What Man Made Defects DO NOT Affect High Grade SA & GA Books?

[Elvis]

Here is a question that I dont think has been completely covered:

 

What man made defects do not (or should not) effect high grade books? For example:

 

Written date.

Distributor Ink.

Stamp.

 

Should they effect the grade? Any thoughts or comments?

 

 

[lighthouse]

My own personal opinion, and I know several people here will disagree with this...

 

Nothing that happens as part of the standard process of getting a comic to the stands should count against a book in 9.6 and lower. I'm not talking handling wear, or things that damage the structural integrity of the book. But receiver dates, neatly placed date stamps, distributor spray... I don't see those as "flaws" in books up to 9.6...

 

That's not to say that excessive spray or a 4" stamp wouldn't lower the grade... but standard typical stuff... not a problem for me in 9.6 and below.

 

And on Golden Age, I actually prefer a book with an original pencilled receiver date over one without one... It adds something to the history of the book for me...

[Elvis]

That's not to say that excessive spray or a 4" stamp wouldn't lower the grade... but standard typical stuff... not a problem for me in 9.6 and below.

 

Personally, i am on the fence at the moment about this issue. However, I am leaning towards believing that these marks should affect the grade. The reason for this is simple:

 

I ask myself, "If i had the option of buying only 1 of 2 of the EXACT same book (Same grade, same price and everything) EXCEPT, one had a hand written date and the other did not... Which one would i take?"

 

The answer is the one WITHOUT the writing on the cover.

[PovertyRow]

And on Golden Age, I actually prefer a book with an original pencilled receiver date over one without one... It adds something to the history of the book for me...

 

I like you're thinking! Feel exactly the same way.

[Elvis]

And on Golden Age, I actually prefer a book with an original pencilled receiver date over one without one... It adds something to the history of the book for me...

 

I like you're thinking! Feel exactly the same way.

 

You know what Povertyrow, I can appreciate that!! When you put it that way.

[fantastic_four]

Nothing that happens as part of the standard process of getting a comic to the stands should count against a book in 9.6 and lower. I'm not talking handling wear, or things that damage the structural integrity of the book. But receiver dates, neatly placed date stamps, distributor spray... I don't see those as "flaws" in books up to 9.6...

 

Thanks for qualifying that with "9.6 and lower." It perturbs me when people say what you just said but they simply say that production defects shouldn't count towards grade...Maggie Thompson has argued that a few times in CBG and I don't get it. If it detracts from the aesthetics, it shouldn't matter how it got there, it should count towards the overall grade just as much as any other defect.

[PovertyRow]

Thanks for qualifying that with "9.6 and lower."

 

Yeah, I go with that too. There has to reach a point in the upper grades when SOMETHING has to matter - and in the 9.8-10.0 bindery defects seem to be the dominant theme. The thing is, these books (even 9.4 and 9.6) are so clean (or SHOULD be) that in order to actually HAVE those upper grades we have to stop looking simply at the normal handling/distribution things and start looking at the really fine details. And in this rarefied atmosphere, bindery defects are about all you have left!

[Joanna]

 

And on Golden Age, I actually prefer a book with an original pencilled receiver date over one without one... It adds something to the history of the book for me...

 

I agree, and I'm not against them on SA either. I know I'm fairly alone in this (with the exception of Pov and House) but -- especially on GA -- there's something really cool about seeing a date stamp with the exact date it hit the stands. June 7, 1943 -- it makes me think about what was going on at that moment in time. It's WWII, and there are shortages and rationing and few luxuries. Young men are fighting for their lives. Young wives are crying for lost husbands. And here's a comic book that's lived through that, and 60 years later is resting in my hands. Some guy stamped it, some kid bought it, read it, saved it, sold it, and eventually, it ended up with me. It's a very human chain that makes a mass-produced item rather singular. No other comic has the same history, the same date stamp, the same 60 years worth of owners.

 

Then again, you guys all know that I'm odd, so it's fine if you dislike date stamps. Just don't assume everyone does, because they do have their place in comic book history.

 

-- Joanna

[Faradaze-migration]

Arrival dates in Golden Age in any grade: I don't care unless it's in grease pencil and/or over a character's face. In Silver Age I tend to be a bit more discerning and look for "artistically" placed arrival dates/price stamps. All in all, I'm not a researcher so I'd rather not have to figure a stamp into the value of a book--but as far as a "regular code": I'd say an arrival date should bring a book down no more than 1/4 grade, all things considered.