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  2. The very concept of a 9.9 "pre-screen" makes no sense (is that really something they are going to be offering?) given the historically comically low numbers of 9.9s (and 10s) given. Unless what they are tacitly admitting/saying is that their 9.9 grading has been too stingy in the past and they are now going to be a bit more generous with that grading going forward.
  3. This one is nice. Did you buy this really recently? That crease / colour break from the middle top to the right side looks hauntingly familiar.
  4. My very unprofessional opinion - no particular order - For modern books - 9.9/10 probably need to be the "goal" in terms of collectors looking for rarity. 9.8 is just too common. And this probably applies to a lot of late Copper stuff too (NM 98). So I don't mind the idea that the category of Mint books expands to some larger ratio - top 1%? Ultimate Fallout 4 has 16,251 Universal copies with 4,249 9.8s - that is 26% of books at 9.8. 1% of that 16k as 9.9 would give you 162 - where there are none currently. That starts to put the 9.9 in the same rarity range as 9.8 copies of IH181, ASM 129, etc etc. But still a lot more common than really high grade early silver and gold. - For really valuable Silver or Bronze 9.8s where the price gap between 9.8 and 9.6 is very, very large - not sure how many people will take the chance. Very often discussed that the difference between a 9.6 and 9.8 can often feel as if it was determined by the direction of the wind that given day. So I am skeptical that we will see the IH181 9.9 population jump from 1 to 10 anytime soon or if ever. And yes, there are always high-grade, un-graded copies out there but the 14k Universal copies of 181 thus far have 9.8 return rate of 1% (Would be interesting to see how that return rate has changed over time). Doesn't feel like they are adding 20 new 9.8s for every 2k copies graded. Now, if you are sitting on a really attractive non-key Silver issue in 9.8 - maybe you take a swing and get a 1 of 1 9.9. That could open up a whole different market of collecting. So - I am not overly concerned that this one GSX book is a sign of a sea change. But I do expect to see growth of 9.9s in Moderns - but even that will take time to become the new 9.8
  5. We might wonder if what was really subsidizing the business was the illegal price fixing DC's parent company was engaged in, that led them in 1971 to re-brand their entertainment businesses as Warner Communications? On July 21, 1967, Kinney National expanded by acquiring National Periodical Publications, more commonly, but not yet officially, called DC Comics Due to a financial scandal involving price fixing in its parking operations,[7] Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets in September 1971 as the National Kinney Corporation, and renamed the remaining Kinney National Company as Warner Communications Inc. on February 10, 1972.
  6. The source would definitely be interesting information....
  7. I must have missed that. Care to point me to where someone posted it?
  8. Sorry for the lack of clarity. No scan. Didn't see it on my registry. I never tracked it down.
  9. He didn't say that, did he? That would mean either: a) He's admitting they didn't grade them correctly and/or held off giving deserved 9.9's b) They've lowered their standards now.
  10. The IH 181 cgc 9.9 went for 150k at a time when 9.8s were going for less than 10k. I can’t see this going for less than 500. Not in this day and age. Not saying it’s worth that to me, but I’d be floored to see it go for less than 200.
  11. In that you don't have an image for the book, or you never tracked one of these down? There's 4 on the census, so I assumed...
  12. I no doubt do not have enough. My "no questions asked 3X your salary" coverage through my job would pay off the mortgage and bury me with a little to spare, I need to have some more. My wife makes more than I do, so it isn't like there won't be a breadwinner left. I was hoping to apply for some when I would pass a physical weight wise, I can only imagine what the premium is on a 50 something who is 140 pounds overweight like I am right now, although I have no cancer history, no smoking, no diabetes, and don't have high blood pressure. so that would help.
  13. I know it was all the way back in the foggy days of 2022, but have we all forgotten the Clayton Crain acetate 9.9's and 10.0's? Whatever. Business as usual in comic land. Everyone go back to sleep.
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