Modern vs Golden Age

I've noticed the battle going on for first place among two New Mutants collectors and it's interesting how collecting can differ depending on what you collect. For a modern era collector perfection could be all 9.8+ comics. Even that won't suffice with signature series comics commanding an even higher premium. For me it's a whole different world. As a golden age collector, signature series comics are almost out of the question given the fact that most of the creators are long since dead.

I'll allude to Western Comics but many golden age comics would have the same problems with going for perfection. Even if money were no object it would be near impossible to create a collection of the highest grade Western Comics issues. New Mutants #1 has two hundred forty six universal graded 9.8's, ten signature series 9.8, four 9.9's and two 10's. By contract Western Comics has 104 CGC graded comics TOTAL for the entire series. I own 8 which means I personally own over 7% of all CGC graded copies of Western Comics. Western Comics #1 has seven CGC graded comics, the highest grade being a 9.4. There are at least six New Mutants #1 CGC 9.8 on EBAY right now along with a 9.8 signature series issue. I will say that the highest graded copies of Western Comics #1 and #2 are currently available for sale online but they are out of my budget. But putting money aside after issue #2 it gets darn near impossible. Issue #3 has only one CGC copy, a 9.4, currently owned by the leading Western Comics collector on CGC. This same collector also has the highest grade copies of issue #4, 5, 6, 15 and 18. I have the highest grade copies of #14, 24 and 25. Most of the highest grade copies are unaccounted for and unavailable for sale currently as far as I can see. To be able to collect all the highest grades would mean one of us would have to sell to the other and then the other high grade issues would have to materialize on the market. If a collector like myself simply sits on a highest grade issue it just won't be available to anyone else rendering a full collection of the highest grades utterly impossible. Add to that the fact that 33 issues have 0 CGC graded copies and as best as I can tell high grade copies of many later issues simply do not exist.

For me I prefer the grab what you can style of golden age collecting rather than the quest for perfection but I can certainly admire the beauty of a seamless parade of 9.8's and 9.9's. I just like to have something no one else does and I would rather have my Western Comics #14 CGC 9.6 than a pile of modern age 9.8's owned by hundreds of other people. I also know myself and the perfection route would be much more likely to move me into obsession rather than collecting pleasure. Having a very limited selection keeps me grounded and saves me money.

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