Wayne-Tec

What i dont get is, lets say there are 700-1000 copies, why have only 52 of them been graded by CGC? Are there really that many owners who prefer their books unslabbed?

If you average it out state by state, NY is going to have far more then anyone else anyway. Its essentially the heart of comic collecting, Metropolis, Big Apple Comic Con, etc. A state like South Dakota might have zero. Even if you count all the copies Metropolis has, comiclink, ebay, etc..you are never going to come anywhere near 750. Of course many people would just keep them for themselves, but even though we see more Tec #38's then others on the market does not make them much more common, it means the demand is higher.

Gerber aside, I agree that 2000-3000 seems high. Like i said, the reason we probably see so many on ebay is because of the demand for a book that key. On top of that books are sold over and over again which could be mis-leading. But for a 1940 book, you'd have to imagine under 1000 but hey, i could be wrong.

Just how common is Batman #1 anyway?

I'd certainly agree that there are more Tec 38's then other early Batman's, but it is a 1940 issue that is graded a gerber 5 which should mean 200-1000. Question is, what end of the scale. 51 copies have been graded by cgc and even though thats more then some of the other Tec's, that's a very low number for a book that key.

Its been so hard finding an accurate estimate as to how many copies. If its a gerber 5 then its 200-1000, but people are making it seem way more common then that. I totally agree that its more common then alot of pre-robin detectives, but how much of a difference can there be? The reason there are more CGC copies should be because of how key and iconic it is. Just like there are more copies of Detective #27 then alot of the others. Not because its more common but because of the desire to have it graded due to its iconic status. I'd imagine the reason you see more Detective 38's for sale is because of the demand for 1st appearences, not because its that much more rare. Alot of people only want the pre-robin and i understand why.

One guy told me there are thousands of Det. 38's that has to be exagerated right? What are your best guesses as far as how many copies there are period... in the 500 range?

I don't have a gerber scarcity index and I don't know any other way to look it up. I know there can only be estimates but how many copies are thought to still exist?

Thanks