The infamous All-Star Comics #3 CGC 8.5 1 1

[World Devourer]

Does anyone know if this copy has been released?

https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/22/8870089/texas-comic-book-heist-anthony-chiofalo-tadano

Arguably the most infamous comic (certainly Golden Age) to own.

[G.A.tor]

I would think the mastro tec27 would far surpass the as8?

[IngelsFan]

I have to say, as someone that owns an 8.5 All Star 3, your headline made my heart skip a beat for a second. 

[Badger]

That was a very interesting article. Thanks for posting!

[batman_fan]

33 minutes ago, Badger said:

That was a very interesting article. Thanks for posting!

It was actually really good.  Funny to see actual reporting done.

[TheSurgeon]

Thanks for posting. Really interesting. Are there other examples of similar stolen comics?

Edited April 17, 2019 by TheSurgeon

[Crowzilla]

51 minutes ago, TheSurgeon said:

Thanks for posting. Really interesting. Are there other examples of similar stolen comics?

The Colorado Department of Revenue collection from the mid 90s comes to mind.

[Mayor006]

Great read! Thanks for posting

[circumstances]

4 hours ago, IngelsFan said:

I have to say, as someone that owns an 8.5 All Star 3, your headline made my heart skip a beat for a second. 

Mine is around that grade, but I've had it for well over 25 years.

[Badger]

10 hours ago, G.A.tor said:

I would think the mastro tec27 would far surpass the as8?

Was the tec' 27 trimmed?  The Wagner that Mastro admitted to trimming seemed to go against the accepted common knowledge that trimming kills the price. True, it didn't hit the estimated value in this auction but it still sold for far more than Gretzky paid for it. Where is the the Mastro tec 27? Does anyone know?

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2016/09/22/a-heinous-crime-may-be-lifting-a-1-8-million-honus-wagner-card-now-up-for-auction/#5da05f187854

[World Devourer]

7 hours ago, IngelsFan said:

I have to say, as someone that owns an 8.5 All Star 3, your headline made my heart skip a beat for a second. 

Hah. That's funny. This one has foxing in the top right hand corner. I suppose if it has been taken from the CGC slab it may no longer be 8.5.

[G.A.tor]

2 hours ago, Badger said:

Was the tec' 27 trimmed?  The Wagner that Mastro admitted to trimming seemed to go against the accepted common knowledge that trimming kills the price. True, it didn't hit the estimated value in this auction but it still sold for far more than Gretzky paid for it. Where is the the Mastro tec 27? Does anyone know?

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2016/09/22/a-heinous-crime-may-be-lifting-a-1-8-million-honus-wagner-card-now-up-for-auction/#5da05f187854

Wasn’t trimmed 

[MB1952]

4 hours ago, Mayor006 said:

Great read! Thanks for posting

same here great read.

[World Devourer]

At least this particular book is out there somewhere, even if in an evidence room. There must be numerous instances of some unthinking cretin destroying a valuable book. 

[podboy66]

Funny to see me quoted from a chat board.

[drdonaldblake1]

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/superhero/all-star-comics-3-billy-wright-pedigree-dc-1940-cgc-vf-85-off-white-to-white-pages/p/7211-92019.s?ic=Home-FeaturedItems-071515

 

here it is

 

the billy wright cgc 8.5 all star 3 in the august Heritage Auction

 

REALLY curious to see what price it brings, very nice book

[lou_fine]

4 hours ago, drdonaldblake1 said:

the billy wright cgc 8.5 all star 3 in the august Heritage Auction

 

REALLY curious to see what price it brings, very nice book

Well, I don't think it'll have any problem at all beating the almost $50K that this Billy Wright copy managed to fetch in the Heritage Auction back near the end of February 2012:

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/all-star-comics-3-billy-wright-pedigree-dc-1940-cgc-vf-85-off-white-to-white-pages/a/7054-91043.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

However, I don't think it'll get anywhere close to the $200K mark that it was apparently resold for less than a week later after the Heritage Auction.    

[gino2paulus2]

Interesting read for sure. 

[nearmint]

Amazing that a DA investigator and a cop thought they could get away with fencing stolen merchandise that was evidence in an investigation that they were involved in.  The height of stupidity.

[Cat-Man_America]

On 4/17/2019 at 4:12 AM, World Devourer said:

Does anyone know if this copy has been released?

https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/22/8870089/texas-comic-book-heist-anthony-chiofalo-tadano

Arguably the most infamous comic (certainly Golden Age) to own.

Read this article ...or a similar one with the corresponding facts in the case... some months back.  The facts of the case are an interesting read and a cautionary about how easy it is for some folks to get caught by high risk criminal schemes that on the surface appear foolproof.

The facts presented are fascinating and worth pursuing in much greater depth.  There’s a lot to this story. That said, I cringed at the Verge blogger’s embellishments.  These writers aren’t particularly well versed in the GA comic market.  In fact, they seem rather dismissive of it.

The details of the case make for good reading, but clueless descriptions like The Flash wearing a colander, the misunderstanding of what constitutes mid-tier as opposed to high grade, the “plastic coffins” chapter header referring to holders which protect and help identify individual books, the generalizations about foxing (mold) which the authors apparently consider common on otherwise pristine GA books, etc., only serve to weaken the authors credibility on their subject.

Basically, what could’ve been a well researched article by journalistic professionals on the assault of the high end collector market by grifters ...who outsmarted themselves and got caught by a system that occasionally works... turned into a sensationalized dumpster dive into police reports with colorful flourishes about the weirdness of GA collecting by a couple of bloggers who don’t know that much about the comic marketplace.

This was my take-away; I welcome other views and criticism.  

Edited June 27, 2019 by Cat-Man_America