silverseeker Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Hey everyone, I'm considering purchasing a raw copy of X-Men #3, and noticed a weird stain on the back page...I asked the seller about it, and he said there's something there, but the stain is not visible on the other side of the page. Does anyone have any ideas as to what this type of stain might be? Thanks so much for your responses! Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorick Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 @silverseeker it looks to me like a spot of rust from some item that transferred onto the comic. However, you say "back page". Does that mean inside of the back cover, outside of the back cover, or an interior back page? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 This could be a small foxing stain---not a deal breaker, especially if it's on an interior page. What does the rest of the book look like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverseeker Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 Hi @Yorick, it’s on the back of the last interior page and there’s nothing on the inside of the back cover that matches up with the stain, so it does not impact the back cover in any way. Thanks for the response! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverseeker Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 Hi @The Lions Den, here are some additional images...the book does not appear to exhibit foxing anywhere else that I can see... Thanks for the response! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 You're welcome! This appears to be a solid, unrestored copy with typical light wear. And whatever it may be, that small stain doesn't affect the grade much, if at all. As long as it's complete, it seems like a pretty decent purchase if the price is right... thehumantorch and silverseeker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Mustard. The Lions Den and silverseeker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverseeker Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 Thanks for the responses everyone! The Lions Den and Yorick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicginger1789 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Books like this intrigue me because I often wonder how CGC would grade such a book. Granted, if a book is in the 5.0 or lower range, I doubt if a small stain mark on a page factors in as much if at all. However, what if you had a 9.2 copy that someone dropped a small, dime size amount of coffee on an interior page margin? What would that do to a book? Automatic VF at best...lower?? silverseeker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 6 hours ago, comicginger1789 said: Books like this intrigue me because I often wonder how CGC would grade such a book. Granted, if a book is in the 5.0 or lower range, I doubt if a small stain mark on a page factors in as much if at all. However, what if you had a 9.2 copy that someone dropped a small, dime size amount of coffee on an interior page margin? What would that do to a book? Automatic VF at best...lower?? I like to say that each book is different and even each flaw is different, but there are similarities. To answer your question, I could see giving a book like the one you describe a grade in the Very Fine range provided none of the other pages were affected, but for me it would automatically knock it out of the Near Mint range. It also depends on how noticeable the stain is. I recently had a book that looked 9.2, but upon close inspection it had a substantial area at the top of the front cover that had a very light stain (similar to a distro ink stain but there was no ink). It was really light and hard to see but because of the size of it I had to knock the grade down to a VF (a typical CGC grade for something like this is 8.0). And you're right about the X-Men #3. Since the grade is already in the mid-range, a small interior stain doesn't make much difference at all... silverseeker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicginger1789 Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 11 hours ago, The Lions Den said: I like to say that each book is different and even each flaw is different, but there are similarities. To answer your question, I could see giving a book like the one you describe a grade in the Very Fine range provided none of the other pages were affected, but for me it would automatically knock it out of the Near Mint range. It also depends on how noticeable the stain is. I recently had a book that looked 9.2, but upon close inspection it had a substantial area at the top of the front cover that had a very light stain (similar to a distro ink stain but there was no ink). It was really light and hard to see but because of the size of it I had to knock the grade down to a VF (a typical CGC grade for something like this is 8.0). And you're right about the X-Men #3. Since the grade is already in the mid-range, a small interior stain doesn't make much difference at all... I have a couple books that would likely grade VF to VF+ But have a minute stain. One is my Marvel Spotlight 28 which looks great except for the smallest water stain on the cover in a spot where it’s real hard to see unless you spend a moment slowly scanning the cover. I didn’t know if that would allow such a book to stay VF so I have always considered it a 7.0 for safety sake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, comicginger1789 said: I have a couple books that would likely grade VF to VF+ But have a minute stain. One is my Marvel Spotlight 28 which looks great except for the smallest water stain on the cover in a spot where it’s real hard to see unless you spend a moment slowly scanning the cover. I didn’t know if that would allow such a book to stay VF so I have always considered it a 7.0 for safety sake I've seen many books with light stains still grade in the VF range. It really does depend a lot on how large the stain is and how much it actually affects the book. Ask yourself what grade the book would be without the stain and then deduct what you feel is the proper amount based on your knowledge and experience. I've seen books that were beautiful 9.4's reduced to 8.0's because of a light stain, but I've also seen VF+ books reduced to a VF because of a light stain... Edited February 17, 2021 by The Lions Den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroch Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Looks like a kid was reading it while on the toilet. I recently bought a small collection of BA Fantastic Fours that the seller was insisting were his unread over copies. They were generally in the 8.5-9.2 range with nice paper, but then I noticed his copy of Giant size Superstars #1 had a bit of a bump in it. When I went thru the pages, I found a bad grease stain and what appeared to be a forty year old slice of pepperoni.I'm not sure how to grade that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverseeker Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 On 2/17/2021 at 9:50 AM, The Lions Den said: I've seen many books with light stains still grade in the VF range. It really does depend a lot on how large the stain is and how much it actually affects the book. Ask yourself what grade the book would be without the stain and then deduct what you feel is the proper amount based on your knowledge and experience. I've seen books that were beautiful 9.4's reduced to 8.0's because of a light stain, but I've also seen VF+ books reduced to a VF because of a light stain... Over the last three years I cracked out two books (one CGC 8.0 and one CGC 8.5) that had a very small water stain on the front cover that could only be seen from the inside, and from the looks of both books I don't think the stain impacted the grade at all...they were also not mentioned in the graders notes. @comicginger1789, with this noted you may be grading your books with tiny, hard-to-see stains a bit harshly... Stains are one of my huge deal breakers, so I decided to pass on the X-Men #3 and wait for another copy to come along...it's a bummer because it's a solid copy. Thanks again for all the responses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 2 minutes ago, silverseeker said: Over the last three years I cracked out two books (one CGC 8.0 and one CGC 8.5) that had a very small water stain on the front cover that could only be seen from the inside, and from the looks of both books I don't think the stain impacted the grade at all...they were also not mentioned in the graders notes. @comicginger1789, with this noted you may be grading your books with tiny, hard-to-see stains a bit harshly... Stains are one of my huge deal breakers, so I decided to pass on the X-Men #3 and wait for another copy to come along...it's a bummer because it's a solid copy. Thanks again for all the responses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicginger1789 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 30 minutes ago, silverseeker said: Over the last three years I cracked out two books (one CGC 8.0 and one CGC 8.5) that had a very small water stain on the front cover that could only be seen from the inside, and from the looks of both books I don't think the stain impacted the grade at all...they were also not mentioned in the graders notes. @comicginger1789, with this noted you may be grading your books with tiny, hard-to-see stains a bit harshly... Stains are one of my huge deal breakers, so I decided to pass on the X-Men #3 and wait for another copy to come along...it's a bummer because it's a solid copy. Thanks again for all the responses! I also dislike stains but more so the large covering a quarter of the page variety more than the dime sized fainter water stain variety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
