$1000 is handed to you to invest long-term in CGC Copper Age what do you do?

[Comic Book Guy]

Easy call...CGC'd TMNT #1

 

One day it will be mine

[MisterX]

I would buy the following:

 

Batman: Dark Night Returns Hardcover Signed & Numbered plus a first ed. TPB

Watchmen Hardcover (slipcase edition) and a first ed. TPB

Every first edition Sandman TPB I could get my hands on

Every issue of RAW, plus Maus hardcover and TPB first editions

Dan Clowes' first editions (i.e. Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron)

 

This would keep me pretty busy, and would probably take a bit of time and work. In fact, $1000 would probably pay for only half the list.

 

But, if I had any money left over, ultra high grade copies Bone 1 and ASM 300. I think that book will be the Copper Age Hulk 181.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

5 years is not enough time.

 

If I were you, I'd buy the best keys, in the highest grades, and sit on them for 10-20 years.

 

$1,000 worth of slabs is not that many.

 

It's a far better bet to simply spend the money on raws in uber high grade. Spend $200 and have someone teach you how to grade, then spend the rest on high grade raws.

 

But if you absolutely must buy Copper slabs, stick with low census books with characters still being published now, and likely to continue being published in the future.

 

Batman #428, for example.

[seanfingh]

5 years is not enough time.

 

If I were you, I'd buy the best keys, in the highest grades, and sit on them for 10-20 years.

 

$1,000 worth of slabs is not that many.

 

It's a far better bet to simply spend the money on raws in uber high grade. Spend $200 and have someone teach you how to grade, then spend the rest on high grade raws.

 

But if you absolutely must buy Copper slabs, stick with low census books with characters still being published now, and likely to continue being published in the future.

 

Batman #428, for example.

 

Dork.

[NewEnglandGothic]

Batman #428, for example.

What's so important that happened in that issue?

[NewEnglandGothic]

Hellboys 1st app. ...1st app. of the Crow.These and other indy books are the sleeping giants,but not for long.

 

I once bought an almost complete set of graded Crows for sexyghoul for Christmas. It only costed $300. She won two Best Set in Type awards after and loved them. Priceless deals like that are to be made here and there. $1000 can go a long way if used right. My

[Bosco685]

I once bought an almost complete set of graded Crows for sexyghoul for Christmas. It only costed $300.

Seriously?

[NewEnglandGothic]

I once bought an almost complete set of graded Crows for sexyghoul for Christmas. It only costed $300.

Seriously?

Best Offer of a $600 set on eBay(2007, I think).

[Bosco685]

Best Offer of a $600 set on eBay(2007, I think).

Ahhhhhhh! Sweet.

 

I wasn't back into collecting until late 2007, and didn't get back into The Crow until 2008. So it took me two years to catch up.

 

[NewEnglandGothic]

I wasn't back into collecting until late 2007, and didn't get back into The Crow until 2008. So it took me two years to catch up.

 

Boy, did you catch up.

[Bosco685]

I wasn't back into collecting until late 2007, and didn't get back into The Crow until 2008. So it took me two years to catch up.

 

Boy, did you catch up.

 

Thank you.

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

2,000 comics from the 50 cent bin

 

Because you know ONE DAY there'll be rare 1st appearances mixed in there somewhere.

 

Actually, this is what I do now whenever I go to a large show. I try to fill up a longbox with quality Copper books that most people still regard as drek. I can't tell you how many times I've taken a dollar book, added a $12 Modern slab, and found myself with a $50-$200 gem.

You know what? I am beginning to like your way of thinking about copper. (thumbs u

[RockMyAmadeus]

Batman #428, for example.

What's so important that happened in that issue?

 

Robin (Jason Todd) dies in that issue.

 

It's the single most important Copper Batman book (which isn't saying all that much, but still...)

 

Much more importantly, it steadfastly resists upward movement in the census. It has a tiny fraction compared to books like Spidey #300 (even though the demand for Spidey #300 is clearly much larger.)

 

Rare census keys, however, stand a much greater chance of advancing rapidly in price during a boom. Consider the aforementioned Spidey #300. Average right now is about $650. If there was some reason that the book became "hot" again, available copies would flood the market, and prices would stabilize quickly.

 

If Bats #428 experienced a resurgence, because there are so few high grade copies to begin with, those copies already graded would typically enjoy a much higher spike in value, and it would take a longer time for prices to stabilize.

 

It's just an odds game, but with better odds.

[Gatsby77]

Counterpoint: GPA shows Batman 428 in 9.8 has lost over 60% of its value since 2008; 9.6s have lost over 25% of their value.

 

It's a cool book, to be sure, but it was collected from day one and I believe the price will continue to trend downwards as more copies are slabbed in the years ahead.

 

And yes--I have 14 raw copies. After searching for the book at a reasonable price for four years, I bought 2 9.8s in June--total price for the pair came to just under $250 shipped, whereas GPA in 2008 was $594.

 

See also...Punisher Ltd. series 1 in 9.8.

 

Where would I put my money instead? Tick Special Editions, the TMNT 1 I already mentioned, or do what was mentioned earlier, go Chuck-style and buy a long box of pristine $.50 books from the early-mid 80s, slab, and sell for $30-$40 per.

[AGGIEZ]

Counterpoint: GPA shows Batman 428 in 9.8 has lost over 60% of its value since 2008; 9.6s have lost over 25% of their value.

 

 

That DC drek just doesn't hold its value, nobody likes DC...

[seanfingh]

Counterpoint: GPA shows Batman 428 in 9.8 has lost over 60% of its value since 2008; 9.6s have lost over 25% of their value.

 

 

That DC drek just doesn't hold its value, nobody likes DC...

 

[topofthetotem]

Uncle Scrooge #179 in NM

[juggernaut]

 

Actually, this is what I do now whenever I go to a large show. I try to fill up a longbox with quality Copper books that most people still regard as drek. I can't tell you how many times I've taken a dollar book, added a $12 Modern slab, and found myself with a $50-$200 gem.

 

 

I do the same thing. (thumbs u

[RockMyAmadeus]

Counterpoint: GPA shows Batman 428 in 9.8 has lost over 60% of its value since 2008; 9.6s have lost over 25% of their value.

 

It's a cool book, to be sure, but it was collected from day one and I believe the price will continue to trend downwards as more copies are slabbed in the years ahead.

 

And yes--I have 14 raw copies. After searching for the book at a reasonable price for four years, I bought 2 9.8s in June--total price for the pair came to just under $250 shipped, whereas GPA in 2008 was $594.

 

See also...Punisher Ltd. series 1 in 9.8.

 

Where would I put my money instead? Tick Special Editions, the TMNT 1 I already mentioned, or do what was mentioned earlier, go Chuck-style and buy a long box of pristine $.50 books from the early-mid 80s, slab, and sell for $30-$40 per.

 

He said now, not in 2008.

 

You've neatly ignored both the census and sales history of this book in making your "counterpoint."

 

(thumbs u

[RockMyAmadeus]

Where would I put my money instead? Tick Special Editions, the TMNT 1 I already mentioned,

 

Oh, and since you mentioned these....

 

Turtles #1 is down nearly 30% from its 2007 high in 9.6, and more than 30% off it's 2005 high in 9.4. What's more, there have only been a combined total of 35 copies (Universal) sold in the last TWO YEARS in EVERY condition, with record prices being achieved right now in the mid-grade range.

 

It makes no sense to buy at the top, or near it, and an available pool of only 35 copies in every single grade does not make a solid "investment" pick. For items to be "a good investment", they have to be reasonably obtainable by the average person for market prices. If you cannot obtain a copy without paying a premium for it, that defeats the point of it as an investment.

 

As for the Ticks, they fare even worse. A grand total of 22 CGC copies of #1 and 15 (!) copies of #2, in ANY grade, have been sold since GPA started keeping records in 2002. A 9.8 copy hasn't sold for almost a year and a half. Only 4 copies of the book, in any grade, have come up for sale in the last year. We can't even analyze these sales because the data is so scarce. How does one invest in a book they cannot buy......?

 

That knife you wielded...it cuts both ways.