PGM: Sandman 1 1 1

[jdraheim]

The front cover looks great.  There's some minor blunting in the upper left corner.  The back cover has some dirt along the top edge, and some light foxing or dirt along the spine.  My biggest concerns are the staples.  Is that rust forming?  Sorry I don't have a picture inside but the staples on the inside at the centerfold are pristine silver.  If that is rust forming on the outside, is there anything I can do about it?  What about a Grade?  I've read a wide range of opinions when it comes to rust migration and how it effects a grade.  Thanks in advance!

[James J Johnson]

Any rust evident on the staples or surrounding paper at the centerfold?

[jdraheim]

53 minutes ago, James J Johnson said:

Any rust evident on the staples or surrounding paper at the centerfold?

No, the centerfold is clean.  the staples inside are bright silver.

[James J Johnson]

14 hours ago, jdraheim said:

No, the centerfold is clean.  the staples inside are bright silver.

It's real nice. There's very little scan evidence of defects other than those isolated to that oddly cut top edge and the top left corner defect. While examples of this issue due tend to crop up with tendencies of manufacturing glitches with respect to centering/fold and cut, this one's top edge machining is a bit extreme. It's the type of untypical manufacturing cut that would cause me concern and to closely examine the page ends for signs of trimming, due to the twisting (the cutting blade constantly changing it's angle), multi-directional, non-machinelike edge the scans appear to be showing.

Edited February 24, 2018 by James J Johnson

[jdraheim]

On 2/24/2018 at 11:12 AM, James J Johnson said:

It's real nice. There's very little scan evidence of defects other than those isolated to that oddly cut top edge and the top left corner defect. While examples of this issue due tend to crop up with tendencies of manufacturing glitches with respect to centering/fold and cut, this one's top edge machining is a bit extreme. It's the type of untypical manufacturing cut that would cause me concern and to closely examine the page ends for signs of trimming, due to the twisting (the cutting blade constantly changing it's angle), multi-directional, non-machinelike edge the scans appear to be showing.

You have a good eye.  Sounds like some possible printing defects - would that effect the grade?  How would the rust on the staples factor in?  It was sold as a High Grade, but I didn't see the staples until after I bought it.  

[James J Johnson]

22 minutes ago, jdraheim said:

You have a good eye.  Sounds like some possible printing defects - would that effect the grade?  How would the rust on the staples factor in?  It was sold as a High Grade, but I didn't see the staples until after I bought it.  

That little bit of rust should affect the decision of grade progressively more as the grade the grader is considering ascends along the scale. For example, not nearly as much in Fine as in VF, and not nearly as much in VF as it does in the 9.2 and up range, which this book appears to be. After all, the only defects I can spot are the crinkling of the top spine corner and defect related to the machining of that top edge. I don't see chipsor hanging chips (like on Marvels), so to what extent that top edge unevenness affects the grade remains to be seen. It depends on it being viewed as production defect (negligible grade effect) or more (greater impact on the grade). The top edge is bothersome and a huge red flag for trim, just by nature of that twisting cut, the edge, the way the pages twist and turn at the top reminiscent of the way water flows from a faucet, not straight down, but in a spiral. It's what happens when someone of limited skills tries to execute too little of a trim, the blade twists and turns, not biting into all of the pages evenly. It's not machine-like at all, very imprecise and that top edge has those attributes and look, like it was cut with a scissors rather than the blades of a precise cutting machine drawing the blade along a track at a rigidly fixed angle.

[1Cool]

I'd love to see what CGC would give it but I'd expect a huge (2 grade or maybe more) drop with 2 rusted staples. Definitely not high grade and I'd try to get your money back if it's not been too long if it was me.