GPA Price Variant Report for May 2015 shows Record sale of a Thor Price Variant $3000

Many of you know that I highly recommend GPAnalysis (GPA) to serious variant collectors.  GPA keeps track of almost all publicly traded sales of certified comic books.  If you buy or sell certified comic books you owe it to yourself to get a subscription.  The subscription is reasonably priced.

One of the things I like best about GPA is that it has several Market Reports.  The GPA-Price Variant Report is one of these reports.  Below is a copy of the May edition.  GPA is reporting that a 9.8 copy of a Thor 260 35 cent price variant sold for $3000.  This is a new record for Thor Price variant and is also indicative of the current market for single-highest graded 35 cent price variants.  There are only 13 certified copies of this issue in any grade.  The condition census is one 9.8, one 9.4 and three 9.2s.

Important variant sales last month also include near record sales of Star Wars 1, X-Men 99, and a $250 sales of a mid-grade Logan's Run 6 (a very cool book).

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.

 

Simply incredible Filter81 30 cent Price Variant sale.

Every once in a while a truly incredible run of books comes up for sales.  In the next few posts I will highlight some of the individual gems, but this past summer ebay seller Filter 81 put up a truly remarkable run of price variants on ebay.  The interest in Filter81s books became infectious and chased out some other high grade books from other sellers.  Here is the GPA price variant report for the time period that covered those sales, you will probably never see another with the sheer number and quality of these Marvel price variants.

For perspective, I can usually easily capture the GPA Price-Variant report in one screenshot.  This month, it took three.  Eleven different 30 cent price variants joined the four figure club (over $1000 selling price, for those new to the blog).

  

As I have written before, I highly recommend Gpanalysis.com to any serious certified comic collectors.  I find it indispensable.

New record for Amazing Adventures #36 CGC 9.4 highest graded.

One of the two CGC 9.4 certified copies of Amazing Adventures #36 sold at auction for $250. This is a new record for the book. There are sixteen total certified copies and the condition census is two 9.6s and four 9.4s. 

 

 

 





There were several recent sales of the other Amazing Adventures 30 cent price variant.  This copy was from the simply incredible Filter81 sale.  $113.50 for a very sharp 9.2.

 

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.

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.

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.

Rawhide Kid 141 in CGC 4.5 shows up on ebay and then disappears

One of the grails of the 35 cent price variant set showed up on ebay.  Listed by ebay seller comics4less, the book was listed in an auction format.  Within a day, however, a buyer had contacted the seller and worked out a deal (purported to be $800) to sell the book privately and pull the listing off of ebay. 

The rarity of western 35 cent price variant issues is epic.  If the purported price is true, I think it a fair price., and a record for the issue. However, knowing how many collectors are missing that book, I think if the auction had gone to completion, I suspect that the final hammer price may have even been higher.  Alas, we will never know. 

Super-Villain Team-Up 13 Joins the Four Figure Price Variant Book Club

An absolutely sensational copy of Super-Villain Team-Up in CGC 9.8 sold on ebay for $1000 which puts S-V T-U 13 in the Four Figure Price Variant Book Club.  It should be noted that CGC 9.8 price variants are exceedingly rare.  There are 184 different (185, if you count the Captain America 212 blank bar) issues in the set.  Just 10 BOOKS total out of the 184 ISSUES have achieved the CGC Mint grade of 9.8.

What are the implications?  If Super-Villain Team-Up is worth four figures in 9.8, then just about any other 35 cent price variant is worth at least $1000.  This makes sense as I don't know of any copies of a 9.8 35 cent price variant that have sold for less than $1000 except for an Avengers book which sold for over $900 many years ago.  The other thing that is interesting is that with the exception of the Avengers books, the other 9.8s are all second or third tier titles.  I think that because of their rarity, CGC is really tough on price variants, particularly the big titles.  It would be a big-time event if a 9.8 Spider-Man or X-Men book showed up.  Two 9.6 Spider-Man books and one 9.6 X-Men book are the top of the census.

2001: A Space Odyssey 8 (never sold)
Avengers 162 (never sold)
Avengers 163 ($925 in 2008)
Black Panther 5 (Four Figure Club)
Invaders 18 (never sold)
Kull, the Destroyer 21 (never sold)
Nova 10 (never sold)
Nova 12 (never sold)
Super-Villain Team-Up 13 (Four Figure Club)
Tarzan 3 (Four Figure Club)

Comichunters does it again - and X-Men 107 joins the growing Four Figure Price Variant Book Club

For those unaware, ebay comic treasure hunter Comichunters is one of the best, if not the best, variant finder in the world.  He recently listed an exceptional X-Men 107 35 cent price variant which brought $1026 for the book he described as F/VF.  This auction result shattered the previous high price for this issue which was a sale of $910 for a CGC 9.2 back in 2005.  Of course, having to track sales of books that only sell every ten years or so speaks to how rare these price variants really are, particularly the 35 cent variety.  I wonder what that CGC 9.2 would fetch today?  It is still the second highest graded book behind a single 9.4.

 

 

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know how tough these price variants have proven to be.   Here is a real-world illustration that you will only find here.  The CGC condition census (top five grades) for this issue are one 9.4, one 9.2, and four 8.5s.  Compare that to 18 9.8s and 76 9.6s for the regular edition and you can see why the price variants sell for 10 to 20 times as much. 

 

One other note that is very interesting, usually when books, particularly bronze age books, sell for big bucks, other books like it come out of the wood work.  Check this amazing statistic.  Despite bringing big bucks whenever they come up for auction, these books just aren't out there.  The 9.4 was graded by CGC in the first half of 2004.  It is still the highest graded book and was part of an X-Men set that is still the highest graded set in existence.  Two of the four 8.5s were graded in the last half of 2004 and the 9.2 was graded in the first half of 2005.  The other two 8.5s were graded in May 2009 and February 2011.  So despite a high grade book selling for $910 in 2005, there have been a total of two books graded 8.5.  Yes, they are really tough books to find, especially in high grade.

Conan 65 in CGC 9.8 (highest graded) sets record

A very nice CGC 9.8 example of Conan 65 recently sold on ComicLink for an issue-record $825.  The last high-grade example of this issue was a CGC 9.6 that sold in May 2012 for $185.  As a comparison, a very nice pedigree example of the regular issue Suchsa News 9.8 sold for $216.

An update to the sale of the "Blank Bar" Captain America 212 price variant

CGC board member Keldog sent me a note on an additional listed sale of the Captain America 212 "blank bar"  35 cent price variant.  The sale is noted on the Quality Comix site.  I am not sure what is going on but the Quality Comix site lists a sale of the same CGC 6.0 book at $4520.

Interestingly, the book has now shown up on ComicLink with an asking price of $7000.  It certainly begs the question of what is going on with this book?  Anyone know?

Notable ebay price variant sales 2012

Here are some notable marvel bronze age price variant sales on ebay.

$1299 FN+ Star Wars 1.  Are there many other mid-grade raw bronze-age books that regularly fetch four figures?  The new Star Wars movie announcement is really adding to the demand for this book.

$425 for CGC 9.0 2001:A Space Odyssey 8

$182 for FN+ 2001:A Space Odyssey 10

$150 for Black Panther 4

$194.50 for very nice Conan 77.

$235.50 for nice Godzilla 1

$167.50 for nice Godzilla 2

$169 for Howard the Duck 14 mid-grade

$250 for Invaders 17 CGC 9.0

$232.29 for nice Marvel Tales 82.  The reprint titles are very tough particularly in high-grade and this may be the nicest that I have seen.

$199 for Marvel Team-Up 58 CGC 7.5.

$350 for Marvel Team-Up 61 in CGC 8.5

30 cent Western price variants hit the market

It doesn't happen very often, but every couple of years or so, a nice high-grade western 30 cent price variant will come up for sale.  They are always fun to watch and collector demand is always exceptional. 

$800 for the highest graded Ringo Kid 28.  CGC 9.6 is also the highest grade given for ANY Marvel bronze-age western price variant.

$766.52 for a CGC 9.2 Mighty Marvel Western 45.  This is a nice price for a very nice and underrated book.

$393 for a nice raw Kid Colt 209.

Record Price for "Blank Bar" Capt. America 212

One of the three or four known copies of the "Blank Bar" printing error 35 cent price variant issue of Captain America 212 was recently auctioned on ebay.

$3550 was the winning bid for this book which has now been added to the CGC 35 cent price variant registry set and joins the HB, westerns and war books as the hardest to find.