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Mr. Zipper

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Everything posted by Mr. Zipper

  1. Whether it was a "gift 9.9" for a high profile submitter, a PR stunt or an honest to goodness 9.9, does it have any affect on 99.99% of the collecting community?
  2. 100%. At this point, intentionally or not, the shill drumbeat about flake/cantina is likely doing more harm than good -- that is, potentially disrupting certain efforts to organize victims.
  3. It has been explained numerous times that Flake and Cantina are two people who work together and jointly using the email account. They are not Mike and there is no evidence they are up to anything shady. Sheesh. Enough already... it's an unnecessary distraction.
  4. I'm always astonished when I see gofundme campaigns when an employed middle class person passes. I always ask myself... WTF... didn't they have insurance? I suspect the answer is often "no." Through employer plans it usually costs less than a few Starbucks a month. Crazy not to do it.
  5. This. I lost both my parents in 2022 and had to deal with the full contents of a large house and all of my mom's collectibles (Hummels, Crystal figurines, plates, antique cups and saucers, etc etc.) It was a tremendous amount of work and stressful. I aim not to do the same with my kids. Hopefully that is many years off, but it's not too early to start thinning the herd.
  6. They should print an image of the signature on the back side of the label. It seems crazy to me that one would pay a premium for a signed book and never see the signature. Otherwise you have no idea of the quality of the signature (a nice example vs. shaky or smeared) and you're placing blind trust in the authenticating company on the authenticity of the signature with no ability to vet it yourself. Hard pass.
  7. I believe the 6.5 is accurate. The spine edge is very rough for a modern. Especially around the top staple. There also appears to be a spattering of multiple stains and/or foxing on the bottom third of back cover
  8. I don't speak for JSA, but I am very familiar with how pro autograph authentication works. Generally, exact photo proof (a clear photo showing the exact signature) is something that may be considered. Unclear photos, "stories," testimonials, or previous COAs are not considered. That said, even exact photo proof won't save a signature that is suspiciously atypical.
  9. According to the video, the difference is the seal on the side is larger. If this is true, then it squarely falls under the previous announcements, which mentioned "improvements." It's not a new case... just a tweak to how the existing case is sealed and doesn't merit a separate detailed announcement IMO. If you want to cut through the fluff, the content begins at 3:30 and goes to around 5:00.
  10. You forgot counting stacks of hundreds. Thank you for understanding we need Cliff's Notes.
  11. Yep...I have no patience for the stretching for time. Life is too short. It's an annoying tactic to improve their metrics for pay.
  12. Ok. Got ya. I am confident they can reliably authenticate Kirby. Yes, there are a lot of Kirby forgers out there... tonfulle-84, the southern California forger and someone who I believe is a member of these boards to name a few. Signature authentication, like professional grading and restoration detection from credible experts, is highly accurate and significantly decreases your likelihood of being scammed. But of course, they are professional opinions and no one is perfect. There is an element of risk. If a collector isn't comfortable with that, stick to CGC SS Witness only.
  13. Now who is playing semantics? Let me restate my previous statement: "When they “authenticate” something, it passes if it’s DEEMED authentic and it fails if it is DEEMED not." Happy now? Does my wording meet with your strict standards? Did I make it clear enough for you?
  14. I don’t understand what you’re saying. I think your definition of “authenticate” is different than mine. When they “authenticate” something, it passes if it’s authentic and it fails if it is not. The fee for authentication is the same whether an item passes or fails. So there’s no monetary incentive to pass items that are not authentic.
  15. Look at the upside... this will give the chat board fodder for a whole new genre of drama. "But, but, but... they failed my Stan Lee deathbed signature I got in-person!!!!"
  16. Certainly Jack didn’t sign them. Whether it was Roz or another proxy is moot. Basically any Jack signature after 1990 is suspect. I’m sure there are a few exceptions. I recall in the distant past many people groaning about how CGC wouldn’t yellow label dynamic forces books, and other things that were allegedly signed under supervision. Well, the Kirby situation certainly shows the wisdom in that decision.
  17. The reputation is comparable to PSA. It’s like all hobby politics… People have their favorites. But JSA is undeniably in the top three with PSA and Beckett.
  18. If you are asking if the Dynamic Forces Jack Kirbys will pass JSA authentication, the answer is “no.”
  19. JSA and PSA both started with a primary focus in sports 20 years ago. Since then they have generalized and authenticate a wide range of fields now. The same with Beckett (BAS) who certifies for CBCS.
  20. If we are thinking of the same situation, it was PGX that "authenticated" a bunch of fake Ditkos, Lees, Kirbys, etc. And you are correct, there are plenty of people who would fake a signature on any comic if it meant boosting the potential value thousands of dollars.
  21. I believe this will be a two way street that fills a gap for each company: JSA will authenticate unwitnessed signatures for CGC submissions, and CGC will be able to encapsulate autograph submissions to JSA. Currently JSA is the only one of the big three autograph authenticators (JSA, PSA and Beckett) that does not offer slabbing. In full transparency, I am a consultant for JSA but have no inside knowledge into this matter.
  22. I was under the impression that page color does not affect grade until you get to tan and 9.8 can be cream. However, given the chart posted above and doubled checked in the CGC Grading Guide, apparently 9.8 cannot be cream. I wonder if this has changed. I would have sworn I have seen 9.8 with cream pages.
  23. It's a mistake to think that grading is a derived from a mathematical formula or there are flaws that absolutely limit grade, e.g., if it has a piece out over x size, it can't grade higher than y. Grading is a science AND an art, and overall eye appeal weighs heavily. Granted, the X-Men 1 CGC 4.5 is not a strong 4.5, but I also think it's not unrealistic. Overall eye appeal is decent, no significant creasing and it's fairly bright. And I do think major keys are sometimes graded on a slight curve.