Mr. Zipper

How do you determine 6th place? If there are a number of people tied in the 4th slot, do they battle it out? Or do you skip down to the 6th place score slot and let those people battle it out? Presumably there will be multiple people with the same 6th place score.

I actually did better on this round (5 pts), but I have to say the 9.6 Showcase (with the stain) from Round 1 got into my dome and discombobulated me. That said, it actually helped me with the Marvel Spotlight. I gave it a 9.2 (with the dust shadow), which is more generous than I would have been prior to Round 1. Previously I would have thought shadows and or moderate stains would be VF territory at best.

I use the high res images just to be sure I am not missing anything, and use the "normal" size image for the grade. IMO it's a mistake to spend too much time on the high res... it magnifies every little crease and corner rub into more than it appears in hand. Especially on dark colors.

This is correct. Foxing tops out at 9.6 and "stain" tops out at 9.8. I conflated staining and foxing in my original post.

Frankly, I would have graded it the same (9.0) whether it was foxing or some other sort of stain. I don't see this as a miss on your part, Mike. According to the CGC Grading Guide foxing is allowed up to 9.8, but I would have assumed that in higher grades that would mean a very small and light spot of foxing that is barely visible. I never would have thought that a large and moderately dark spot could go to 9.6.

Same. I thought Showcase was structurally a 9.6 and deducted 3 increments for the stain landing at 9.0. Sheesh. Why don't my submissions EVER get it this easy? And the 9.4 Superman with spine corners frayed at the top and bottom? C'mon...

It's probably 8.0 without the rust stain. It's tough to gauge how much that will knock it down, but likely 6.5/7.0

3.0/3.5

Frankly, the PGX slab adds zero value, and actually may detract. Many collectors see PGX and think, "over-graded and possibly unnoted restoration, missing pieces or trimming." I would crack and it and keep it raw. Slabbing at that grade level doesn't add much. It's a reader. But, If you want it graded, send to CGC.

Is this the hill you wanna die on? In all seriousness, this is common practice in almost all auctions houses for high-end collectibles. Goldin routinely sells six and seven figure items. And they have global bidding clientele. I assume the Social Security number is for tax purposes and also to prevent fraud.

It's likely a small amount of color touch can be removed without reducing a 2.5 grade. If I was mine, I would probably give it a go using a credible third party presser. There's not a lot of downside on trying with a PLOD 2.5.

This is all true, and an unsettling trend. However, I believe most of these peroxo-bleachers are doing the cover, not the internal pages. In fact, that is one of the ways CGC is flagging it... an unnaturally white cover paired with internal pages that are toned.

It can, especially on dark colors. Pressing a light break flat can make the break wider and slightly more prominent. It depends on the severity of the break. In this case, it appears the paper fiber is lightly broken (even if the color is not.) This may press flat, but there will always be a fine disruption to the surface of the paper.

So "poorly pressed" was probably the internal grader notes that were inadvertently entered into the actual grading notes. I would take that as a wake up call.

Right. For $15 you'll get a one and done and out of the press as soon as it cools. Probably no dry cleaning or spot ironing.