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Double Covers
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21 posts in this topic

I've encountered a few over the years but how would you grade a comic with a double cover?

What if the outer cover is trashed but the underlying cover is nice? Would you rip off the outer cover?

Just curious if you've encountered a comic with a double cover.

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4 hours ago, APDallas said:

I've encountered a few over the years but how would you grade a comic with a double cover?

What if the outer cover is trashed but the underlying cover is nice? Would you rip off the outer cover?

Just curious if you've encountered a comic with a double cover.

Answer #1:  You grade the book as the better of the 2 covers

Answer #2:  Good Lord, no.  Grade based on the interior cover and thank the cosmos for providing that  outer cover to protect the inner one.

Answer #3:  Many, many times.  They're a fun eccentricity in comic manufacturing.  Most people value them at an undefined, arbitrarily higher price.  There is no formula for what that should be but you can imagine that a double cover of a classic cover will be worth (probably) more to some people than a ho-hum mid-run issue.

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18 minutes ago, kcm54 said:

So, would you pay more, or less, for Captain America 111 with a double cover?

All things being equal, if the covers are in similar condition, probably would pay 50-75% more (if I was in the market for a copy).  If, as you previously asked, the exterior cover is "trashed", probably closer to 10-15% more.  Depends on the overall grade and condition.  But that is just my ballpark valuation for me.  It is extremely inconsistent across the collecting community.  Some might be more, others less.

This probably isn't that helpful but it is the reality.

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56 minutes ago, BlowUpTheMoon said:

No.

8738960_IncredibleHulk131double.thumb.JPG.e62e3bffd2320226751c7befe6b18d02.JPG

:whatthe:

A 9.6 inner cover and it gets marked down to an 8.5.

To tell you the truth, I'd like to always have a "cover grade" on all of my slabs if it is different than the total grade.

There are SO many times I feel like my comics are undergraded.  It's probably because of something on the interior.  Having a "cover grade" listed on the slab would make me feel better.

Edited by gadzukes
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1 minute ago, gadzukes said:

:whatthe:

A 9.6 inner cover and it gets marked down to an 8.5.

To tell you the truth, I'd like to always have a "cover grade" on all of my slabs if it is different than the total grade.

The thing about this book is that CGC decided that no book with Light Tan to Off White pages, even if it presents as a 9.8, can not grade higher than a 8.5.

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6 minutes ago, BlowUpTheMoon said:

The thing about this book is that CGC decided that no book with Light Tan to Off White pages, even if it presents as a 9.8, can not grade higher than a 8.5.

I get it.  It makes sense.  I LIKE that they graded the covers to inform the owner or potential buyer.  Why can't they do that with every slab?

If your comic wasn't a double cover it would have been an 8.5 and you would have never known the cover was considered a higher grade.

At least put the cover grade in the "graders notes"

Edited by gadzukes
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2 minutes ago, gadzukes said:

I'm not into the "double cover" thing myself.  I'd almost be tempted to marry the inner cover with a nice interior (which would be easy to find for this comic affordably), and get a 9.6 Greenlabel.

I'm OK with this book.  The first time I got this book back from CGC I didn't understand the 8.5 grade.  Had to call CGC and get the explanation.  A year or two later I cracked it out and actually looked at the pages, which didn't seem Light-Tan to me; not even close.  I've seem much worse pages get Off White.  I threw the book into a random submission and got the same results as the first time - 9.2/9.6 = 8.5

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8 minutes ago, gadzukes said:

I'd almost be tempted to marry the inner cover with a nice interior (which would be easy to find for this comic affordably), and get a 9.6 Greenlabel.

That thought never crossed my mind.   Now that it has, I would still prefer it as, in it's natural form. 

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22 minutes ago, gadzukes said:

If your comic wasn't a double cover it would have been an 8.5 and you would have never known the cover was considered a higher grade.

Here's a good example of that:

 

61FpJgj1OPL._AC_SL1000_.jpg

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26 minutes ago, gadzukes said:

I sold these two on the boards a couple years ago.  In my description I said that the covers looked perfect.

The guy who bought them resubbed them and they got 9.6s.  I was very upset.

Wow!  What's strange about this is those are new labels.  I wouldn't expect there to be such a swing in page color in such a short period. 

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4 hours ago, gadzukes said:

.To tell you the truth, I'd like to always have a "cover grade" on all of my slabs if it is different than the total grade.

This! +1  The macro-grade should be the technical grade of how the book looks, externally based, as though that were the only cover. IMO, any inside cover or covers are a moot point as far as the technical grade goes.

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