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Golden Age Collection
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18,204 posts in this topic

.... Seeing this collection just reminds me that we are still at the tip of the iceburg with the quality stuff coming out of the woodwork... We must refrain from chasing the "highest grade" stuff when the truly HG stuff is still locked away in collections. Besides the obvious MH and SF stuff that is still locked away, seeing other smaller GA collections like this makes you wonder how much is still out there.

 

It's so painful to pay a premium for the "highest graded" 9.0 when a 9.4 pops up... A sure way to lose money.

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.... Seeing this collection just reminds me that we are still at the tip of the iceburg with the quality stuff coming out of the woodwork... We must refrain from chasing the "highest grade" stuff when the truly HG stuff is still locked away in collections. Besides the obvious MH and SF stuff that is still locked away, seeing other smaller GA collections like this makes you wonder how much is still out there.

 

It's so painful to pay a premium for the "highest graded" 9.0 when a 9.4 pops up... A sure way to lose money.

 

Yes but it depends which books we are talking about. Some of these books being kicked around are pretty special and as we have seen can take many years to resurface back on the market.

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.... Seeing this collection just reminds me that we are still at the tip of the iceburg with the quality stuff coming out of the woodwork... We must refrain from chasing the "highest grade" stuff when the truly HG stuff is still locked away in collections. Besides the obvious MH and SF stuff that is still locked away, seeing other smaller GA collections like this makes you wonder how much is still out there.

 

It's so painful to pay a premium for the "highest graded" 9.0 when a 9.4 pops up... A sure way to lose money.

 

Yes but it depends which books we are talking about. Some of these books being kicked around are pretty special and as we have seen can take many years to resurface back on the market.

 

Right, and there is also the phenomenon that occurs when there are no sales on a high grade example of a particular book for a long time, and then one sells for crazy money. Then another couple of copies come out of the woodwork as sellers see the prices realized, but buyers see it too and all of a sudden they want that book in high grade. The earlier sale can generate heat on a book and make additional copies (even those slightly higher grade) more desireable. A rising tide lifts all ships, as the saying goes.

 

Obviously, this would not necessarily work the same way with newer books. But for high demand GA titles that don't come around too often, it can happen.

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.... Seeing this collection just reminds me that we are still at the tip of the iceburg with the quality stuff coming out of the woodwork... We must refrain from chasing the "highest grade" stuff when the truly HG stuff is still locked away in collections. Besides the obvious MH and SF stuff that is still locked away, seeing other smaller GA collections like this makes you wonder how much is still out there.

 

It's so painful to pay a premium for the "highest graded" 9.0 when a 9.4 pops up... A sure way to lose money.

 

At least the risk of that probably isn't as great as with more modern books. After all, the highest grade copy of a lot of golden age books has been a Mile High or an SF or an Allentown copy for the past 20 or 30 years. That's a long time to pass without finding better copies.

 

As nice as the books in this thread are, it doesn't appear that they would surpass the MH's although they are extremely nice looking.

 

I think due to the scarcity/rarity of the golden age books, once you start talking anything from an 8.0 up, there are still going to be so few copies out there that collectors aren't trying to chase a .2 incremental grade increase. They are usually happy that they own a copy, especially a nice copy.

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I'm wondering if prices for lower end copies of Suspense 3 will flatten a bit due to the number of copies hitting the market. That Crippen copy is awesome though... beautiful copies like that will always fetch a premium.

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Suspense comics 3 (Continental) will sell all day long in g/vg because it is more affordable than a vf 8.0 or better unrestored copy. Don't think that many collectors want to shell out say $55k ++ for what is essentially a 1-shot semi-key book.

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On the back cover of quite a few is the red inked, rubber stamped mark of the store where they were purchased.

 

Campbell Bros

8th & C Sts. NE

Cigars & Tobacco

Stationery & Newspapers

 

A larger percentage have a penciled "D" on the top left side of the front cover. There is also a large percent that don't have either mark, I just know them.

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On the back cover of quite a few is the red inked, rubber stamped mark of the store where they were purchased.

 

Campbell Bros

8th & C Sts. NE

Cigars & Tobacco

Stationery & Newspapers

 

A larger percentage have a penciled "D" on the top left side of the front cover. There is also a large percent that don't have either mark, I just know them.

 

Yea, I did see that "D" mark on it.. This could be called the 2nd "D" Copy collection or pedigree.

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On the back cover of quite a few is the red inked, rubber stamped mark of the store where they were purchased.

 

Campbell Bros

8th & C Sts. NE

Cigars & Tobacco

Stationery & Newspapers

 

A larger percentage have a penciled "D" on the top left side of the front cover. There is also a large percent that don't have either mark, I just know them.

 

A further note about Campbell Bros. and the original owner's home.

 

One day, approximately 20 years after purchasing the collection, it suddenly occurred to me that my father-in law had recently moved a few blocks from that location. Next time we were in town to visit, my wife and I made a point to drive by the spot where Campbell Bros had been in business. Not surprisingly the store was long since gone, but decals advertising various 1930s/40s items were still on the windows. I took photographs of the storefront and then we walked around the corner to where the original owner of the comics had lived. (His name and address were on several of the books.)

 

I was taking photos of the house when a woman came outside and asked what I was doing. I explained my interest and she graciously invited us inside. The house was now a Doctor's office. The woman (who worked for the Doctor) showed us around the entire home, from the basement to the 2nd floor where the bedrooms had remained basically untouched. There were a few boxes on the floor but the rooms were otherwise empty. She knew the original homeowners and told me about the family. From her description I made my own conclusion about which room had most likely been the boy's room. I spent extra time walking around the room and looking outside the window down the street towards the old location of the stationery (where I assume most of the comics had been purchased) and just generally trying to imagine that time in history.

 

It was a great afternoon.

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On the back cover of quite a few is the red inked, rubber stamped mark of the store where they were purchased.

 

Campbell Bros

8th & C Sts. NE

Cigars & Tobacco

Stationery & Newspapers

 

A larger percentage have a penciled "D" on the top left side of the front cover. There is also a large percent that don't have either mark, I just know them.

 

A further note about Campbell Bros. and the original owner's home.

 

One day, approximately 20 years after purchasing the collection, it suddenly occurred to me that my father-in law had recently moved a few blocks from that location. Next time we were in town to visit, my wife and I made a point to drive by the spot where Campbell Bros had been in business. Not surprisingly the store was long since gone, but decals advertising various 1930s/40s items were still on the windows. I took photographs of the storefront and then we walked around the corner to where the original owner of the comics had lived. (His name and address were on several of the books.)

 

I was taking photos of the house when a woman came outside and asked what I was doing. I explained my interest and she graciously invited us inside. The house was now a Doctor's office. The woman (who worked for the Doctor) showed us around the entire home, from the basement to the 2nd floor where the bedrooms had remained basically untouched. There were a few boxes on the floor but the rooms were otherwise empty. She knew the original homeowners and told me about the family. From her description I made my own conclusion about which room had most likely been the boy's room. I spent extra time walking around the room and looking outside the window down the street towards the old location of the stationery (where I assume most of the comics had been purchased) and just generally trying to imagine that time in history.

 

It was a great afternoon.

 

Those are great books you've posted, but the story is even better. Thanks

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On the back cover of quite a few is the red inked, rubber stamped mark of the store where they were purchased.

 

Campbell Bros

8th & C Sts. NE

Cigars & Tobacco

Stationery & Newspapers

 

A larger percentage have a penciled "D" on the top left side of the front cover. There is also a large percent that don't have either mark, I just know them.

 

A further note about Campbell Bros. and the original owner's home.

 

One day, approximately 20 years after purchasing the collection, it suddenly occurred to me that my father-in law had recently moved a few blocks from that location. Next time we were in town to visit, my wife and I made a point to drive by the spot where Campbell Bros had been in business. Not surprisingly the store was long since gone, but decals advertising various 1930s/40s items were still on the windows. I took photographs of the storefront and then we walked around the corner to where the original owner of the comics had lived. (His name and address were on several of the books.)

 

I was taking photos of the house when a woman came outside and asked what I was doing. I explained my interest and she graciously invited us inside. The house was now a Doctor's office. The woman (who worked for the Doctor) showed us around the entire home, from the basement to the 2nd floor where the bedrooms had remained basically untouched. There were a few boxes on the floor but the rooms were otherwise empty. She knew the original homeowners and told me about the family. From her description I made my own conclusion about which room had most likely been the boy's room. I spent extra time walking around the room and looking outside the window down the street towards the old location of the stationery (where I assume most of the comics had been purchased) and just generally trying to imagine that time in history.

 

It was a great afternoon.

 

What a GREAT story, BangZoom. Amazing.

 

And what an incredible set of books, so far... hail.gif

 

popcorn.gif

 

Welcome to the boards... that story just reinforced why I love comics. I, too, imagine what it would be like back then, but not in such a connected way to the original owner as you have.

 

I actually like books with the original owner's name on it, signed in shakey penmanship, as it gives the book some personality. Are any books signed on the cover? I know you mentioned the store stamp.

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