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Strange Tales 89 Club - Fin Fang Foom! Finally! ;)
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259 posts in this topic

I've been a long time fan of #89. The cover is terrific, the story is terrific. I sold a CGC 8.0 to a fellow Montreal boardie and have always regretted selling it. Picked up a recent replacement. Will post it when I get it in hand.

 

:devil:

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Not my intent at all. I usually don’t even post books in the Club threads. I’m no HG snob. Any copy of ST #89 is a great copy in my book.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to make anyone feel weird about posting. It was just my clumsy attempt to illustrate my genuine surprise at seeing so many really pretty copies! I thought most would be lower grade.

 

I honestly don't view threads like this as a "competition". I'll prove that when I post my rugged little gem. :grin:

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for sure. All of these pre FF1 pre heroes (to distinguish from books like TOS 38 that are much easier to find) are tough. Strange Tales as a title is tough. Can't be many nice ones around so the boards appear to be very well represented indeed when it comes to this great little book :) And to think that for the first day or so I was thinking there'd be like three copies total on this thread the way things were going!

 

Looking forward to checking out your copy!

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Checked out GPA activity for gits and shiggles.

 

Very few data points as is normal for these PH books although of course more than most PH books since more copies slabbed due to higher value.

 

Seems to be on a strong uptick.

 

2013, 7.5 $1850 (compare to $850 in 2011)

2012, 6.5 $717 (compare to $382 in 2011)

 

No GPA sales above a 7.5 since 2007!

 

I had to shell out around 2800 or something for my 8.5 maybe 6 months ago, private offer on clink so doesn't show up.

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Ehh, worth every penny ;)

 

I dunno, to me the price isn't cheap but is reasonable for sure. PH books average maybe... 750? for issues of that vintage in an 8.5. So this one is 4x a non-key issue... not that bad IMO.

 

As for the prices getting steep as the grade gets up there, well, yeah, there aren't a lot of nice copies. Think about how hard it is to find a true VF or better FF1. And that's a hero book. This book being a month earlier is going to be harder. Naturally though it shouldn't be worth as much as FF1, and its not. But scarcer in high grade? I would think so. Which is why the hg raw copies on this thread are so sweet.

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Been a while since I've uploaded pictures on the forum so I hope the scan uploads properly. I purchased this copy raw from the daughter of the original owner a few years ago.

 

<a  href=ST8990F.jpg' alt='ST8990F.jpg'>

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Oh and I think you are touching on what I am saying when you mention the name but to me FFF is only the 2nd best name..... how does one top GOOGAM, SON OF GOOM???

 

Touching again on the name. I never paid it much mind and always figured it was just a fun and silly name, but I was thinking today that I suppose in this case there's actually some meaning to it, no?

 

Dragons have Fins, dragons have Fangs, and presumably Foom is the sound effect of dragon's breath/ fire no? I.e. I think the name in this case actually describes the monster does it not?

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Ehh, worth every penny ;)

 

I dunno, to me the price isn't cheap but is reasonable for sure. PH books average maybe... 750? for issues of that vintage in an 8.5. So this one is 4x a non-key issue... not that bad IMO.

 

As for the prices getting steep as the grade gets up there, well, yeah, there aren't a lot of nice copies. Think about how hard it is to find a true VF or better FF1. And that's a hero book. This book being a month earlier is going to be harder. Naturally though it shouldn't be worth as much as FF1, and its not. But scarcer in high grade? I would think so. Which is why the hg raw copies on this thread are so sweet.

 

Hi Bronty, :hi:

I did not mean the price was particularly high on that, it’s just that those silver prices are darn high for most of the books. Keep in mind that in Italy the most treasured books never go past a few thousand Euro for a single book, and those are exceptions. I have some very rare thing which in the USA would be in that range, but here in Italy – despite the rarity – they can be obtained for a few hundreds or less. :)

There is also say that the peak in prices in the most higher grade is something that isn’t there either. Most collectors consider a VF+ or better the same thing as a Gem Mint book…

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Been a while since I've uploaded pictures on the forum so I hope the scan uploads properly. I purchased this copy raw from the daughter of the original owner a few years ago.

 

:headbang:

And with white pages, so sweet!!!

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Ehh, worth every penny ;)

 

I dunno, to me the price isn't cheap but is reasonable for sure. PH books average maybe... 750? for issues of that vintage in an 8.5. So this one is 4x a non-key issue... not that bad IMO.

 

As for the prices getting steep as the grade gets up there, well, yeah, there aren't a lot of nice copies. Think about how hard it is to find a true VF or better FF1. And that's a hero book. This book being a month earlier is going to be harder. Naturally though it shouldn't be worth as much as FF1, and its not. But scarcer in high grade? I would think so. Which is why the hg raw copies on this thread are so sweet.

 

Hi Bronty, :hi:

I did not mean the price was particularly high on that, it’s just that those silver prices are darn high for most of the books. Keep in mind that in Italy the most treasured books never go past a few thousand Euro for a single book, and those are exceptions. I have some very rare thing which in the USA would be in that range, but here in Italy – despite the rarity – they can be obtained for a few hundreds or less. :)

There is also say that the peak in prices in the most higher grade is something that isn’t there either. Most collectors consider a VF+ or better the same thing as a Gem Mint book…

 

well, that's probably a healthier attitude in Italy actually!

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well, that's probably a healthier attitude in Italy actually!

 

In some ways it is, in others… it’s really too arbitrary when it comes to grading.

On one side, it may allow you to make good deals, especially if you are very focused on certain areas of collecting – on the other side, it may happen that you look for ages for a certain rare book in high grade, pay a lot for a lower grade copy and then a super-high grade copy pops up in the hands of someone which do not know the market value, and gets sold for a fraction of what you paid.

Yes, it has happened… :(

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Been a while since I've uploaded pictures on the forum so I hope the scan uploads properly. I purchased this copy raw from the daughter of the original owner a few years ago.

 

p><p> Ummm...this is the nicest copy I

 

Congrats,

 

Dan

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Thanks for all of the kind words regarding the book!

 

With regard to the book's history, it was found in a box in an New Hampshire attic by a daughter going through her late father's possessions. Along with this book, there were numerous other pre-hero books and several mega-keys including TOS 39, FF 1, and TTA 27. I ended up buying all of the Marvel books except FF 1 and FF 5 (in hindsight, I should have manned up and bought those as well). Most of the books were in the 6.0-8.0 range but all had unbelievable gloss and freshness. Ironically, the ST 89 was one of the nicest books in the collection. I thought it was probably a 9.2, but some slight spine wear must have held it back.

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wow, well done sir. Did you keep all the books?

 

Too bad about the ff1! So hard to find a fresh looking copy of that. They usually look a little piqued.

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So far, I've kept them all. I've only slabbed a handful of the books and decided that, for now, I'd rather keep the rest raw.

 

Passing on the FF1 is one of the biggest collecting regrets I had. It was a nice, white, fresh-looking book. It had terrible marvel chipping along the right edge and the seller and I disagreed about how that affected the value of the book. I hope this isn't viewed as derailing the thread, but here is the front cover scan:

 

<a  href=ff1.jpg' alt='ff1.jpg'>

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