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Showcase #22 Club
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7,060 posts in this topic

3 hours ago, Batmanis#1 said:

Just sold for $105 000 pretty sad for such a rare high grade of a key book.

it's an ugly, ugly, ugly 9.2 -- the 8.5 didn't perform much better at $36k.  I think a better example of an 8.5 would perform much better.  I would absolutely have been a buyer on a high grade show 22 -- but neither copy was attractive for the price point.  

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4 hours ago, Foolkiller said:

it's an ugly, ugly, ugly 9.2 -- the 8.5 didn't perform much better at $36k.  I think a better example of an 8.5 would perform much better.  I would absolutely have been a buyer on a high grade show 22 -- but neither copy was attractive for the price point.  

I was temped to go after it especially since it sat so cheaply for so long.  But like you I looked closely at the scans and was thinking 9.0, or even 8.5 on a bad hair day at CGC.  Then I looked at Heritage's other sold 9.0 copies too, and they all had pretty serious corner and spine issues that didn't look at all like the "what the heck is wrong with this sweet book how is this only a 9.2?"  Marvels where there is a 9.8, a few 9.6s a dozen 9.4s.  Copies where these flaws take them out of the high grade tiers entirely.  Maybe there are no more (or very, very few?) HG copies out there and S22 get the benefit of a curve in grading?? 

Edited by Aman619
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12 hours ago, Foolkiller said:

it's an ugly, ugly, ugly 9.2

Brian, maybe you should start your own anti-CVA/QES labeling system.

Level 1 - Ugly

Level 2 - Ugly, Ugly

Level 3 - Ugly, Ugly, Ugly

You can call it "Foolkiller's Ugly Criteria" or use the three character acronym for short...Oh wait a second...NO, NO, I'm not going to go there! :devil:

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1 hour ago, DanCooper said:

Brian, maybe you should start your own anti-CVA/QES labeling system.

Level 1 - Ugly

Level 2 - Ugly, Ugly

Level 3 - Ugly, Ugly, Ugly

You can call it "Foolkiller's Ugly Criteria" or use the three character acronym for short...Oh wait a second...NO, NO, I'm not going to go there! :devil:

We can go 50/50 on the business model and rate them together. lol

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10 hours ago, Aman619 said:

I was temped to go after it especially since it sat so cheaply for so long.  But like you I looked closely at the scans and was thinking 9.0, or even 8.5 on a bad hair day at CGC.  Then I looked at Heritage's other sold 9.0 copies too, and they all had pretty serious corner and spine issues that didn't look at all like the "what the heck is wrong with this sweet book how is this only a 9.2?"  Marvels where there is a 9.8, a few 9.6s a dozen 9.4s.  Copies where these flaws take them out of the high grade tiers entirely.  Maybe there are no more (or very, very few?) HG copies out there and S22 get the benefit of a curve in grading?? 

Well -- the challenge of DCs is finding them in grade and/or with page quality.  So the desirability around BB 28 or show 22 is finding the depth of the color strike, nice PQ and the technical grade structure.  I'd wager to say that a really nice looking Show 22 in 9.2 or the 9.4 would go bonkers.  I agree with your assessment, 9.0, could even be an 8.5.  Is it a curve?  I don't know, I've had 7.5s and 8.0s that I think had better eye appeal and I'm not so sure they were that far off on the technical flaws.  When you move that far up in price you expect the book to look reasonably like the grade.  For me, the curve is fine if you want to be a little soft because of scarcity, but at $100k plus I want to be sure I'm getting what I paid for.  As tth has pointed out several times, you can literally pick up the phone and throw money at just about every marvel to obtain it.  You can't do that with DCs.  On top of that, I think there's a different style and aesthetic to DCs.  I happen to like that, but more people prefer the power and dynamic action that the early Marvels have.  

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Agree.  I sometimes feel like I was born into the wrong clan, and in the wrong time.  I was already well smitten with comics before Marvels came along ( many of the late ten cent Swan covers give me emotional chills of recognition, and my childhood).  I never cared for Marvels until Spidey was in the twenties.  And even then, preferred the cleaner DC style.  

but obviously many more collectors game along during the Marvel Age, and are just the opposite. Although DCs are earlier and scarcer, it’s Marvel SA books that are the most sought after. The relative scarcity might have something to do with it, but must be that Marvel took over fan interest by the mid sixties as DC drooped in excitement... and a dominant breed of Marvel fans has ruled the hobby ever since except for those of us old enough to have lived in a world (universe?) ruled by Batman, Superman etc.

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Oh and so as not to disrespect the bidders and buyer of the 9.2, I have to add that most of the time I’m too eager to find a reason — ANY reason — to talk me out of a great book I’d like to buy! Especially six figure copies! I’m sure in hand, it’s a spectacular copy! And overall better than the 8.5s and 9.0s and earns its place in the census. I have an 8.5 which used to be tied for best copy, but has long been eclipsed.  And betting on GL to make this copy a 200K book just seemed like a hard road. 

wait, sorry again to the winner.  It’s also conceivable it will do so. I’ve passed on too many books for similar reasons that turned out to be great deals.

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On 4/30/2020 at 2:12 PM, Batmanis#1 said:

Just sold for $105 000 pretty sad for such a rare high grade of a key book.

That was one beat down 9.2. The top right corner, the top edge....I don't understand that grade at all. From what I see in the scan, it looks multiple grades overgraded. A real head scratcher from CGC. 

We always say buy the book, not the label. The market acted accordingly on this one. 

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3 hours ago, dikran1 said:

Was the 9.4 ever put up for sale or auction?

I don't believe it has.

GoCollect site, which tracks auction sales history, is not showing any sales for a 9.4 (it does show the recent Heritage sale of $105,000 for the 9.2 in late April)

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