Date Stamp (and Store Stamp) Love 14 14

[creaturefan95]

[01TheDude]

This was posted in the "Post your Garage Sale/Flea Market/Antique Mall Finds Here" thread by @Bearcatcoach

Edited November 8, 2020 by 01TheDude
wrong person attributed

[creaturefan95]

19 minutes ago, 01TheDude said:

This was posted in the "Post your Garage Sale/Flea Market/Antique Mall Finds Here" thread by @F For Fake

No, that was posted by @Bearcatcoach 

[01TheDude]

11 minutes ago, creaturefan95 said:

No, that was posted by @Bearcatcoach 

oops--- my bad-- correcting.

[Get Marwood & I]

1 hour ago, 01TheDude said:

On 10/31/2020 at 5:55 PM, Pantodude said:

Does anyone have a sense of the odds of finding an AF15 with a "June 5" date stamp on the front cover?  Especially in grade above 4.0?  I have rarely seen one in any grade, whether front or back cover.  

while I have heard of some stores stamping all their copies upon arrival was possible, it was pretty rare. From what I have read, the only copy often was the top book of the pile/bundle of the delivery. Or perhaps they would stamp the last book for each book itself.

The use of stamps depended on the retail location-- and whether they needed to have some method to know when something has been on the comic racks too long and was eligible for return. The reasoning is as varied as the number of stores probably.

This is sort of why date stamps are a little bit rare. Also-- delivery dates are not set in stone in terms of the when they made it to a store. As you can imagine-- when they left the printer for distribution, the further the destination, the more likely it took longer to get to say California versus New York.

Another thing to consider is that many hard core collectors have avoided date stamps and DO NOT prefer them for their collection. That can also impact if a book survived or was taken care of. I would not be surprised if there are practically no AF15 with any sort of date stamp. I'm sure someone has them if they exist but I also think whether it adds to value is up to debate. CGC won't bang the grade save the highest nosebleed level--- but when was the last time you heard of an AF15 in the 9.6 or above grade?

Just my take. Those of us who find this thread fun are not hard core about collecting the stamps as much as appreciating their existence. If anyone ever has a scan of an AF15 with a date stamp--- by all means-- share it here!

[01TheDude]

1 minute ago, Get Marwood & I said:

well that didn't take very long

is that your copy? looks like a beauty!

Edited November 8, 2020 by 01TheDude

[Get Marwood & I]

8 minutes ago, 01TheDude said:

well that didn't take very long

is that your copy? looks like a beauty!

I wish. There's a few examples out there if you Googleate Dude, high and low grade.

[Get Marwood & I]

You don't often see a date stamp on the back cover do you - here's an example from my UK distribution review thread (there's a few more on the same page):

On 10/21/2020 at 8:13 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

No UK angle here, but another near spot on arrival date from a book I was looking at today:

Now't on cover...

But on't back...

I like date stamps - anything about the physical distribution process back in the day fascinates me. 

[Pantodude]

On 11/8/2020 at 3:11 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

If anyone ever has a scan of an AF15 with a date stamp--- by all means-- share it here!

 

On 11/8/2020 at 3:30 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

I like date stamps - anything about the physical distribution process back in the day fascinates me. 

I have one!   I don't keep it with me, but I do know it's a "June 5" stamp on front cover.  Hopefully I get a pic when I reunite with it next.  Glboy was (is?) a distributor in San Francisco with stores in Oakland/Piedmont, CA, who distributed the Reilly aka "San Francisco" pedigree books from the Golden Age (early 1940s).  So not only can a stamp reflect the official publication date, but apparently also the specific region (San Francisco!) where the book was sold on Spidey's birthday!     

Edited March 16, 2022 by Pantodude

[Pantodude]

I should have also asked how rare distributor-specific date stamps are, as a separate category from store stamps.  Aside from my book with the "GILBOY Jun 5" stamp and the Reilly/San Francisco pedigree books (which were identified by stamps with a simple "G" or a unique alpha-numeric code, as I recall), I don't think I have ever seen another distributor-specific date stamp from either the Golden or Silver Ages.   

Edited November 8, 2020 by Pantodude

[Get Marwood & I]

6 minutes ago, Pantodude said:

I should have also asked how rare distributor-specific date stamps are, as a separate category from store stamps.  Aside from my book with the "GILBOY Jun 5" stamp and the Reilly/San Francisco pedigree books (which were identified by stamps with a simple "G" or a unique alpha-numeric code, as I recall), I don't think I have ever seen another distributor-specific date stamp from either the Golden or Silver Ages.   

Changeable date stamps were quite a common stationery item I suppose so I can't imagine a store going to the trouble to have a named one made up given the mechanics. Static price stamps are another matter though. Lots of those around in the UK 

[Pantodude]

5 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Changeable date stamps were quite a common stationery item I suppose so I can't imagine a store going to the trouble to have a named one made up given the mechanics.

You mean I could have a one-of-a-kind or super-rare "distributor/date stamp" hybrid!   That would be super-cool, too, regardless of the book it is on.   

Edited November 8, 2020 by Pantodude

[Pantodude]

12 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Static price stamps are another matter though. Lots of those around in the UK 

One of my biggest regrets, now that I am so far along with my PC, is not having obtained some more UK price variants.  

Edited November 8, 2020 by Pantodude

[Get Marwood & I]

10 minutes ago, Pantodude said:

One of my biggest regrets, now that I am so far along with my PC, is not having obtained some more UK price variants.  

Don't worry, there are only 4,787 of them to collect. Start now and you'll soon have the lot 

[Pantodude]

24 minutes ago, Pantodude said:

You mean I could have a one-of-a-kind or super-rare "distributor/date stamp" hybrid!   That would be super-cool, too, regardless of the book it is on.   

Update.  I looked up images of the Reilly/San Francisco pedigree of the GA.  It turns out they were NOT mechanical date stamps after all.  They used a handwritten "g" in cursive, which was only sometimes followed by a handwritten date!   

So now I am really curious how I ended up with a mechanical "GILBOY Jun 5" date stamp, and whether anyone has ever seen anything like it on any other book, from this or any other distributor.  

Edited November 8, 2020 by Pantodude

[creaturefan95]

[Morganmi]

[comicginger1789]

I enjoy visiting this thread every few days, in case someone posts a June 12 stamp...I hold out hope I will see one and then try to haggle with the owner to part with the book

[comicginger1789]

Some other cool dates I would consider offering up to buy

-Halloween on a horror related book

- Feb 14 on a romance related book

- June 9, 1969 on a sexy cover (my mind  is in the gutter I know)

- February 29th

- Dec 25th (I would expect that while rare, some shop owner or newsstand person back in the day worked on Christmas)

[comicginger1789]

On 11/8/2020 at 1:58 AM, 01TheDude said:

while I have heard of some stores stamping all their copies upon arrival was possible, it was pretty rare. From what I have read, the only copy often was the top book of the pile/bundle of the delivery. Or perhaps they would stamp the last book for each book itself.

The use of stamps depended on the retail location-- and whether they needed to have some method to know when something has been on the comic racks too long and was eligible for return. The reasoning is as varied as the number of stores probably.

This is sort of why date stamps are a little bit rare. Also-- delivery dates are not set in stone in terms of the when they made it to a store. As you can imagine-- when they left the printer for distribution, the further the destination, the more likely it took longer to get to say California versus New York.

Another thing to consider is that many hard core collectors have avoided date stamps and DO NOT prefer them for their collection. That can also impact if a book survived or was taken care of. I would not be surprised if there are practically no AF15 with any sort of date stamp. I'm sure someone has them if they exist but I also think whether it adds to value is up to debate. CGC won't bang the grade save the highest nosebleed level--- but when was the last time you heard of an AF15 in the 9.6 or above grade?

Just my take. Those of us who find this thread fun are not hard core about collecting the stamps as much as appreciating their existence. If anyone ever has a scan of an AF15 with a date stamp--- by all means-- share it here!

Agree...although I would be swung to actually buy or make an offer on book with a desired date stamp, even if the book itself was not on my list of something I necessarily would buy otherwise. Basically, the date stamp would sell it for me. I enjoy having oddities like this in my PC. But I agree, much better to find them and acquire them naturally than seek them out.