Incredible Hulk #181 - is it *that* red-hot? 17 17

[carefulsum]

Honesty I don't get why all the fuss about pedigree in the first place.

A book is a book. I mean it's the exact same book that everyone can buy when it came out in '74...there is no difference from this $59k to any other 9.8 W. This isn't a special edition or one-off that makes it different from any other 181's that came from Marvel's printing press. To be more specific I seen better looking 9.8's without the blemishes of this $59k one. Just because some dude (instead of a nobody like everyone else) bought it make it so special??

This also applies to those funny stickers 

 

[lou_fine]

3 hours ago, paul747 said:

Also I wonder if the person who purchased the book knew the entire story with the mile high pedigree.

Well, I certainly hope both the winner loser of this copy here and the under bidder winner did not bid this price up to these  levels based upon the pedigree designation. 

Especially since the Mile High II Collection is no longer viewed to be a pedigree within the marketplace.  

[rogue14]

20 hours ago, MGsimba77 said:

Hey guys I'm not sure if my eyes are playing tricks on me but    ...

 http://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2FAUCTIONS%2FSEARCH.ASP%3FFocusedOnly%3D1%26where%3Dauctions%26title%3DIncredible%2Bhulk%2B%23181%26ItemType%3DCB%26CGC%3DYES%26CBCS%3DYES%23Item_1297653&id=1297653&itemType=0

[Bomber-Bob]

2 hours ago, carefulsum said:

Honesty I don't get why all the fuss about pedigree in the first place.

A book is a book. I mean it's the exact same book that everyone can buy when it came out in '74...there is no difference from this $59k to any other 9.8 W. This isn't a special edition or one-off that makes it different from any other 181's that came from Marvel's printing press. To be more specific I seen better looking 9.8's without the blemishes of this $59k one. Just because some dude (instead of a nobody like everyone else) bought it make it so special??

This also applies to those funny stickers 

 

It's not a matter of who owned it but about the conditions under which the book was stored all these years. It's analagous to buying a vintage car with low mileage, covered and and garage kept. Buy a pedigree once to see the difference. Holding a Church copy or a Curator pedigree in hand will take your breath away. 

[Spiderturtle]

1 hour ago, lou_fine said:

Well, I certainly hope both the winner loser of this copy here and the under bidder winner did not bid this price up to these  levels based upon the pedigree designation. 

Especially since the Mile High II Collection is no longer viewed to be a pedigree within the marketplace.  

whoever won the auction, obviously has no worries when it comes to money.  so to us common dudes, it's a big deal and we get to blast away on blah blah but that winner probably could care less.

[MGsimba77]

Guys, mile high ll is not even recognized as a pedigree by CGC anymore! This is not to be confused with the Edgar Church mile high which is a pedigree that would attract a serious premium! It's a different thing entirely and CGC doesn't recognize it for a number of reasons...a scetchy past from the "owner" being one of them.

I know the cva thing throws people into a tizzy around here but tough to imagine a dubious "pedigree" no longer recognized as such was the catalyst for such a massive premium!

Here's one of several old threads on the topic...

 

Edited January 24, 2019 by MGsimba77

[Mjolnir!]

7 hours ago, Spiderturtle said:

whoever won the auction, obviously has no worries when it comes to money.  so to us common dudes, it's a big deal and we get to blast away on blah blah but that winner probably could care less.

I guess you're right.  I could easily buy the book but even if I did, I can't see over paying like this.

 

[lou_fine]

11 hours ago, Spiderturtle said:

whoever won the auction, obviously has no worries when it comes to money.  so to us common dudes, it's a big deal and we get to blast away on blah blah but that winner probably could care less.

Well, it was probably won by the same person who won the single highest graded CGC 9.9 copy and paid something like $150K for back over a decade ago.  

Only problem is that it ended up with a severe cases of SCS damage and would be lucky to hit back into the 9's if it was ever regraded again. 

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

23 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

Well, it was probably won by the same person who won the single highest graded CGC 9.9 copy and paid something like $150K for back over a decade ago.  

Only problem is that it ended up with a severe cases of SCS damage and would be lucky to hit back into the 9's if it was ever regraded again. 

That’s a terrible story.  But, and I’m sorry for my ignorance, what is SCS damage?

[scooter99]

8 minutes ago, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

That’s a terrible story.  But, and I’m sorry for my ignorance, what is SCS damage?

Shaken Comic Syndrome

[lou_fine]

39 minutes ago, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

1 hour ago, lou_fine said:

Only problem is that it ended up with a severe cases of SCS damage and would be lucky to hit back into the 9's if it was ever regraded again. 

That’s a terrible story.  But, and I’m sorry for my ignorance, what is SCS damage?

 

31 minutes ago, scooter99 said:

Shaken Comic Syndrome

Not sure if it's completely fixable by a good pressing job or not.  

But I strongly suspect it would never be able to get back into the high side of the 9's again from a grading point of view, no matter how hard they work at it.  

[drbanner]

6 hours ago, lou_fine said:

Well, it was probably won by the same person who won the single highest graded CGC 9.9 copy and paid something like $150K for back over a decade ago.  

Only problem is that it ended up with a severe cases of SCS damage and would be lucky to hit back into the 9's if it was ever regraded again. 

Wow, got a pic?

[delekkerste]

11 hours ago, Mjolnir! said:

I guess you're right.  I could easily buy the book but even if I did, I can't see over paying like this.

Yep.  Just because one can afford to overpay and look  doesn't mean one should open one's wallet and remove all doubt, just as you don't pay $1800 for an $18 pizza just because you're Jeff Bezos. 

7 hours ago, lou_fine said:

Well, it was probably won by the same person who won the single highest graded CGC 9.9 copy and paid something like $150K for back over a decade ago.  

Only problem is that it ended up with a severe cases of SCS damage and would be lucky to hit back into the 9's if it was ever regraded again. 

I held the 9.9 in my hands at an SDCC sometime in the early 2000s (2001-03 timeframe).  Back then I was known as a big Bronze/Copper comic guy and the then-owner saw my name on my badge and invited me over to check it out (I forget what price he had on it at the time, but, it was way out of my league back then).  It didn't look like a 9.9 to me even before the SCS.  It's been too long to remember specific details, but, I remember my impression of it:  gift grade from early days of CGC grading. Not that it matters to the label-chasers out there. 

Edited January 25, 2019 by delekkerste

[kimik]

I passed on two copies of IH 181 that would have been easy 9.8s with a press, with a shot at 9.9, from the same seller. He was asking $800 for the pair raw, and the only issues were pressure indents from handling/storing that made me pass at those astronomical prices . Both had the deepest reds I have ever seen on IH 181s since, and were perfectly centered. They were the two best copies the OO had in his stack of them (he bought a bunch when they were released as a spec play - his BA spec books were all in amazing shape). He sent the books in without pressing and received 9.6 on both, if I recall correctly. I had a chance to buy them again for $2500 CDN apiece after grading in 2003 and passed again. 

[I am not Glenda]

 $ 343.00 Why? or ..........................who would want this for more then $20 at best?:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Incredible-Hulk-181-Vol-1-Almost-Coverless-Low-Grade-1st-App-Wolverine-No-MVS-/202433472495?hash=item2f21f9a7ef%3Ag%3A4OMAAOSwV45blzki&nma

[kimik]

I guess that means sell your trash copies now while the market is irrational...........

[Dark Knight]

Wasn't there a rumor or possibly could be true that the MIle High II collection is a warehouse find with multiple copies of IH 181 as well as other books?  I seem to remember reading something along those lines.

[lou_fine]

4 hours ago, Dark Knight said:

Wasn't there a rumor or possibly could be true that the MIle High II collection is a warehouse find with multiple copies of IH 181 as well as other books?  I seem to remember reading something along those lines.

Brian;

This was already alluded to on Page 4 of the following thread:

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/445718-2019-comiclink-comic-connect-heritage-etcetera-wins/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-10540615

Since this was a rather sizable warehouse find, I imagine there would be a significantly large number of copies of each book in there, including the Hulk 181's.  

[lou_fine]

On 1/25/2019 at 6:16 AM, delekkerste said:

I held the 9.9 in my hands at an SDCC sometime in the early 2000s (2001-03 timeframe).  Back then I was known as a big Bronze/Copper comic guy and the then-owner saw my name on my badge and invited me over to check it out (I forget what price he had on it at the time, but, it was way out of my league back then).  It didn't look like a 9.9 to me even before the SCS.  It's been too long to remember specific details, but, I remember my impression of it:  gift grade from early days of CGC grading. Not that it matters to the label-chasers out there. 

Gene;

So, I guess you are saying that this particular CGC 9.9 graded copy was probably over graded during possibly one of their soft grading time periods.  Either that or it caught the graders, and most especially the finalizer, in a happy and generous mood that day.  

I guess that's why our wallet says that we should really be following the mantra of: "Buy the book and not the label".  Clearly, if what you are saying is true, then the purchaser followed the other manta which is to:  "Buy the label and not the book".  

All I can say is more power to him then if he was willing to spend something like $140K more just to get that extra 0.1 increment in the CGC label.  

[Dark Knight]

This Mile High II copy might even look better than the 9.9 one even..