Jump on them while you can!

Copper Age key issues and 1st appearances are really getting hot now. I'm seeing them sell for higher and higher prices as the movies get announced one after the other, mostly with characters and storylines that have their origins inside of the Copper Age.

I was able to get my hands on a number of these books over the last six years for decent prices compared to what they routinely sell for now. Some are more sought after than others of course, but all of them are increasing in value lately at an alarming rate.

I understand that some of this is speculation purchasing due to movie announcements, and that after the movie releases, they will settle down and level out in value, but they will still be worth more than they were just last year or so, and even with all of this, there is still a general "hotness" to CA keys in general now.

I remember when I was a kid back in the mid 80s and Silver Age books were doing the same thing. My father and I could've gotten a DD #2 for $75 and a DD #3 for just $35, both in NM condition back then! We also had the opportunity to pick up an Iron Man #1 for just $65 in NM condition! Unfortunately, we didn't take the chance to pick any of these gorgeous books up, and now I could kick myself for not convincing my dad to do so.

Well now we seem to be in a similar circumstance with CA key books! The only difference for guys my age is that we grew up with these very same books coming out on the shelves and picking them up, with no idea that in the future, they would become the CA equivalent of what the SA was going through back then.

Part of this is the books just being more in demand and part of it is the rise of the third-party grading industry as a whole.

Some examples of CA books that I picked up for a lot cheaper than they sell for now are:

Marvel Graphic Novel #4 CGC 9.8 WP - $200

New Mutants Annual #2 CGC 9.8 WP - $190

New Mutants #98 CGC 9.8 WP - $300

Transformers #1 CGC 9.8 WP - $100

Uncanny X-Men #266 CGC 9.8 WP - $140

Alpha Flight #1 CGC 9.8 WP - $40

X Factor #1 CGC SS 9.8 WP - $45

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8 CGC 9.8 WP - $90

Captain America Annual #8 CGC 9.8 WP - $80

Booster Gold #1 CGC 9.8 WP - $75

Dazzler #1 CGC 9.8 WP - $45

ROM #1 CGC 9.8 WP - $100

Wolverine #10 CGC 9.8 WP - $75

Web of Spiderman #1 CGC 9.8 WP - $75

Avengers #196 raw - $20! (in 2013) Graded at CGC SS 9.8 WP!!

Spectacular Spider-man #64 raw - $17! (in 2013) Graded at CGC 9.8 WP!!

Transformers #80 raw - 25 cents! (in '92) Graded at CGC 9.8 WP!!

Daredevil #168 raw - $5! (in '86) Graded at CGC 9.6 WP!!

These are just a few examples of books that sell in 9.8 graded form, from a little to a lot more, than these prices I paid for them just over the last 5 or 6 years. The last two I purchased far longer ago, but still a huge value now!

I've been very lucky to acquire such awesome copies for so much cheaper prices! But now I look at the prices that a lot of these CA books are selling for now, and wishing that I had picked up extra 9.8 copies for the sake of selling for a profit.

And there are some that I never did get while the price was much lower than now. I'm still kicking myself for hesitating on some books which will take far more money to acquire now than it would have just five or so years ago.

This is why you should jump on them while you can. They will only increase in value over time now. These books, while many of us think of as still "recent" are finally starting to come into their own value-wise and from here on can only become more in demand.

Heck, guys my age see the 90's as over-valued, high-print-run-saturated, low value books. But just wait until the little kids from that time frame begin to come into their own financially over the next decade. You will probably be shocked at the prices of these "worthless" (by some of our standards) keys from the 1993 to 2000 era begin selling for.

Will they be worth it? Maybe so and maybe not. But ultimately, I guess it will depend on when you grew up......

Speaking of 80's books, below is a pic of the Marvel Graphic Novel #18 that I found at Baltimore CC this year for just $10! It's easily 9.8!

To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.