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STRANGE TALES #110 Club!
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1,322 posts in this topic

9 minutes ago, Unstoppablejayd said:

Such an important key ... glad to be part of the club. Picked this up raw about a year ago. 

 

 

Very nice copy! I'm usually pretty hesitant to purchase a big time key in raw form. I'm afraid it will grade much lower than I hope for.

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Interesting - I did not realize that ST110 is a relatively "rare" book when it comes to Silver Age Marvels with 1,305 universal copies graded - I am debating picking up either a ST110 or DD1 (see my WTB thread please) but the "scarcity" of ST110 compared to DD1 (3,224 universal copies) may push me to ST110.

I understand that 1963 Marvels (like ST110) are rarer than say 1964 Marvels (like DD1) - but why is ST110 rarer than a book like TOS39 (1,531 copies) or X-Men 1 (3,067) - with X-Men 1 I get it was a late 1963 release (September), but TOS39 was a March release compared to ST110 July's release, so was it just due to the obscurity of the character versus say Iron Man or the X-Men?

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1 hour ago, Chillax23 said:

Interesting - I did not realize that ST110 is a relatively "rare" book when it comes to Silver Age Marvels with 1,305 universal copies graded - I am debating picking up either a ST110 or DD1 (see my WTB thread please) but the "scarcity" of ST110 compared to DD1 (3,224 universal copies) may push me to ST110.

I understand that 1963 Marvels (like ST110) are rarer than say 1964 Marvels (like DD1) - but why is ST110 rarer than a book like TOS39 (1,531 copies) or X-Men 1 (3,067) - with X-Men 1 I get it was a late 1963 release (September), but TOS39 was a March release compared to ST110 July's release, so was it just due to the obscurity of the character versus say Iron Man or the X-Men?

I don't have good answers for you, but I'll make one observation that has become clear from trying to assemble runs.  "Scarcity" in terms of the number of graded copies of a particular issue, which clearly manifests itself as limited supply in the market, is often more correlated with demand for that issue than the true underlying supply of raw copies.  To take a more extreme example, if I'm trying to fill in a complete bronze-age run of a title like Iron Man or Sub-Mariner, there are plenty of issues that are very hard to find -- not because they are truly scarce (or particularly valuable), but because few people bother to get such books graded, and those who do are generally keeping them.

Don't get me wrong, I love ST #110 but I think it's clearly generated much less speculator interest than the other books you mention for a few reasons, most notably the fact that Doctor Strange isn't on the cover and it isn't his origin issue.  I think that could explain why fewer copies have been graded, or even (to the extent this is true? I have no idea) why fewer copies have been well preserved.  I wonder if more Doctor Strange movies, especially if one features Nightmare, will finally bring this book a little more love.

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2 minutes ago, Sweet Lou 14 said:

I don't have good answers for you, but I'll make one observation that has become clear from trying to assemble runs.  "Scarcity" in terms of the number of graded copies of a particular issue, which clearly manifests itself as limited supply in the market, is often more correlated with demand for that issue than the true underlying supply of raw copies.  To take a more extreme example, if I'm trying to fill in a complete bronze-age run of a title like Iron Man or Sub-Mariner, there are plenty of issues that are very hard to find -- not because they are truly scarce (or particularly valuable), but because few people bother to get such books graded, and those who do are generally keeping them.

Don't get me wrong, I love ST #110 but I think it's clearly generated much less speculator interest than the other books you mention for a few reasons, most notably the fact that Doctor Strange isn't on the cover and it isn't his origin issue.  I think that could explain why fewer copies have been graded, or even (to the extent this is true? I have no idea) why fewer copies have been well preserved.  I wonder if more Doctor Strange movies, especially if one features Nightmare, will finally bring this book a little more love.

So you are saying I should choose DD1 instead then :) All kidding aside - I agree that total graded does not necessarily indicate its actual scarcity and take your points.  I would just think that since the initial Doctor Strange movie (and his amazing role in Infinity War) that most people are no longer thinking it is a book not worth grading.

I do think the fact that he is not on the cover plays a role and the fact that it did not immediately lead to successive cover appearances in the title or a stand alone title also play a role.  While the cover lacks Doctor Strange and is considered by most a "bad" cover - I actually think it is so bad it is iconic and really like it - weird I know.

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6 hours ago, Sweet Lou 14 said:

I'm not saying that necessarily!  :)  I'm a believer in ST #110.  Here's mine:

621883242_StrangeTales110CGC9.0.thumb.jpg.bb7aa8aac934d07e301f346145dc4b87.jpg

I think there is a good case to be made that this book has significant room to grow.  Certainly if they use Nightmare in the movies that will give it a nice bump.  If I were betting on Doctor Strange vs. Daredevil purely in terms of pop-culture relevance and corresponding speculator interest, I would definitely go with the Doc.

That is a beautiful book - congrats!!!

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On 4/10/2019 at 12:28 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

I don't have good answers for you, but I'll make one observation that has become clear from trying to assemble runs.  "Scarcity" in terms of the number of graded copies of a particular issue, which clearly manifests itself as limited supply in the market, is often more correlated with demand for that issue than the true underlying supply of raw copies.  To take a more extreme example, if I'm trying to fill in a complete bronze-age run of a title like Iron Man or Sub-Mariner, there are plenty of issues that are very hard to find -- not because they are truly scarce (or particularly valuable), but because few people bother to get such books graded, and those who do are generally keeping them.

Don't get me wrong, I love ST #110 but I think it's clearly generated much less speculator interest than the other books you mention for a few reasons, most notably the fact that Doctor Strange isn't on the cover and it isn't his origin issue.  I think that could explain why fewer copies have been graded, or even (to the extent this is true? I have no idea) why fewer copies have been well preserved.  I wonder if more Doctor Strange movies, especially if one features Nightmare, will finally bring this book a little more love.

This is why ST 110 has fewer graded copies. Demand and value has been higher for TOS 39 so more copies have been graded. ST 110 has a long way to go to reach that point. Not having Dr. Strange on the cover hurts a bit as well, but it is not a key you get asked for at most shows........

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1 hour ago, kimik said:

This is why ST 110 has fewer graded copies. Demand and value has been higher for TOS 39 so more copies have been graded. ST 110 has a long way to go to reach that point. Not having Dr. Strange on the cover hurts a bit as well, but it is not a key you get asked for at most shows........

But presumably The good doctor is now popular enough and copies are of a sufficient value that no one is wondering whether it should be slabbed at this point ...... it would be interesting to see the number of TOS39 slabbed before Iron man 1 and after that movie and same with ST110

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