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MOST VALUABLE MODERN VARIANTS - THE RANKINGS
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2,250 posts in this topic

1 minute ago, SquareChaos said:

These type of 3rd party managed transactions will go a ways towards more people taking these type of books seriously.

Yes, I had never watched a Heritage auction before like this. It's really weird to me why anybody would buy from them honestly. I guess they have a built up brand and great reputation.

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1 hour ago, ygogolak said:

Yes, I had never watched a Heritage auction before like this. It's really weird to me why anybody would buy from them honestly. I guess they have a built up brand and great reputation.

It makes sense for higher priced items when you're a buyer - you're paying for the protection provided by the third party's guarantee, and for the knowledge of their experts. When you're buying one of a kind items, you have little choice but to go wherever they are, and the sellers of those items get a lot of pluses by using the Heritage market place. High rollers generally aren't spending their time trolling through eBay listings, but they know what is coming up from Heritage.

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57 minutes ago, SquareChaos said:

It makes sense for higher priced items when you're a buyer - you're paying for the protection provided by the third party's guarantee, and for the knowledge of their experts. When you're buying one of a kind items, you have little choice but to go wherever they are, and the sellers of those items get a lot of pluses by using the Heritage market place. High rollers generally aren't spending their time trolling through eBay listings, but they know what is coming up from Heritage.

Yes, lots of eyeballs of people with money. But it's a screwy system. Online bidding for a week. Once that closes it get opened up for one final live auction for a minute. It was during the day at like 3PM Eastern too. I would be pissed if I won the online auction only to lose it during the live bidding.

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28 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

Yes, lots of eyeballs of people with money. But it's a screwy system. Online bidding for a week. Once that closes it get opened up for one final live auction for a minute. It was during the day at like 3PM Eastern too. I would be pissed if I won the online auction only to lose it during the live bidding.

I've bought from Heritage before, it is sort of fun, but sort of aggravating at the same time. I'm lucky in so far that I've never lost an item on the live portion that I won in the online portion. When I started to watch some of them, I was surprised at how much action took place during the live portion - it is interesting.

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Hello again friends!  :hi:

It has been a little while and I apparently missed an update.  I just finished polishing and organizing the Dirty Dozen list for this time around.  This update actually has the most changes, movers, shakers, and a brand new addition to the list!  So sit back, relax, and (hopefully) enjoy your...

:news:***MOST VALUABLE MODERN VARIANTS 2017, Q4 EDITION***:news:

 

#12-  Edge of Spider-verse #2, 1:25 variant (2014)-  Has it already been three years since this book came out?  Do people really still collect this character and are willing to pay big enough bucks for it that it actually is able to make this list right at its third anniversary?  The answer to both questions is "YES!".  Whomever would have thought what seemed like a throw away one-off character would have this kind of staying power and turn out to be this popular?  Well it happened, so deal with it.  Spider-Gwen is here to stay.  :) With recent 9.8 copies going for as much as $1600 signed, blue labels breaking $1400, and raw copies surpassing $600, and so few copies coming to market, even at these prices, this book has legitimately earned a place on the Dirty Dozen.

 

Edge Of Spider-Verse #2 Greg Land 1:25 Variant

 

 

 

 

#11- Captain Marvel #14, 1:30 variant (2013)-  Re-entering the list after a brief absence, this book boasts the first cameo appearance of Kamala Khan before she would become the new Ms. Marvel and an overnight sensation. Featuring a majestic take of her idol, Captain Marvel, standing atop a jet, it is certainly an apt introduction to what would become Marvel's next superstar. This book has proven to have legs as a 9.6 copy has recently sold for over $900 and raw copies have eclipsed $800.

CaptainMarvel14-1in30.jpg

#10- Walking Dead #100, Lucille/Red Foil Editions (2012)-  Holding at #10 The introduction of the iconic Negan in these crazy- rare issues had some people paying as much as $1800 for a 9.8 since word first leaked that he would (finally) be making his appearance in the show. Prices for a 9.8 have recently retreated a bit to the in the $1300+ range, but seem poised to remain strong. The rarity of these and the continuing popularity of both the book, the show, and the character, should keep this on the list for the foreseeable future and beyond.

WalkingDead100RedFoil.jpg

 

#9- X-23 #1, Dell'Otto (2010)- A great and hot artist lodges his first cover here, moving up two spots from the last update.  Combined with the fact that X-23 may be Marvel's hottest female character right now, a very well received introduction in the film Logan, serious discussions for a solo film, and a breath-taking cover that may be one of her best depictions to date, and you have a book that continues to hit $1600 in a 9.8, $1000 in a 9.6, and several hundreds of dollars raw (though we are seeing less and less of those coming to market). 

X-23cover.jpg

 

#8- Amazing Spider-Man #700, Ditko (2013)- This 1:200 book remains in the #8 slot as this book continues to show impressive strength in 9.8 yellow labels, with copies continuing to sell very well in all grades, and for several hundreds of dollars raw, even in rough condition.  By the looks of things it seems these are drying up into collections, as renewed interest in many ASM 700 variants in general continue to push it forward, with this one easily being the cream of the crop. 

AmazingSpider-Man700Birthday.jpg

#7- Siege #3, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- Another bizarre retailer incentive that involved destroying other comic books, a super hot artist, and one of Marvel's most trendy characters flossing on the cover are the perfect recipe to catapult this book to $2600+ in a 9.8, and extremely strong figures in all down grades on the rare occasion one comes up for sale.  Dropping two spots this time as a spate of a couple of blue label 9.8 sales, and renewed strength in a couple of other books has caused a little shuffling.

Siege3DeadpoolCGC96.jpg

 

#6- Spawn #185, Sketch (2008)- Has anyone seen a single copy of this book for sale since I first started this list? I haven't.  Wait, I saw two recently.  Did you miss them?  They were both raw copies and one sold for over $2k (with a McFarlane sig!).  Thanks to those, two sales I have to move this book up one spot on the list.  But talk about ridiculously rare? Geesh! One of Image's original and longest running titles checks in here with its most valuable RI variant to date. Clocking in at $2750 the last time a 9.8 copy came up for sale publicly, the scant census numbers should keep rare variant chasers on their heels and this book in high value and esteem for the foreseeable future.  Given the recent interest in Spawn sketch covers, one could only imagine what one of these would go for if one came up in a no reserve auction.

Spawn185SketchCover.jpg

 

#5- Uncanny X-Men #510 Partial Sketch, J. Scott Campbell (2009)- Without a doubt the most valuable and hard to find convention book out there, 9.6 copies of these have sold for $2800, and only proves once again that Campbell + crazy rarity + beautiful pin-up art = salivating fans and $$$. With a raw copy of this also cracking $2000, all things considered, it wouldn't take much for this book to jump up higher on this list, and indeed its legacy of high sales, coupled with a complete and total lack of copies appearing on the market cause it ton reclaim the #5 spot on the list.

Uncanny X-Men #510 Sketch Edition

 

 

 

#4- Wolverine #1, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- Here we have a  JSC cover, this one his finest, landing at #4. Featuring a stocky Wolverine bulging out of Deadpool's costume, breaking the fourth wall as he smirks slyly at the viewer, this book recently had a rarely seen slabbed blue label 9.8 sell for $3350 and is very strong in all down grades, as well as raw. It was a "destroy comics" incentive to retailers, an incentive that was so derided in the industry that it has yet to be repeated, but resulted in a book with a very low print run and insatiable demand. It was the uber-high sales prices of this book a couple of years ago that really got the JSC train going at 100 miles per hour, and if it ever stops chugging along, people will still be paying big money for this book, and this one will likely be the one book for which he is most remembered in the years to come.  In this writer's opinion, this will end up being the one book that Campbell is best known for.  The fact that it combines two of Marvel's most popular characters and a Wolverine aping Deadpool's fourth-wall breaking sense of humour truly does showcase Campbell at his finest. 

Wolverine1DeadpoolCGC9.8.jpg

 

#3- Amazing Spider-Man #678 (2012)- This now classic and oft-reprinted and homaged cover features Mary Jane in mid-possession by the alien symbiote known as Venom. Its character mash-up and spoof elements made it an instant hit right out of the gate and it never looked back. A 1:50 variant released when ASM sales were barely cracking 50,000, this book has gone for $4000 in a 9.8 (on the rare occasion they're offered), and as much as $1000 for an 8.5! So strong is the pull of this book that it raised to prominence (and value) most, if not all of the other "Venom Variants" that were released outside of the ASM title that same month, which has now led to a brand new batch of Venom variants this year, as well as Venomized villain covers.   The ASM 678 is why Venomized covers are a "thing", and the concept itself has now practically become a sub-genre unto itself.  A raw copy has now also broken $2100, and its scarcity on the market, its "modern grail" status, and presence in the ASM run should keep it at the top of this list for a very long time. 

AmazingSpider-Man678MaryJaneVenom.jpg

#2- Batman #608 RRP (2002)- The granddaddy of the DC RRP's (and maybe all modern variants) drops back to #2, a still very lofty position indeed.   And why not? The combination of it being Batman, a first appearance of a new character,  Part One of a story line that put the Batman title back on top, deep within the run of a popular, long running title, 15 years old, ridiculously rare, and by the highly regarded Jim Lee, might make this the "perfect variant".   With multiple recent public sales of 9.8's ranging from $3800 to $5500, 9.6's reaching $2300 and raw copies hitting $2100, and copies seeming to have all but disappeared into personal collections, don't expect to get this one on the cheap ever again (if you can even find one).   Like a few other long time entries on this list, this book will probably end up being synonymous with our current Age of comics. 

Batman 608 RRP Cover

 

#1- Amazing Spider-Man #667, Dell'Otto (2011)- Emphatically reclaiming the top spot, this book continues to "amaze".  With a very impressive sale of $10,000 for a 9.8 (first publicly closed sale of a 9.8 in four and a half years), this is officially the first variant from this era of comics to crack that milestone, one of many milestones that have been set by this book, and it will likely ensure that it stays at the top of this list for a long time.   it was nearly two years ago back in September, 2015 when a VF/NM-ish raw copy of this sold for over $2000 that, in retrospect, seems to have kicked off this "next-level" of prices that people are now willing to pay for even raw copies of some of these truly rare books. At the time, such a high price paid for a raw modern book, no matter how rare, raised more than a few eyebrows, but since then we have seen similar stratospheric prices paid for multiple other books, including this one, which beat its own record when another, VF-looking raw copy sold for $2500 six months later, and a 9.6 copy hit $4k in June, 2016. As a side bonus, the multiple blockbuster sales of this one book officially put the name "Dell'otto" on the map, and raised his profile to the A-lister status shared by other hot and talented artists with names like Campbell, Hughes, and Lee. Possibly one of the rarest books of all in the entire ASM run, it iwas a 1:100 that was originally offered to retailers after they had already submitted their orders for the month, on the heels of the massive ASM 666 retailer variant event, and to make matters even more dicey, there was another variant offered at the same time for weeks beforehand, with a competing incentive, that seemed to cause dealers to either not notice the Dell'otto or not bother to order it at all.   It truly is a completionist's nightmare, and a rare variant hunter's wet dream. Hardly ever offered for sale, in any condition, there are reports of just 225 of these being produced , and the more time that passes, the more that number looks to be accurate, as however few copies there are seem to have already disappeared into permanent collections, and it is a veritable feeding frenzy when a copy does find its way to market. Even to this day only one or two of these surfaces publicly for sale a year, and they are never anywhere to be found at conventions.   If there is such a thing as "Golden Age rarity" in the Modern Age, the ASM 667 Dell'Otto has it, and at this rate, there could easily come a time when years go by without any copy seeing the light of day.

AmazingSpider-Man667DellOtto.jpg

 

 

 

***Falling Off The List For Now***  Ms. Marvel #2, 1:50 Variant (2014) and

                                                                  Black Panther #1 J. Scott Campbell Partial Sketch (2009)

 

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

-J.

Edited by Jaydogrules
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2 hours ago, ygogolak said:

This book fell off the list because it's been cold for a couple of months, and that Voldy sale of a 9.8 for $1250 did it no favours.  The list is the most volatile after the top 7, give or take, so who knows, maybe it will pick back up again at some point and make it back on. :)

-J.

Edited by Jaydogrules
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