Or can CCS do much better?

My first CGC experience was at a Wizard World convention. I purchased two graded books from a vendor as a novelty. At the time, I considered them to be the equivalent of someone giving me a shot glass from another country. It was nice to have, but with no real value.

I found myself a bit more curious, I brought some of my favorite comic books to the convention for CGC to grade. One of the ones I picked was my copy of Daredevil #168. Throughout the years, this particular "key" book, along with a few select others, was the pride and joy of my collection. It was also one of the comics that helped teach me how to grade.

I understand that the point system became popular only recently with CGC, but I remember somehow, somewhere, giving this book a numerical grade (9.2). Either that, or I graded more traditionally (NM-/VF+). I wanted to grade it higher because it was my book, but I found flaw after flaw after flaw. In good conscience I couldn't grade it higher. The grade was the grade. The funny thing is, I thought my copy of Daredevil #158 was higher than the 8.0 it received.

I used to keep track of my books with a spiral notebook. I placed the grade and dollar amount next to each issue. At that time, I thought that the higher the financial value of the book, the better my collection was, and my Daredevil #168 was one of the best that I owned. I priced the book using the Overtstreet's price guide. Of course, if I really wanted my collection to sky rocket, I could have used the Wizard magazine as my guide. Their over-inflated prices made everyone Ga-Ga, especially with Valiant pre-Unity comic books.

I wanted my collection to be worth something, but only if it WAS worth something. Years passed, CGC was born and in 2007 (not 2008 as I first thought) is when I brought my comic books for onsite grading. After waiting an excruciating full day, my books were returned to me. My first graded books were Daredevil #158 (a shocking 8.0), #168 (an expected 9.2), and my well documented ASM #129 (a disappointing 9.2). I paid a total of $89 for that first invoice. As I delved deeper and deeper into the CGC world, I experimented with the books I was submitting, never thinking I would eventually crack my Daredevil #168.

Seven years later, for ECCC 2014, I did just that. I even decided to press the book myself and I am extremely happy with the results. My Daredevil #168 returned as a SS 9.4 with Klaus Janson scrawled in black (bad color choice, but he grabbed the book so quickly, I thought the grade would drop, and I couldn't give him any other color other than what he had). The book looks like what a solid 9.4 should look like.

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb

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