 - The Auction Has Ended

Item description:
1976, 1st Black Tom. Sentinels cover
Publisher: Marvel
Condition: CGC 9.4 NM
Page Quality: White Pages
Type of Holder: Universal
Degree Of Restoration: Unrestored
Census Rank: Highest CGC Graded!
Pedigree or Highlight: PRICE VARIANT
Current Bid: $2,211
Number Of Bids: 32
Final Bid: $2,211
End Date: 7/28/2011 11:04:40 PM

ComicLink Comments:
This CGC solid Near Mint CGC 9.4 PRICE VARIANT is the highest graded, and is 1 of only 3 that CGC has ever certified at this top tier. Additionally, CGC has assigned its perfect page quality designation of White Pages, making this Price Variant the very finest example obtainable for this issue.  

For the three X-Men 30 cent price variants, the highest grades are
    Issue 98 9.6  (two copies)
    Issue 99 9.4  (three copies)
    Issue 100 9.6  (two copies).

I figure that the cost today if you could purchase the highest copy of each issue is around $10,000 for the set.  It is only speculation, as the auction that contained all three of those books is gonna be a long time coming.

Iron Fist 15 on ebay

This copy of the 35 cent price variant issue of Iron Fist 15 sold on ebay for $275.  The transaction was a Buy-It-Now offer. Iron Fist price variant books remain some of the most sought after issues and always bring strong prices when they become available.

Kid Colt 206 on ebay

A decent copy of Kid Colt 206 was listed on ebay and sold as a Buy-It-Now for $255.  For several years now, the secret has been out that western price variants are actively collected and bring the bucks.  A regular edition of this book in this condition would be lucky to fetch a buck.

Strange Star Wars Ebay Auction

A relatively low-feedback ebay seller listed the following item and description in March.


Star Wars Comic Book by Marvel Comics #1 1977


I got this comic at an estate sale along with vintage 1977 Star Wars toys, the owner has had the collection i bought for 30 years, the comic book came sealed in an airtight laminate package to protect it and has done a good job because the comic book looks like new still, the owner said that it was in a larger case but he removed it because it was to bulky but that the grade for the book was 9.0....I put up photos so you can see for yourself, im going to be putting up more Star Wars stuff soon!!!...
Please bid cautiously because i have a no return policy to prevent 3rd party handling
Shipping is priority USPS $10.00 includes insurance tracking with signature confirmation Thank You!

Here is a picture of the books cover and back still apparently in the well.

Nowhere in the auction did it mention that the book was a 35 cent price variant.  The book attracted 40 bids and the final price was $1325. 
 
It does raise some interesting questions.
Was the book cracked out of a CGC holder?  PGX?
Why was the book cracked out?
Since the last CGC 9.0 sold for $3500, why crack and sell for $1325?
Was the book stolen and cracked out so it would be harder to trace?
Will it grade 9.0 when resubmitted?
What happened to the label?  Was it really a 9.0? 
How accurate is the CGC census?
 
If anyone has any additional information on this book, please send me a note.
 
Thanks.

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