gadzukes Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 I have probably owned about 10 AF15s in my life. And yes, I wish I had them all back (I luckily have held onto 3). A couple I purchased here on the boards, one I bought through a collector friend I knew in Atlanta, but most I bought through ebay. Only 1 time in all my years collecting have I found one in the wild. That was 2 years ago when my daughter called me and said a friend of hers thought he had a valuable comic. I didn't think much of it until I showed up and had my eyes pop out at a very nice looking mid-grade Af15. His uncle had died and when they were cleaning out his house he saw a box with comics and recognized the cover on the AF15, so that was the ONLY comic he saved from the box (I wonder what else was in there). He ended up selling it to me. It turned out to be a 4.0 so I'm pretty happy. Anyway.... I was wondering how many of you Silver Age collectors have had the experience of finding a copy of AF15 in the wild. Are there any old timers here that actually bought one off the rack back in the day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
october Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Six or seven years ago I bought a TOS 58 and the guy sent 59 instead. We got to talking and it turned out that he lived on farmland outside of my city, so I went out there to exchange it and look at some other comics he had bought off the rack. Walked into his kitchen, and the first book I saw was an AF 15 with a $1000 price tag on it. The second book I saw was a TOS 39, then a JIM 83, then...well, it didn't much matter after that. I walked out a happy man. Still have the AF 15, it's a 3.0 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageComics Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Our LCS had one on the wall about 10 years ago. Sat there for a week or two before someone shelled out about $4500 for it. I think it was like a VG+ or a VG/F or something along those lines. Great looking copy though. It was very pretty for the grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
october Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Got a copy from my LCS as well, maybe two years ago. Has some tape, maybe a 2.0, but for $3500 I wasn't leaving it there. It was a nice deal, even at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadzukes Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 On Sept 11 2001 I walked into a LCS and the dealer had an AF15, an ASM1, and a FF1 that had just come into the shop the day before... all in super low grade (all maybe 1.0s). But he also had the TV on. That was the first time I watched the towers fall was in that LCS. I was so distraught that I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on those comics. What a weird day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comicdey Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) My first copy was purchase with a long box of ASM 1-300 at auction. Paid the equivalent of $3/book for the entire collection and that copy ended up as a 1.8 blue label. The second copy I found was from a store that priced it at 1/2 value and that copy ended up being a 2.5. My current copy was a trade and cash deal from a board member years ago and was slabbed 3.0 when I got it ? Edited June 25, 2017 by Comicdey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonzilla Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) I never had a copy of AF 15 but had 3 opportunities to get one in the late 1980's early 1990's. 1st time as at my then-regular shop, it was on the wall for $180. I'm looking at the book, it was waterlogged and stained really bad and when I touched the cover, the color was coming off on my fingers - pass. 2nd time (90 or 91) I was selling books at a flea market, guy said he had AF 15 and ASM #1, wanted $300 each. Got his number, went to his house after. Both books aside from being very low grade has someone's name written in pen on the cover and every page of the book AND covered in white out - pass. Bought X-Men #1 in VG for $300 instead 3rd time (92 or 93) I was selling at a small show (counts as "in the wild" for back then), one dealer had a nice VG+ to VG/FN copy for $850. I was having a great day and could swing it, thought it over for a half hour, went over to his both - already sold I will never own a copy, I have accepted this fact Edited June 25, 2017 by Lonzilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeypost Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 2 a 5.0 and a 5.5. Still have the 5.5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadzukes Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 3 hours ago, joeypost said: 2 a 5.0 and a 5.5. Still have the 5.5. What? No awesome story behind finding them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeypost Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 17 minutes ago, gadzukes said: What? No awesome story behind finding them? Both were rather uneventful, and TBH I misread the original title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 What does "in the wild" mean? Anywhere but an auction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadzukes Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 Yeah, I was thinking any non-auction and non-LCS finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 18 minutes ago, gadzukes said: Yeah, I was thinking any non-auction and non-LCS finds. Thanks. Fine then...here's one from the 1979 SDCC...$150. It's in the AF15 thread too, but buried... gadzukes, piper and Shaolingoat 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 So, what would my copy be worth now in this world gone mad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine48 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 1 minute ago, tricolorbrian said: So, what would my copy be worth now in this world gone mad? I'll give you ten times what you paid for it Bri.Even come pick it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Just now, porcupine48 said: I'll give you ten times what you paid for it Bri.Even come pick it up! OK, but I'm only home on February 30th... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadzukes Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) 24 minutes ago, tricolorbrian said: So, what would my copy be worth now in this world gone mad? I'm thinking your $150 investment has a $25k-$35k value now. Edited June 26, 2017 by gadzukes piper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine48 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Just now, tricolorbrian said: OK, but I'm only home on February 30th... Perfect.My vacation day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-Color Brian Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) 3 minutes ago, gadzukes said: I'm thinking your $150 investment has a $25k-$35k value now. That is just INSANE! I remember 20 years ago when every dealer at SDCC had multiple copies on their walls...Metro always had about 10 of them... Edited June 26, 2017 by tricolorbrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivrimark Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I bought my 3.0 AF15 at a garage sale in Wichita, Kansas, in 1971 for 25 cents. Now that's in the wild! It has increased somewhat in value. At the time, a callow youth of 15, I actually didn't know of the significance of the book -- it just looked like a cool cover of a weird new super-hero. It wasn't till a year or two later that I figured it all out, and have assembled my collection around that comic for the last 45 years. Magneto and thehumantorch 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
