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Dell UK Price Variants
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271 posts in this topic

Hello! :)

Another pence thread, to accompany MarvelKingDCCharlton and Archie - yaay!

In this thread I'll be documenting the pence variants for Dell Comics - here's an example of a 9d / 10c dual priced beauty to whet your appetite:

127062828_TomandJerryComics193(Vol.1August1960)9d.thumb.jpg.d1798a9cec04e39a6233627385e90c7f.jpg

 

Back to the usual format this time, seeing as how the Charlton approach met with stunned indifference. And talking of differences, one difference here is that I've started this research relatively recently so it's nowhere near as robust as the other threads. I'm hoping other boardies, especially the Englanders, will dig deep into their collections and add missing copies as we go :wishluck:

I currently have found evidence of 177 Dell pence printed price variants between the cover dates of April 1960 and July 1961 (more on dates later - Dell's are difficult to track).

They live on a spreadsheet that looks like this:

1226126191_dell1.thumb.PNG.9f3a17fca08b4a957609e3e6575997ae.PNG

 

Supported by folders that look like this:

959975031_dell2.thumb.PNG.96c1d6945dd63edc19eb4e8d0fd70971.PNG

 

With contents that look like this:

huck.PNG.e56c7fa2e824b4f79ad7e3f67d4a8e49.PNG

 

Unlike my Charltons, I'm not actively collecting these books, so many of the images you will see are lifted from ebay and online. I have purchased several copies though to prove certain points. 

Here are the headlines:

  • The earliest pence book I have found is cover dated April 1960 (the earliest pence book date - most start in May 1960)
  • The latest pence book I have found is cover dated July 1961 (albeit Four Color #1236, 'King of Kings', is indicia dated 1961 and supposedly came out in December. More on that later)
  • I have found 38 titles which have at least one pence book (Dell Giant and Four Color representing one title each) between those date ranges
  • I have found 18 titles with no pence books between those date ranges
  • I have found only three cover prices - 9d and 1/- (one shilling) for regular books and 2/- (two shillings) for the big ones
  • The majority of books are 'dual priced', i.e. the UK versions have both US and UK prices on them. The US versions have, of course, only the US price
  • As is the case with Charlton, DC, Archie etc the only difference I have found between the US and UK copies are the cover prices. Everything else, including the indicias, are identical. Marvel seem to be the only ones who made other changes to their books (indicias, missing dates, cover banners etc)

Here is the list of the 38 titles with pence books:

Title         Potential Pence
Number Range
Confirmed Pence Numbers           Total
               
Adventures of Mighty Mouse, The   146-151 146 1
Andy Panda (Walter Lantz)     50-54 51 1
Bat Masterson       3-7 3-7 5
Bugs Bunny       72-79 73-74 2
Cheyenne         15-22 15-18 4
Colt .45         5-9 5-9 5
Dell Giant         28-47 32, 38, 39, 43 4
Four Color       1087-1236   56
Gunsmoke       20-27 20-27 8
Have Gun Will Travel       5-10 5-7, 10 4
Hi-Yo Silver, The Lone Ranger's Famous Horse 34-36 35-36 2
Huckleberry Hound       5-12 5, 6, 9, 11 4
Hugh O'Brian, Famous Marshal Wyatt Earp 11-13 11-13 3
I Love Lucy       27-32 27, 29 2
Lassie         49-54 49-53 5
Lawman         4-8 4-6 3
Lone Ranger, The       133-140 133-135 3
Looney Tunes       222-237 224, 226-227 3
Maverick         10-16 10-14 5
Mickey Mouse       71-78 74, 76 2
New Funnies (Walter Lantz)     277-284 277-279 3
Porky Pig         70-77 70-72 3
Quick Draw McGraw        2-7 2-3 2
Rifleman, The       3-8 3-7 5
Rin Tin Tin and Rusty       34-38 34-38 5
Roy Rogers and Trigger     137-144 137-139, 141-143 6
Ruff and Reddy       5-10 5-6 2
Sea Hunt         5-10 5-7 3
Spike and Tyke (M.G.M.s)     22-24 23 1
Tom and Jerry Comics       189-204 190, 192-195 5
Turok Son of Stone       20-24 20-24 5
Tweety and Sylvester       29-33 29-30 2
Wagon Train       5-10 5-6, 10 3
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories     235-250 240-241, 244-245 4
Walt Disney's Donald Duck     71-78 73, 75 2
Walt Disney's Scamp       14-16 15 1
Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge       31 1
Walt Disney's Zorro       10-14 11, 14 2
               
               
Updated  23-Jul-18

 

 

 

     

 

Pence Total:   

 

177

 

 

Here are the titles where I have yet to find a pence copy:

nope.PNG.bbb17dfb6b225bed860533fda9ab11cd.PNG

 

If anyone has evidence of copies I've missed, please dive in :headbang:

 

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Dell Giants

Here's a Dell Giant that I picked up recently - number 39, indicia dated 1960. Walt Disney's Merry Christmas:

1830318718_DellGiant39(1960)WaltDisneysMerryChristmas(2shilling.thumb.jpg.3574cd71b981ad4c0e8e9f3baf0353a9.jpg

 

It has a 25c US price and a two shilling UK price. The indicia is identical to a US only priced copy that I have seen.

Pence priced Dell Giants are really hard to find and I've only managed to locate pictorial evidence of just 4 of them:

giant.thumb.PNG.af728837e5ce89ef51713ac5187f2cf9.PNG

 

The comic historian Jon McClure has seen #42 according to his website but, in keeping with my research philosophy, it doesn't exist until I have proof.

I've based the date range on the 'regular sized' books - April 1960 to July 1961 - but some books have only the year on them so it's hard to be sure what the earliest / latest books will be. You'll see in the chart above dates which I have lifted from other websites. The GCD lists #39 as December 1960, and that's what I originally had on my chart:

dg39.PNG.cff60603827dc6dc399611647fbd8325.PNG

But I have the book in hand now, and it's dated just 1960. So I will update the chart as and when I see the book myself.

All good fun.

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5 minutes ago, Gnasher said:

This sold on Saturday just gone on ebay.....    

Cheers Gnasher - I've got that one recorded thanks. Full list of the Four Colors coming up shortly! 

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Four Color

I record Four Color as one running title in my records but have to maintain a separate tab on my spreadsheet due to the fact that multiple issues have the same date. Here's two that I own:

1408369400_FourColor1110Bonanza(June-Aug1960)9d.thumb.jpg.d68d96eb63ac324cfa5ed1d07208f69e.jpg 

 

614825466_FourColor1164WantedDeadorAlive(March-May1961)1s.thumb.jpg.e55d70c2f6d74af4264e19bb6d63b762.jpg

 

And here's the spreadsheet - the earliest book I've found is number 1087, 'Peter Gun' cover dated April-June 1960....

fc.thumb.PNG.8c949a6256b6b479e6660439ef42c58b.PNG

 

....and the latest issue I have found is number 1236, 'The King of Kings', which is dated 1961:

633099628_fc2.thumb.PNG.ca933938eed7b46a8e5dc69dabfc55c4.PNG

 

I've found 56 pence copies so far. You can see big gaps in the list and number 1236 seems to be a rogue as there are no copies prior to that all the way back to 1205 (that I have found). I suspect that there may be gaps, i.e. months where no pence books were solicited, but time will tell.

 

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One thing I found challenging with the Dell research is how to record books which are 'multiple month' cover dated.

The Dells vary - some have multiple months on the cover like this (November to December on the cover and indicia):

1759526125_HuckleberryHound8(Nov-Dec1960)9d.thumb.jpg.d0706b31ffa76c3cf7b174dd370f0f05.jpg

 

And some single months (June only on the cover, but April-June on the indicia!):

2140146295_TheRifleman7(April-June1961)1s.thumb.jpg.aa060d3fbaf5ec608d6c7b0d7ab6220c.jpg

 

And some have no cover date (this one just has a 1960 indicia):

411485039_FourColor1114TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn(1960)9d.thumb.jpg.209e0f5594f6cb54a43d008204b0f543.jpg

 

I decided to record each book against the first month where there is a choice. So our Porky #71 here is cover dated July-Aug and, accordingly, I've recorded him as July:

1450897022_PorkyPig71(July-Aug1960)9d.thumb.jpg.8902325250f18017762b0d1665c6b1ff.jpg  porky.PNG.562ba9cab9898a036272bc48b95f159a.PNG

 

It's a bit awkward, but the best solution so far. I don't really want to block out multiple months on the spreadsheet as it looks rotten (I tried it)

Edited by Get Marwood & I
Porky 71, not 72 you w-w-w-wally ?
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4 minutes ago, AJD said:

CGC can get confused by these. Exhibit A:

UK-DD-75-CGC.thumb.jpg.8728d76ef189e32df583120dbbfad283.jpg

Yep. Not Australian at all. Threads like this will help spread the word / clarify I hope :wishluck:

 

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On 5/28/2018 at 1:54 PM, pemart1966 said:

Hi Steve - I did see your stuff above but any and all attempts that I made to open them failed.  Thanks for exploding it.

I have a copy of Turok 22 dual priced.  I'll attempt to post here later or will attempt to send it to you.

23 and 25 exist in dual prices as well.  I saw both at Superworld's booth a few years ago at the NYC con I think it was.  Don't have copies of those or photos.  23 also exists as a pence only version.  I THINK that I have a photo of that and if I can dig it out I will post as well or will try to send to you.

Our friend @pemart1966 posted about Turok Son of Stone in our 'Other Publishers Pence Variants' thread - see above - stating that he had seen a number 25.

If my research is correct date-wise, number 25 should not exist:

turok.PNG.1184afccbd374f4df8a8c6f46aa08936.PNG 

turok2.PNG.4eba45a302cfdd1eeb39e03283946f41.PNG

 

If it does, it will be a stand alone issue dated September-December (according to GCD). I'm always happy to be proven wrong - and have been before - but the current evidence seems stacked against it. 

Time as ever, will tell.

 

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1 hour ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Hello! :)

Another pence thread, to accompany MarvelKingDCCharlton and Archie - yaay!

In this thread I'll be documenting the pence variants for Dell Comics - here's an example of a 9d / 10c dual priced beauty to whet your appetite:

127062828_TomandJerryComics193(Vol.1August1960)9d.thumb.jpg.d1798a9cec04e39a6233627385e90c7f.jpg

 

Back to the usual format this time, seeing as how the Charlton approach met with stunned indifference. And talking of differences, one difference here is that I've started this research relatively recently so it's nowhere near as robust as the other threads. I'm hoping other boardies, especially the Englanders, will dig deep into their collections and add missing copies as we go :wishluck:

I currently have found evidence of 177 Dell pence printed price variants between the cover dates of April 1960 and July 1961 (more on dates later - Dell's are difficult to track).

They live on a spreadsheet that looks like this:

1226126191_dell1.thumb.PNG.9f3a17fca08b4a957609e3e6575997ae.PNG

 

Supported by folders that look like this:

959975031_dell2.thumb.PNG.96c1d6945dd63edc19eb4e8d0fd70971.PNG

 

With contents that look like this:

huck.PNG.e56c7fa2e824b4f79ad7e3f67d4a8e49.PNG

 

Unlike my Charltons, I'm not actively collecting these books, so many of the images you will see are lifted from ebay and online. I have purchased several copies though to prove certain points. 

Here are the headlines:

  • The earliest pence book I have found is cover dated April 1960 (the earliest pence book date - most start in May 1960)
  • The latest pence book I have found is cover dated July 1961 (albeit Four Color #1236, 'King of Kings', is indicia dated 1961 and supposedly came out in December. More on that later)
  • I have found 38 titles which have at least one pence book (Dell Giant and Four Color representing one title each) between those date ranges
  • I have found 18 titles with no pence books between those date ranges
  • I have found only three cover prices - 9d and 1/- (one shilling) for regular books and 2/- (two shillings) for the big ones
  • The majority of books are 'dual priced', i.e. the UK versions have both US and UK prices on them. The US versions have, of course, only the US price
  • As is the case with Charlton, DC, Archie etc the only difference I have found between the US and UK copies are the cover prices. Everything else, including the indicias, are identical. Marvel seem to be the only ones who made other changes to their books (indicias, missing dates, cover banners etc)

Here is the list of the 38 titles with pence books:

Title         Potential Pence
Number Range
Confirmed Pence Numbers           Total
               
Adventures of Mighty Mouse, The   146-151 146 1
Andy Panda (Walter Lantz)     50-54 51 1
Bat Masterson       3-7 3-7 5
Bugs Bunny       72-79 73-74 2
Cheyenne         15-22 15-18 4
Colt .45         5-9 5-9 5
Dell Giant         28-47 32, 38, 39, 43 4
Four Color       1087-1236   56
Gunsmoke       20-27 20-27 8
Have Gun Will Travel       5-10 5-7, 10 4
Hi-Yo Silver, The Lone Ranger's Famous Horse 34-36 35-36 2
Huckleberry Hound       5-12 5, 6, 9, 11 4
Hugh O'Brian, Famous Marshal Wyatt Earp 11-13 11-13 3
I Love Lucy       27-32 27, 29 2
Lassie         49-54 49-53 5
Lawman         4-8 4-6 3
Lone Ranger, The       133-140 133-135 3
Looney Tunes       222-237 224, 226-227 3
Maverick         10-16 10-14 5
Mickey Mouse       71-78 74, 76 2
New Funnies (Walter Lantz)     277-284 277-279 3
Porky Pig         70-77 70-72 3
Quick Draw McGraw        2-7 2-3 2
Rifleman, The       3-8 3-7 5
Rin Tin Tin and Rusty       34-38 34-38 5
Roy Rogers and Trigger     137-144 137-139, 141-143 6
Ruff and Reddy       5-10 5-6 2
Sea Hunt         5-10 5-7 3
Spike and Tyke (M.G.M.s)     22-24 23 1
Tom and Jerry Comics       189-204 190, 192-195 5
Turok Son of Stone       20-24 20-24 5
Tweety and Sylvester       29-33 29-30 2
Wagon Train       5-10 5-6, 10 3
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories     235-250 240-241, 244-245 4
Walt Disney's Donald Duck     71-78 73, 75 2
Walt Disney's Scamp       14-16 15 1
Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge       31 1
Walt Disney's Zorro       10-14 11, 14 2
               
               
Updated  23-Jul-18

 

 

 

     

 

Pence Total:   

 

177

 

 

Here are the titles where I have yet to find a pence copy:

nope.PNG.bbb17dfb6b225bed860533fda9ab11cd.PNG

 

If anyone has evidence of copies I've missed, please dive in :headbang:

 

Terrific research!

If I may, I suggest adding a column heading that says something like "Confirmed Pence/Cents Numbers".  This is where the vast majority of the books would go.

The current "Confirmed Pence Numbers" could be relabelled "Confirmed Pence Only Numbers" and that's where the Turok 23 and anything else bearing only a pence/shilling price would go.

What else have you found besides the Turok 23 I provided the link to that has ONLY a pence/shilling price and what date was it?

Another point...the "cents" versions are North American versions not strictly US versions...North American in the sense that the identical books were sold in Canada at the same cover price...

Edited by pemart1966
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5 minutes ago, pemart1966 said:

Terrific research!

Cheers!

5 minutes ago, pemart1966 said:

What else have you found besides the Turok 23 I provided the link to that has ONLY a pence/shilling price and what date was it?

See previous post for Turok :)

6 minutes ago, pemart1966 said:

If I may, I suggest adding a column heading that says something like "Confirmed Pence/Cents Numbers".  This is where the vast majority of the books would go.

The current "Confirmed Pence Numbers" could be relabelled "Confirmed Pence Only Numbers" and that's where the Turok 23 and anything else bearing only a pence/shilling price would go.

I think I see what you mean. At the moment, I'm only distinguishing between the US Cents originals and the UK price variants which may have dual or single prices. If it has a pence price on the cover (9d, 1/- or 2/-) then it is one of the 177 pence variants I've found to date and features on the list accordingly.

I've yet to see a 'variant of a variant' i.e. a third type for the same issue, if that is what you are getting at?

So as a fictional example, if three different first printing copies existed for the same book, e.g.:

  • Copy A - US Cents only
  • Copy B - Dual US and UK price
  • Copy C - UK only price

...then I can see the logic of a further split. Do you have any evidence of something like this? Remember, I need pictures or it didn't happen :grin:

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14 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Cheers!

See previous post for Turok :)

I think I see what you mean. At the moment, I'm only distinguishing between the US Cents originals and the UK price variants which may have dual or single prices. If it has a pence price on the cover (9d, 1/- or 2/-) then it is one of the 177 pence variants I've found to date and features on the list accordingly.

I've yet to see a 'variant of a variant' i.e. a third type for the same issue, if that is what you are getting at?

So as a fictional example, if three different first printing copies existed for the same book, e.g.:

  • Copy A - US Cents only
  • Copy B - Dual US and UK price
  • Copy C - UK only price

...then I can see the logic of a further split. Do you have any evidence of something like this? Remember, I need pictures or it didn't happen :grin:

You said in an above post "The majority of books are 'dual priced', i.e. the UK versions have both US and UK prices on them."  

I took this to mean that you've found a few other examples like the Turok 23, that are pence/shilling only priced and that's why I suggested the column heading changes.  IMO it's important to distinguish dual priced from pence/shilling only priced books but it's your list...

The dual priced Turok 23 exists - I saw it along with the dual priced #25 BUT, I'm like you, unless I see it, it doesn't exist lol

Edited by pemart1966
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26 minutes ago, pemart1966 said:

You said in an above post "The majority of books are 'dual priced', i.e. the UK versions have both US and UK prices on them."  

I took this to mean that you've found a few other examples like the Turok 23, that are pence/shilling only priced and that's why I suggested the column heading changes.  IMO it's important to distinguish dual priced from pence/shilling only priced books but it's your list...

The dual priced Turok 23 exists - I saw it along with the dual priced #25 BUT, I'm like you, unless I see it, it doesn't exist lol

Got ya. Remember, I'm nowhere near as advanced on this publisher as Marvel, DC and Charlton etc. so I am learning as I go. I've read a few things online which say certain things exist, but they have no pictures. I like to stick to facts - I can speculate based on reasonable observations, but all my threads are fact based - this exists, here's a picture. 

Let's see how it pans out, as more copies come in. At 177 so far, I may yet attempt the set, if I can convince the wife to let me have more than 3% of available storage in the house. How many clothes do you need anyway?

Here's two more that I've picked up:

2011416801_BugsBunny73(Jun-July1960)9d.thumb.jpg.d6e60d65e3b6e7b2191a89ae26f19744.jpg  

798796418_WaltDisneysZorro11(Sept-Nov1960)9d.thumb.jpg.998b611750dd18143c2b7af8553e9908.jpg 

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Last post here today (unless someone asks a question). As I said earlier, there are 177 confirmed books so far. If a pence book exists for every issue of the 38 titles within the April 60 to July 61 date range that will total 416 possible books:

spec2.PNG.048df5ed2eaaf6366ef9db7311246833.PNG

 

By documenting the books by date side by side on a spreadsheet you can start to see patterns and gaps which can indicate whether books may exist. Here's an example:

spec.thumb.PNG.5064fd1056f3b5313538315abc38e742.PNG

 

Five similar cartoon titles, all 'stopping' at September 1960. That could mean pence copies don't exist beyond that month, or do but in very scarce quantities. The chances of five titles not yielding one book beyond a certain date is small though, so perhaps the final number will be less than 416 if these titles were shelved together.

I presented a similar scenario in my Marvel thread once however, and a book promptly turned up to debunk the speculation. 

Lets hope that happens again - the more books the merrier.

Check your collections! :)

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2 hours ago, Gnasher said:

 MCS website, which is worth a gander at......  

Thanks Gnash!  I see see a Chip and Dale on there which is the first pence copy I've seen for that title. Good man :headbang: 

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29 minutes ago, David Buck said:

The only Dell Pence copy I have

Dell Giant 33 2/- 

 

Dell giant 33 Pence.jpg

Great stuff, thanks David :headbang:

That makes 6 confirmed copies now :)

dg6.thumb.PNG.7bb580f4509723f6770cc4c93949d864.PNG

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