Regarding rust on staples on graded books 0

[thewritestuff]

Hello. I am relatively new when it comes to collecting Golden Age comics. That said, there are several books I'm interested in that are graded between 8.0-9.0 by two well-known third parties. I contacted one of the auction houses, and they confirmed that at least one of the books had "a small amount of rust' on the staples, and that a small amount from one of the staples had begun to transfer to the spine of the comic itself. 

My question is: how much does this knock down the grade of the comic? What about the value? Would I be better off bidding on a nice-looking 7.0 with clean staples than an 8.0 with rust on staples? My concern is that I might be purchasing an 8.0 or a 9.0, but (many years) down the road it might be difficult to resell the issues in question, especially if the issue worsens.

Please share your thoughts...

 

[Gotham Kid]

I'll take a 7.0 (w/o rust) over an 8.0 or even 9.0 (w/rust) any day of the week. It is said that if book is kept in proper storage conditions the rust won't deteriorate. But who knows ...

I could make exceptions if the staples present only very slight rusting.

In the end rust is like tape. Neither can be good for a comic in the long term.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Gotham Kid

[marmat]

20 minutes ago, Gotham Kid said:

I'll take a 7.0 (w/o rust) over an 8.0 or even 9.0 (w/rust) any day of the week. It is said that if book is kept in proper storage conditions the rust won't deteriorate. But who knows ...

I could make exceptions if the staples present only very slight rusting.

In the end rust is like tape. Neither can be good for a comic in the long term.

I totally agree

[Bomber-Bob]

25 minutes ago, AuthorJamesMichaelRice said:

Hello. I am relatively new when it comes to collecting Golden Age comics. That said, there are several books I'm interested in that are graded between 8.0-9.0 by two well-known third parties. I contacted one of the auction houses, and they confirmed that at least one of the books had "a small amount of rust' on the staples, and that a small amount from one of the staples had begun to transfer to the spine of the comic itself. 

My question is: how much does this knock down the grade of the comic? What about the value? Would I be better off bidding on a nice-looking 7.0 with clean staples than an 8.0 with rust on staples? My concern is that I might be purchasing an 8.0 or a 9.0, but (many years) down the road it might be difficult to resell the issues in question, especially if the issue worsens.

Please share your thoughts...

 

If the rust has started to migrate to the spine, that is more than a 'small' amount. Unless it's a tiny,single 'dot', isolated to one spot on the staple only, I avoid them. Rust is one of those flaws that can get worse over time, even in the slab. If the migration has already started, I would not purchase this book. I also think many collectors avoid rusty staples.

[thewritestuff]

Thanks for the responses. I was thinking the same thing. The reply I received said they looked at the staples "under magnification", but I thought I could spot some rust in their crappy auction photo, which is why I contacted them in the first place. 

 

I'm sort of torn about entering a few bids anyway (it's still early in the bidding), since these issues are definitely rare and it might be a long time (if ever) that I get a chance to add them to my collection.

[Gotham Kid]

The problem with truly hard to find books is sometimes one has to turn a blind eye to things he would normally not ... There may well never again be another chance or perhaps only in 20yrs time.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Gotham Kid

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Gotham Kid said:

The problem with truly hard to find books is sometimes one has to turn a blind eye to things he would normally not ... There may well never again be another chance or perhaps only in 20yrs time.

Exactly.  I have a restored book, although I think if I sent it in for a reholder it would be called "conserved" now, and a green label qualified book in my collection because I either could not afford a copy as nice or just could not find another copy, period.  Then there's page quality.

I went from White only, to well, ok off white to white, to cream to white, to, gasp!, all the way down to slightly brittle.  I have 2 books in my collection with slightly brittle notations: a USA Comics #8 and an Archie #23. I read and reread the Archie #23 so I'm not even sure where the brittleness is.  It was not apparent to me.  I've never had the USA #8 out of its case but I'm told by its previous owner that it was perfectly readable.  As has been said, sometimes with GA you must turn a blind eye.

Still, rust is definitely a turn off for me but, depending on the book, it would come down to price.  Would anyone here turn down a complete Bat #1, in any readable condition, with rusty staples for $10,000?  If money wasn't the problem, then of course not.  Its all relative to your comfort level.  Buy what makes you happy. If you are going to fret and sweat about it, then walk away.  Otherwise, enjoy the rarity and keep your eyes open for a nicer, affordable, copy.  

[pemart1966]

Avoid rust, tan pages and brittle pages...

[fifties]

2 hours ago, Gotham Kid said:

The problem with truly hard to find books is sometimes one has to turn a blind eye to things he would normally not ... There may well never again be another chance or perhaps only in 20yrs time.

Agree totally. 

AFA rust spreading, I have a few books bought 40 years ago with one or more rusty staples, and the covers and pages show no noticeable sign of it being any further along than when I got them.

Where I do draw the line, however, is brittleness, because that does continue.

[Knightsofold]

8 hours ago, Gotham Kid said:

The problem with truly hard to find books is sometimes one has to turn a blind eye to things he would normally not ... There may well never again be another chance or perhaps only in 20yrs time.

I agree with this 100% as well.  Not only can it be tough to find a book again, but finding one in a condition you can afford is a whole other thing to deal with.   Unless you can afford the $ to only get the best, sometimes a rare book with flaws is the only way to get the book for a long time.  Consider you can always upgrade, and right now certain defects can offer a large discount.  Most defects will not progress unless you store the book in bad conditions.  Collector’s and grader’s opinions of defects can change over time.  Restored books used to be a much bigger bargain.  If the silver age demand migrates (pun intended) to the goldenage the day when pro conservation’s widely accepted will be sooner than later.  Atm a rusted staple blue label sells for more than a risk free book with pro replaced staples.  Enjoy whatever discounts that are available.

[Jaydogrules]

On 8/6/2018 at 6:02 AM, AuthorJamesMichaelRice said:

Hello. I am relatively new when it comes to collecting Golden Age comics. That said, there are several books I'm interested in that are graded between 8.0-9.0 by two well-known third parties. I contacted one of the auction houses, and they confirmed that at least one of the books had "a small amount of rust' on the staples, and that a small amount from one of the staples had begun to transfer to the spine of the comic itself. 

My question is: how much does this knock down the grade of the comic? What about the value? Would I be better off bidding on a nice-looking 7.0 with clean staples than an 8.0 with rust on staples? My concern is that I might be purchasing an 8.0 or a 9.0, but (many years) down the road it might be difficult to resell the issues in question, especially if the issue worsens.

Please share your thoughts...

 

If you don't buy it, someone else will!

-J.

[N e r V]

If the rust has not yet damaged the book and it’s something truly difficult to find I might consider replacing the staple. As mentioned before (in other threads)  if you replace it correctly and use a “same period” staple you might even get a blue label if that’s your goal.

Me I’d take a purple label with a clean staple vs keeping a rusty one on it.

It’s been quoted to often but rust never sleeps...