Amazing Fantasy 15 - Numbers of Copies in Existence v. Original Print Run? 0

[G.A.tor]

Ahhhhh, but did you do the hoarding of these comics when they were first published?

 

That you see is my point. Eighties books were already being hoarded/stored when they first came out, leaving basically zero chance of future appreciation.

 

I'm in full agreement about 80's books... but even today, you can hoard some GA and SA and realize nice price growth (thumbs u

[ChasingKingKirby]

Ahhhhh, but did you do the hoarding of these comics when they were first published?

 

That you see is my point. Eighties books were already being hoarded/stored when they first came out, leaving basically zero chance of future appreciation.

 

I'm in full agreement about 80's books... but even today, you can hoard some GA and SA and realize nice price growth (thumbs u

 

Agreed. There are "run" books (Read as non-key) that are exceptionally difficult to find that bring nice gains on overstreet and even GPA. Some examples:

 

All Select 3 and 4

USA Comics (Nearly any issue...)

 

I guess one could make the case that most of these are WWII "covers", but outside of that, the deman factor is what has caused the price surge. There just aren't enough copies to go around.

[G.A.tor]

Ahhhhh, but did you do the hoarding of these comics when they were first published?

 

That you see is my point. Eighties books were already being hoarded/stored when they first came out, leaving basically zero chance of future appreciation.

 

I'm in full agreement about 80's books... but even today, you can hoard some GA and SA and realize nice price growth (thumbs u

 

Agreed. There are "run" books (Read as non-key) that are exceptionally difficult to find that bring nice gains on overstreet and even GPA. Some examples:

 

All Select 3 and 4

USA Comics (Nearly any issue...)

 

I guess one could make the case that most of these are WWII "covers", but outside of that, the deman factor is what has caused the price surge. There just aren't enough copies to go around.

of course...goes back to the basic economic theory of supply + demand=price (thumbs u

[hoknes]

Do you remember back for decades when people said 1970`s comics could never be valuable - dealers like Metropolis wouldnt even carry a book with a 20 cent cover price. Books were considered too common. But as time goes by the real high grade books did not survive and demand and inflation has slowly driven up prices of hundreds and hundreds of comics.

 

The same could be said for 1980`s for sure and yes definitely its worse because at that time people were truly saving them brand new and bagging and boarding them.

 

But if there is no chance for their future collectability there would not be such a `copper `age boom as is happening now.

 

More and more 1980 comics are becoming HOT and more and more key issues are hitting the 50.00 or more mark which is impressive for common books that used to cost only 60 cents.

 

So my original idea is that if you could start hoarding not just any 80`s books but the best of the best key books, first appearances etc that you would have something definitely worth investing in the long run.

 

Any thoughts

[Timely]

Valid points. I suppose in 1,000 years from now even Spawn #1 may be considered rare!

[ChasingKingKirby]

Valid points. I suppose in 1,000 years from now even Spawn #1 may be considered rare!

 

Add another zero and MAYBE.

[VintageComics]

Valid points. I suppose in 1,000 years from now even Spawn #1 may be considered rare!

 

I do remember people talking about how they saw Marvel #1's and Action #1's on convention floor walls....

[kimik]

Do you remember back for decades when people said 1970`s comics could never be valuable - dealers like Metropolis wouldnt even carry a book with a 20 cent cover price. Books were considered too common. But as time goes by the real high grade books did not survive and demand and inflation has slowly driven up prices of hundreds and hundreds of comics.

 

The same could be said for 1980`s for sure and yes definitely its worse because at that time people were truly saving them brand new and bagging and boarding them.

 

But if there is no chance for their future collectability there would not be such a `copper `age boom as is happening now.

 

More and more 1980 comics are becoming HOT and more and more key issues are hitting the 50.00 or more mark which is impressive for common books that used to cost only 60 cents.

 

So my original idea is that if you could start hoarding not just any 80`s books but the best of the best key books, first appearances etc that you would have something definitely worth investing in the long run.

 

Any thoughts

 

I have been doing that for a couple of years now, and know others that have been doing this for longer. You can still land collections with Copper keys for dirt cheap, dump the common books for a small - medium sized profit, and then hold the keys/1st apps for further appreciation. As Marvel and DC start to roll out more TV shows/movies that introduce lesser tier heroes and villains there will be further room to grow. It is a fun area to speculate in right now.

 

Even the pricier books have seen a nice jump over the past couple of years. Just last year you could find NM- or better copies of NM #98 for $75 and ASM #300 for $75 - $100 respectively. Now they are both $150 books in that condition.

 

I did the same with building small hoards (12 - 20+ copies of each) of BA books in 8.0+ when I got back into collecting in the late 90s, focusing primarily on top Adams books (e.g. Batman #227, 232, 234, 251; GL #76; Tec #400; Avengers #93 + a few others) and lower priced Marvel and DC keys/1st apps (unfortunately, that meant no Hulk #181s or GS X-Men #1s ). This was before they took off and it worked out very well for me. Unfortunately, I sold most/all of them between 2003 - 05 when they made the first big jumps. If I had only held on to the best copies a little longer........

[kimik]

Valid points. I suppose in 1,000 years from now even Spawn #1 may be considered rare!

 

Regular or newsstand version?

[ComicConnoisseur]

Do you remember back for decades when people said 1970`s comics could never be valuable - dealers like Metropolis wouldnt even carry a book with a 20 cent cover price. Books were considered too common. But as time goes by the real high grade books did not survive and demand and inflation has slowly driven up prices of hundreds and hundreds of comics.

 

The same could be said for 1980`s for sure and yes definitely its worse because at that time people were truly saving them brand new and bagging and boarding them.

 

But if there is no chance for their future collectability there would not be such a `copper `age boom as is happening now.

 

More and more 1980 comics are becoming HOT and more and more key issues are hitting the 50.00 or more mark which is impressive for common books that used to cost only 60 cents.

 

So my original idea is that if you could start hoarding not just any 80`s books but the best of the best key books, first appearances etc that you would have something definitely worth investing in the long run.

 

Any thoughts

 

I have been doing that for a couple of years now, and know others that have been doing this for longer. You can still land collections with Copper keys for dirt cheap, dump the common books for a small - medium sized profit, and then hold the keys/1st apps for further appreciation. As Marvel and DC start to roll out more TV shows/movies that introduce lesser tier heroes and villains there will be further room to grow. It is a fun area to speculate in right now.

 

Even the pricier books have seen a nice jump over the past couple of years. Just last year you could find NM- or better copies of NM #98 for $75 and ASM #300 for $75 - $100 respectively. Now they are both $150 books in that condition.

 

I did the same with building small hoards (12 - 20+ copies of each) of BA books in 8.0+ when I got back into collecting in the late 90s, focusing primarily on top Adams books (e.g. Batman #227, 232, 234, 251; GL #76; Tec #400; Avengers #93 + a few others) and lower priced Marvel and DC keys/1st apps (unfortunately, that meant no Hulk #181s or GS X-Men #1s ). This was before they took off and it worked out very well for me. Unfortunately, I sold most/all of them between 2003 - 05 when they made the first big jumps. If I had only held on to the best copies a little longer........

I did that with Starlin comic books. (thumbs u

When I was buying Starlin stuff a few years back, Thanos was not hot like he is now.

[ComicConnoisseur]

Do you remember back for decades when people said 1970`s comics could never be valuable - dealers like Metropolis wouldnt even carry a book with a 20 cent cover price. Books were considered too common. But as time goes by the real high grade books did not survive and demand and inflation has slowly driven up prices of hundreds and hundreds of comics.

 

The same could be said for 1980`s for sure and yes definitely its worse because at that time people were truly saving them brand new and bagging and boarding them.

 

But if there is no chance for their future collectability there would not be such a `copper `age boom as is happening now.

 

More and more 1980 comics are becoming HOT and more and more key issues are hitting the 50.00 or more mark which is impressive for common books that used to cost only 60 cents.

 

So my original idea is that if you could start hoarding not just any 80`s books but the best of the best key books, first appearances etc that you would have something definitely worth investing in the long run.

Any thoughts

I agree with your theory.

I have taken that theory across other collectible hobbies as well. Get the best of the best before they become re-discovered again by either nostalgic fans or new fans who want them.

[ADAM SPECTOR]

On 11/8/2013 at 8:48 PM, RockMapleCasbah said:

Hey Guys,

 

I was looking at the CGC census the other day for AMF 15 and there are apparently 2,000 + copies that have been graded. I'm sort of surprised the number is so high. I mean, to think that that many copies of a book survived the years...

 

As a matter of curiosity:

 

Does anyone have an estimate of the number of ungraded copies out there? Is there a rule of thumb on valuable books?

 

Anyone happen to know the original print run?

 

The original run is up for much debate but there are approximately 10-12k copies of AF#15. Although I have a FB Group dedicated to the topic it is always up for debate. Several countries around the World have collectors with numerous copies. Canada, Australia, the UK (Where it was also printed for) There are several other countries where AF#15 owners reside. One Australian member of the group has 12 low grade, unslabbed copies. That should give some perspective. Many people I speak to have theirs in Bank vaults others don't want relatives to know they have it for various reasons. I'm sure we'll never get an exact figure but, I am working on it. ;)

[hoknes]

ok its been 5 years since we had this discussion

Since then this book has blown up in price tag and has now proven itself to be the most valuable comic of the last 75 years.

Here are some stats I have been saving the past 5 yrs

CGC Universal  833  copies / NM+ 9.6 or better = 1 copies / Heritage Auctions sold 140 copies as of 9/10
CGC Universal 1132 copies / NM+ 9.6 or better = 3 copies / Heritage Auctions sold 207 copies as of 9/12
CGC Universal 1256 copies / NM+ 9.6 or better = 3 copies / Heritage Auctions sold 246 copies as of 9/13
CGC Universal 1469 copies / NM+ 9.6 or better = 3 copies / Heritage Auctions sold 301 copies as of 7/15
CGC Universal 1847 copies / NM+ 9.6 or better = 4 copies / Heritage Auctions sold 406 copies as of 8/18
Yes its likely that some copies have been graded by CGC more than one and that Heritage has sold the same copy more than once.

But gives us a good idea of copies coming to market as people cash in on the high prices.

At this point we have had CGC for 18 yrs so it makes me think that surely more than 10% of copies out there have been graded which would be then 18,470 copies estimated.

If 20% of copies have been graded that quickly drops the world total to approx 9,000 copies.