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Mark Jeweler variants in DC Comics
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145 posts in this topic

17 hours ago, onlyweaknesskryptonite said:

Congratulations and that is awesome that he just sent it to you!

Thanks.  It never occurred to me until recently that you might be able to find a rare variant just by googling the name of that variant and then chasing the lead.   I've had to resort to this tactic as well as others as the number of variants that I'm missing starts to approach zero.  

I now believe that DC did not intentionally skip any issues when it came to placing the Mark Jeweler insert into its mainline titles during the time period that these jeweler inserts were produced (i.e. August 1972 thru mid-July 1986) unless the issue was a square-bound giant, 64-page Dollar Comic, 52-page giant comic, or contained some other insert such as "The Mask" advertisement.  For example, in the run of JLA issues 100 thru 252, the only issue for which I have never seen the jeweler insert is JLA 161.  In the run of Superman issues 255 thru 420, the only issues for which I have never seen the insert are Superman 361 and 413.  I'm pretty sure that I will eventually find the insert in JLA 161, Superman 361 and 413 (it's just a matter of time). 

p.s.  I have competed for some of these jeweler variants on ebay, with the final closing price going very high.  I wish there was some way of connecting with other collectors of these jeweler variants but I've yet to find some way of reaching them other than word of mouth.  I would love to compare notes to see if they found any of the 15 jeweler variants that I have never seen in the 5 titles I collect.

Edited by Cpt Kirk
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On 6/28/2020 at 7:19 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

The 15 jeweler variants I've never seen before are Batman 245, 324, 326, 390, JLA 161, Detective 470, 548, 564, Superman 359, 413, Action Comics 516, 524, 533, 579, 581.  If anyone ever finds those issues with jeweler insert, I would sure love to hear about it.  

I'm pretty sure the TEC 564 and the Action 581 do not exist, because I believe they were printed after the last run of jeweler inserts.  I believe that the issues that were released during the last week of that month (such as TEC 564 and Action 581) were not printed with jeweler inserts.

Now down to 14 jeweler variants that I've never seen nor heard of someone having.  Those are Batman 245, 324, 326, 390, JLA 161, Detective 470, 548, 564, Superman 359, 413, Action Comics 524, 533, 579, 581.  If anyone ever finds those issues with jeweler insert, I would sure love to hear about it.  Also getting confident that Detective 564 and Action 581 don't exist, which means I've really found all but 12 of the possible 690 variants.   At this rate, I may find them all within the next 5 to 6 years.

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On 8/24/2020 at 7:31 AM, Cpt Kirk said:

Now down to 14 jeweler variants that I've never seen nor heard of someone having.  Those are Batman 245, 324, 326, 390, JLA 161, Detective 470, 548, 564, Superman 359, 413, Action Comics 524, 533, 579, 581.  If anyone ever finds those issues with jeweler insert, I would sure love to hear about it.  Also getting confident that Detective 564 and Action 581 don't exist, which means I've really found all but 12 of the possible 690 variants.   At this rate, I may find them all within the next 5 to 6 years.

Thanks to Gary at Frank-N-Freds Comics in Nevada, I now know that a jeweler variant existed for Action Comics 524 and 533 (but dang it, they were sold before I realized Gary had them).   So I now am thinking that 690 jeweler variants exist in the titles of Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and JLA, and I have evidence that all exist except the following 10 issues:   Batman 245, 324, 326, 390, JLA 161, Detective 470, 548, Superman 359, 413, and Action Comics 579.    If anyone finds any of those, I would love to hear about it.

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Gary at Frank-N-Freds told me that he remembers getting Jeweler variants at the PX on Lackland Air Force Base in TX when he was a kid.  He says he knows a couple other people who also said they got them at military bases in the U.S.   So it looks like they were not exclusive to military stores overseas.

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Here's a shout-out to Gary at Frank-N-Freds for connecting me with the buyer of those Action 522 and 533 Mark Jeweler variants.  The buyer was willing to trade them for a bunch of spare Batman Mark Jeweler variants that I had on hand.  I have now found 680 of the 690 possible jeweler variants in the titles of Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and JLA.  Based on that, and the report below, I am starting to get confident that there was a jeweler variant in each non-oversized or non-squarebound issue of those mainstream titles with cover dates of August 1972 thru July 1986.  Hard to believe that the those oldest jeweler variants are now approaching 50 years old.   Here's my current status:

1.  I have all of the jeweler variants from Action 415 thru 580. with the only exception being Action 579.  I believe Action 579 jeweler variant should exist.  

2.  I have found all jeweler variants from JLA 100 thru 252 with the only exception being JLA 161.  I have proof that JLA 100, 107 and 207 exist but don't yet have those in my collection.

3.  I have found all jeweler variants from Superman 255 thru 420 with the only exceptions being Superman 359 and 413.   I have proof that Superman 255, 258, 262 and 292 exist but I don't yet have them.

4.  I have found all jeweler variants from Batman 243 thru 396 with the only exceptions being Batman 245, 324, 326, and 390.   I have proof that Batman 247 exists but I don't yet have it.

5.  I have found all jeweler variants from Detective 426 thru 563 with the only exceptions being TEC 470 and 548.  I have proof that TEC 454 exists but I don't yet have it.

 

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13 minutes ago, Cpt Kirk said:

Here's a shout-out to Gary at Frank-N-Freds for connecting me with the buyer of those Action 522 and 533 Mark Jeweler variants.  The buyer was willing to trade them for a bunch of spare Batman Mark Jeweler variants that I had on hand.  I have now found 680 of the 690 possible jeweler variants in the titles of Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and JLA.  Based on that, and the report below, I am starting to get confident that there was a jeweler variant in each non-oversized or non-squarebound issue of those mainstream titles with cover dates of August 1972 thru July 1986.  Hard to believe that the those oldest jeweler variants are now approaching 50 years old.   Here's my current status:

1.  I have all of the jeweler variants from Action 415 thru 580. with the only exception being Action 579.  I believe Action 579 jeweler variant should exist.  

2.  I have found all jeweler variants from JLA 100 thru 252 with the only exception being JLA 161.  I have proof that JLA 100, 107 and 207 exist but don't yet have those in my collection.

3.  I have found all jeweler variants from Superman 255 thru 420 with the only exceptions being Superman 359 and 413.   I have proof that Superman 255, 258, 262 and 292 exist but I don't yet have them.

4.  I have found all jeweler variants from Batman 243 thru 396 with the only exceptions being Batman 245, 324, 326, and 390.   I have proof that Batman 247 exists but I don't yet have it.

5.  I have found all jeweler variants from Detective 426 thru 563 with the only exceptions being TEC 470 and 548.  I have proof that TEC 454 exists but I don't yet have it.

 

Amazing collection!!!!! Wow!!!

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19 minutes ago, Werner_Von_Doom said:

Amazing collection!!!!! Wow!!!

Thanks.  Here's the other hard part.  Getting them all in FN or better condition.  In that run of Action Comics, I would say they are all in FN or better with exception of one or two that are in the vg to FN range.

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31 minutes ago, Cpt Kirk said:

Thanks.  Here's the other hard part.  Getting them all in FN or better condition.  In that run of Action Comics, I would say they are all in FN or better with exception of one or two that are in the vg to FN range.

In the 80s/90s I constantly scoured Bay Area shops and cons for higher grade Marvels. It felt like less than 1/2 of 1 percent had MJ inserts. So much so, it never even occurred to me to collect them.  I'm sure DCs were just as hard to find (if not harder). Incredible accomplishment you have there.

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16 hours ago, Werner_Von_Doom said:

In the 80s/90s I constantly scoured Bay Area shops and cons for higher grade Marvels. It felt like less than 1/2 of 1 percent had MJ inserts. So much so, it never even occurred to me to collect them.  I'm sure DCs were just as hard to find (if not harder). Incredible accomplishment you have there.

Thanks.  And yes, the general consensus is that the DCs are harder to find than Marvels.  It would be great to find a jeweler variant of Action Comics 579.  Then we could say that run received the insert for every single issue that could possibly contain the insert.  For whatever it is worth, I would gladly pay finder's fees and premiums for the ones I'm missing.  I also have lots of jeweler variants for trade, and I'm always willing to help fellow collectors.  My collecting friends have been a key to finding these jeweler variants. There's a great guy in Germany who keeps an eye out for them too.

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Earlier this year I have bought a high grade collection with roughly 6000 copies that have the Mark Jewelers Insert. Most of the key issues will be sold in an upcoming auction by Comiclink after they have been graded by CGC.
They should all be graded the end of December/early January and then auctioned in the next auction.
In all past auctions by Comiclink there were none to a maximum of 3-4 copies with the Mark Jewelers insert in each auction. I am having roughly 160 copies graded and auctioned.
I expect most of the books to be in 9.0 or higher so this will be an unique opportunity to get high grade copies of Mark Jewelers Insert variants.
Of the 6000 copies that I had (no doubles) I still have roughly 2500 that have the Mark Jewelers insert (besides the ones that were send to Comiclink/CGC)
 
The first 134 comics have been returned from CGC and are in preview of the January auction of Comiclink.

Here’s a link to the books/auction:
Comic Link :: The Online Vintage Comic Book and Comic Art Auction and Exchange

If this doesn’t work just go to the Comiclink Focused Auction Preview Auction Starts January 7th
and fill in Mark Jewelers in the search auction field

Last but not least there will be several other high grade books (also send to CGC) that will be auctioned in this or the next Comiclink auction. From Series like Superman and Our Army at war (silver and Bronze age)
 
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On 12/10/2020 at 9:44 AM, mmokken said:
Earlier this year I have bought a high grade collection with roughly 6000 copies that have the Mark Jewelers Insert. Most of the key issues will be sold in an upcoming auction by Comiclink after they have been graded by CGC.
They should all be graded the end of December/early January and then auctioned in the next auction.
In all past auctions by Comiclink there were none to a maximum of 3-4 copies with the Mark Jewelers insert in each auction. I am having roughly 160 copies graded and auctioned.
I expect most of the books to be in 9.0 or higher so this will be an unique opportunity to get high grade copies of Mark Jewelers Insert variants.
Of the 6000 copies that I had (no doubles) I still have roughly 2500 that have the Mark Jewelers insert (besides the ones that were send to Comiclink/CGC)
 
The first 134 comics have been returned from CGC and are in preview of the January auction of Comiclink.

Here’s a link to the books/auction:
Comic Link :: The Online Vintage Comic Book and Comic Art Auction and Exchange

If this doesn’t work just go to the Comiclink Focused Auction Preview Auction Starts January 7th
and fill in Mark Jewelers in the search auction field

Last but not least there will be several other high grade books (also send to CGC) that will be auctioned in this or the next Comiclink auction. From Series like Superman and Our Army at war (silver and Bronze age)
 

Awesome.  Thanks for letting us know.   P.s.  I sent you a private message with my want list.

Edited by Cpt Kirk
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A significant development in my pursuit of Mark Jewelers happed this week.  With this post, I will also provide a listing of all jeweler variants that should exist in the five DC titles that I collect.

Thanks to Bart at ‘Burning Comics’ in Belgium, I was able to find some more Mark Jeweler variants that I have never seen before, as well as fill in some holes in my Mark Jeweler runs. Bart was extremely helpful and communicative… so if you are missing some DC Mark Jeweler variants, he would be a great source.

1547475943_jewelervariantsfmBurningComicsMay2021.thumb.jpg.26d8bf6ffce5b797369ee1e51204eef6.jpg

Bart found an incredible run of DC jeweler variants, which are typically the hardest to find.  This is the most extensive run of jeweler variants I’ve ever seen from one collection (the second closest being the run that Hills of Comics in Seattle discovered about four years ago). In the five titles I collect (i.e. Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and JLA), Bart’s run of jeweler variants appear to have started on or after the year 1976 and are nearly complete up until approximately Feb 1986, which is close to the time  when they stopped being made for DC Comics (i.e. July 1986). The runs also contained some comic books from the same collection that did not have jeweler variants, which helped confirm my theory that jeweler variants were not produced for those particular issues.  Recall that Mark Jeweler variants exist for almost every DC Comics issue sold on newsstands with cover dates of Aug 1972 through Jun or July of 1986 with the exception of giant or over-sized issues, square-bound issues, and issues with cover dates of March or April of 1975 (over the course of 14 years, only those two months were skipped…for reasons unknown to me.)

It was also incredible that most of Bart’s jeweler variants were in high grade (i.e. FNVF to NM), which is very unusual given that most jeweler variants were bought off newsstand racks in military Post Exchanges.

Here is a summary of where I now stand, thanks to Bart. 

1.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in the title of Superman.  Superman jeweler variants are 255-271, 273-277, 279-283, 287-376, 378-399, 401-410, 412-420).   The only ones I don’t have in my collection are 255 and 292, plus I need to upgrade my 291 and 294 (otherwise all are in FN or better condition).  

2.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in the title of JLA.  JLA jeweler variants are 100-109, 118-138, 149, 158-192, 194-199, 201-207, 209-241, 243-249, 251-252). The only ones I don’t have in my collection are JLA 100 and 107.

3.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in Action Comics except for one issue (Action 579).  Action jeweler variants are 415-436, 438-442, 444, 447-448, 450-499, 501-536, 538-543, 545-572, 574-580).  I have them all in FN or better condition except 579, which I have yet to find.

4.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in Batman except for two issues (namely Batman 245 and 390).  Batman jeweler variants are 243-253, 263-299, 301-352, 354-386, 388-396).  I have all except 245, 247 and 390, and I also need to upgrade my 243.

5.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in Detective Comics except for two issues (namely Detective 470 and 548).  Detective jeweler variants are 426-437, 447-480, 496-499, 501-519, 521-525, 527-563.  I have them all except 470, 454, and 548, and I also need to upgrade my 453 and 497.

If you have of the issues that I’m missing, I would love to hear from you.  Even if you don’t want to sell them, it would be nice to get confirmation that they exist.

Edited by Cpt Kirk
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9 minutes ago, Cpt Kirk said:

A significant development in my pursuit of Mark Jewelers happed this week.  With this post, I will also provide a listing of all jeweler variants that should exist in the five DC titles that I collect.

Thanks to Bart at ‘Burning Comics’ in Belgium, I was able to find some more Mark Jeweler variants that I have never seen before, as well as fill in some holes in my Mark Jeweler runs. Bart was extremely helpful and communicative… so if you are missing some DC Mark Jeweler variants, he would be a great source.

1547475943_jewelervariantsfmBurningComicsMay2021.thumb.jpg.26d8bf6ffce5b797369ee1e51204eef6.jpg

Bart found an incredible run of DC jeweler variants, which are typically the hardest to find.  This is the most extensive run of jeweler variants I’ve ever seen from one collection (the second closest being the run that Hills of Comics in Seattle discovered about four years ago). In the five titles I collect (i.e. Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and JLA), Bart’s run of jeweler variants appear to have started on or after the year 1976 and are nearly complete up until approximately Feb 1986, which is close to the time  when they stopped being made for DC Comics (i.e. July 1986). The runs also contained some comic books from the same collection that did not have jeweler variants, which helped confirm my theory that jeweler variants were not produced for those particular issues.  Recall that Mark Jeweler variants exist for almost every DC Comics issue sold on newsstands with cover dates of Aug 1972 through Jun or July of 1986 with the exception of giant or over-sized issues, square-bound issues, and issues with cover dates of March or April of 1975 (over the course of 14 years, only those two months were skipped…for reasons unknown to me.)

It was also incredible that most of Bart’s jeweler variants were in high grade (i.e. FNVF to NM), which is very unusual given that most jeweler variants were bought off newsstand racks in military Post Exchanges.

Here is a summary of where I now stand, thanks to Bart. 

1.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in the title of Superman.  Superman jeweler variants are 255-271, 273-277, 279-283, 287-376, 378-399, 401-410, 412-420).   The only ones I don’t have in my collection are 255 and 292, plus I need to upgrade my 291 and 294 (otherwise all are in FN or better condition).  

2.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in the title of JLA.  JLA jeweler variants are 100-109, 118-138, 149, 158-192, 194-199, 201-207, 209-241, 243-249, 251-252). The only ones I don’t have in my collection are JLA 100 and 107.

3.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in Action Comics except for one issue (Action 579).  Action jeweler variants are 415-436, 438-442, 444, 447-448, 450-499, 501-536, 538-543, 545-572, 574-580).  I have them all in FN or better condition except 579, which I have yet to find.

4.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in Batman except for two issues (namely Batman 245 and 390).  Batman jeweler variants are 243-253, 263-299, 301-352, 354-386, 388-396).  I have all except 245, 247 and 390, and I also need to upgrade my 243.

5.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in Detective Comics except for two issues (namely Detective 470 and 548).  I have them all except 470, 454, and 548, and I also need to upgrade my 453 and 497.

If you have of the issues that I’m missing, I would love to hear from you.  Even if you don’t want to sell them, it would be nice to get confirmation that they exist.

Did it sound like he only had DC jewelers? If he had Marvel, how do you contact, is the board name "Bart" as well?

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24 minutes ago, Cpt Kirk said:

A significant development in my pursuit of Mark Jewelers happed this week.  With this post, I will also provide a listing of all jeweler variants that should exist in the five DC titles that I collect.

Thanks to Bart at ‘Burning Comics’ in Belgium, I was able to find some more Mark Jeweler variants that I have never seen before, as well as fill in some holes in my Mark Jeweler runs. Bart was extremely helpful and communicative… so if you are missing some DC Mark Jeweler variants, he would be a great source.

1547475943_jewelervariantsfmBurningComicsMay2021.thumb.jpg.26d8bf6ffce5b797369ee1e51204eef6.jpg

Bart found an incredible run of DC jeweler variants, which are typically the hardest to find.  This is the most extensive run of jeweler variants I’ve ever seen from one collection (the second closest being the run that Hills of Comics in Seattle discovered about four years ago). In the five titles I collect (i.e. Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and JLA), Bart’s run of jeweler variants appear to have started on or after the year 1976 and are nearly complete up until approximately Feb 1986, which is close to the time  when they stopped being made for DC Comics (i.e. July 1986). The runs also contained some comic books from the same collection that did not have jeweler variants, which helped confirm my theory that jeweler variants were not produced for those particular issues.  Recall that Mark Jeweler variants exist for almost every DC Comics issue sold on newsstands with cover dates of Aug 1972 through Jun or July of 1986 with the exception of giant or over-sized issues, square-bound issues, and issues with cover dates of March or April of 1975 (over the course of 14 years, only those two months were skipped…for reasons unknown to me.)

It was also incredible that most of Bart’s jeweler variants were in high grade (i.e. FNVF to NM), which is very unusual given that most jeweler variants were bought off newsstand racks in military Post Exchanges.

Here is a summary of where I now stand, thanks to Bart. 

1.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in the title of Superman.  Superman jeweler variants are 255-271, 273-277, 279-283, 287-376, 378-399, 401-410, 412-420).   The only ones I don’t have in my collection are 255 and 292, plus I need to upgrade my 291 and 294 (otherwise all are in FN or better condition).  

2.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in the title of JLA.  JLA jeweler variants are 100-109, 118-138, 149, 158-192, 194-199, 201-207, 209-241, 243-249, 251-252). The only ones I don’t have in my collection are JLA 100 and 107.

3.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in Action Comics except for one issue (Action 579).  Action jeweler variants are 415-436, 438-442, 444, 447-448, 450-499, 501-536, 538-543, 545-572, 574-580).  I have them all in FN or better condition except 579, which I have yet to find.

4.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in Batman except for two issues (namely Batman 245 and 390).  Batman jeweler variants are 243-253, 263-299, 301-352, 354-386, 388-396).  I have all except 245, 247 and 390, and I also need to upgrade my 243.

5.  I have found all jeweler variants that should exist in Detective Comics except for two issues (namely Detective 470 and 548).  I have them all except 470, 454, and 548, and I also need to upgrade my 453 and 497.

If you have of the issues that I’m missing, I would love to hear from you.  Even if you don’t want to sell them, it would be nice to get confirmation that they exist.

Congratulations! That is awesome! 

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49 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Did it sound like he only had DC jewelers? If he had Marvel, how do you contact, is the board name "Bart" as well?

I thought of the same thing.  I only checked Spiderman and did not see any jewelers.  But if you google "Burning Comics Belgium" I'm sure the website will come up right away.  It is an easy site to use, and you can quickly figure out what Marvel jeweler variants, if any, he has.  I don't think he's on these boards but you can contact him by sending him a message thru his website.

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3 minutes ago, Cpt Kirk said:

I thought of the same thing.  I only checked Spiderman and did not see any jewelers.  But if you google "Burning Comics Belgium" I'm sure the website will come up right away.  It is an easy site to use, and you can quickly figure out what Marvel jeweler variants, if any, he has.  I don't think he's on these boards but you can contact him by sending him a message thru his website.

Thanks!

Oh and congrats! The only extra jeweler I have is iron man 170, the one with Rhodes putting o n the helmet, I'll be looking out though!

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1 hour ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Thanks!

Oh and congrats! The only extra jeweler I have is iron man 170, the one with Rhodes putting o n the helmet, I'll be looking out though!

Most of the jeweler variants shown above were upgrades.  If anyone needs some Superman, Batman or JLA jeweler variants, I have a ton of them.  Just send me a PM if you need help filling holes in those titles. 

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 Just found two more Detective Jeweler variants at Iconiccomics on ebay (in the international part), which I often skip looking at). 

Out of 690 jeweler possible jeweler variants exist in titles of Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and JLA:

-  There are now only 5 issues that I haven't yet seen proof of containing the jeweler insert.  Namely Batman 245, 390, Detective 470, 548 and Action Comics 579.

-  There are only 5 known ones that I don't yet have in my collection:  Namely Batman 247, Superman 255, 292, and JLA 100 and 107 (still can't believe I lost a bid on a beat up JLA 107 for more than $100).

- Almost all the 680 my MJ variants in those 5 titles are in VF or better.  There's only 4 that are in less than vgFN condition (namely Batman 243, Detective 497, Superman 291 and 294).

If anyone has any of those comic books listed above, I would love to hear about it, even if you don't want to sell.  

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