lighthouse

Now that the item is actually populated, I can share the full image. https://comics.ha.com/itm/silver-age-1956-1969-/superhero/fantastic-four-1-marvel-1961-cgc-vf-nm-90-white-pages/p/7274-15001.s

Even on walkthrough it routinely takes a couple business days between when the package is signed for / delivered and when the invoice first shows up in the system. As others have noted, it will show first as “CCS in process”. There will be no intermediate updates between that entry and when it is done at CCS, at which time it will switch to “scheduled for grading” at CGC. CCS estimated TAT is very different from CGC even at the higher tiers because they have no way of knowing what work will need to be done, how many pressing cycles a book will take, etc. In the last few months I’ve had an Express CCS be done in less than a week and others that took over a month. It’s (thankfully) not a one-size-fits-all process where every book gets exactly 17 minutes of cleaning and exactly 14 hours in the press and moves on. So some books just do take longer than others.

There are 11 Truckee Meadows books in the May 2 weekly, searchable (as all of them are) by “Truckee Meadows”. In retrospect I wish I’d kept this one. It was the 3rd best copy. But pages just as white, colors just as bright, and darn nicely centered.

The TTA 27 club thread is on page three. I didn’t see a TTA 35 thread in the first 7 pages but there might be one.

Man I remember that thread like it was yesterday and not *checks watch* that can’t be right *taps on watch face* 19 years ago???

I’ve had five different libraries approach me about what to do with donated comics. None of them from WWII, but occasionally as far back as mid-60s. In most cases, when I get the call, I ask them what their discount is on graphic novels from their distributor. It’s usually terrible. Like 20% off retail. We've been able to work out several trade deals involving me buying hardcovers at my much larger discount, of titles that will actually circulate for them (when it comes down to it, the goal of every library is to get LOTS of stuff checked out over and over and over… they hate being museums, they want books to circulate). I give them exactly the books they’d prefer to have for their patrons. I get comics they can’t properly store and can’t circulate. One of my exes spent a few years working for a major museum. It was staggering hearing how much quality material sat in boxes in storage never on display. Donors thought they were doing the right thing giving material to the museum. And mostly they were just passing along a storage problem to someone else. Hundreds of boxes of treasures buried in a basement.

The colors. The colors.

Man that takes me back. I set up at a half dozen of Steve’s shows in 2002-2004.

It’s probably also MUCH easier to hire graders for Modern. Folks who have the capacity to consistently grade pre-1975 books can leverage that into dealing comics themselves at a substantially higher income than what CGC would pay. The opportunity cost for that person is much higher in taking the CGC job. I can teach an employee to grade post-1990 comics in a matter of a couple weeks and have them be “decent” at it within a month. Because the flaws are always the same. It’s spine stresses, corner creases, cover bends, and fingerprints. Same flaws over and over, easy reference comparisons. How many, how severe, what combination, here’s the grade. Take that same employee and start trying to teach them early bronze grading and it’s a parade of flaws they never once had to deal with before. Sub creases, drink rings, distribution spray, “extra art”, spine roll, missing corner pieces, loose staples, loose centerfolds, coupons cut out, foxing, tanning, missing gloss, cover soiling, the list goes on. All flaws that my employee didn’t see even once in grading four long boxes of Spawn comics.

Now that the cutoff is here, looks like there will be 18 Truckee Meadows in the June Signature auction at Heritage. Fifteen silver age and three golden age. Most will be Saturday and Sunday books. But I would guess 3-5 in the Thursday session. Grades for the Silver: 9.6 x3 9.4 x3 9.2 x3 9.0 x3 8.5 8.0 5.0 All with white pages. Eight DC and seven Marvel The three golden age are 8.0, 6.5, and 6.0.

A few more grades from the Silver Age that Heritage will be handling. One of those 9.6s is a top census DC from 1962. All eleven with white pages. That’s 49 out of 49 for the OO Silver.

Here’s a mental palette cleanser. The Truckee Meadows copy of Worlds Finest 10. Also in the May 2 weekly.

Fwiw I will be doing COAs for every book I sell from the collection, both raw and slabbed. Heritage won’t be selling any of the raw books, and every listing they do from the collection is searchable as Truckee Meadows on their website forever. The only five books “sold” so far are the first five from the April Signature. No other books have yet sold (though many are in Heritage’s pipeline). I’ve taken offers on a few, both raw and slabbed. But no other books have been transacted yet.

Almost forgot. I can actually share this pic from March now. Low res version for now. I’ll post the hi-res when the items go live. This pic wasn’t nearly as nerve-wracking as the April pic holding five slabs at once. Thankfully they let me sit down for the final pic that includes all eight (April 5, June 2, and September 1).

Coming up in the May 2 weekly. Most people just call this Worlds Finest 8. I call it by its proper name: ”Burnley dunks on losers who can’t draw hands” Seriously. There are fourteen hands on this cover. In fourteen different positions. He’s just showing off here.

And lest anyone think every book in the collection is a 9+, they aren’t. Plenty of nice looking 7s and 8s. And all (so far) with white pages. This one also in the May 2.

Did someone say OOHGSADC? This one is in a May 2 weekly.

Art above the IND Art below Reed’s foot Art left of THE Art right of the price circle That’s some sweet centering. And nice and straight too. Clean Featuring box down the right edge. Definitely a nice copy!

That is an awesome 4.0!

Here’s an intentionally blurry pic. Just so the focus can be on the centering.

I know. I know. Thankfully I have multiple white paged “1 higher” DCs coming as well to soften the blow.

Because of the grade options I completely agree. It’s the 3. If your budget was larger and you were choosing between a 9.4 copy of 50 and whatever grade of 3 matches up to that price? I’d say the 50. And if your budget was much lower and it was a 1.0 copy of 3 versus a mid grade 50? I’d again say the 50. But 8.5 isn’t a premium enough grade to chase a 50. And 5.5 is a pretty sweet spot grade for the 3 because it’s such a light colored book, there are flaws that bring it down to 5.5 that don’t minimize the arms length eye appeal. So the choice here is easily the 3.

Since multiple people sent PMs correctly guessing (and I left clues like, everywhere)… yes. Indeed. The first 9.0 with white pages to be offered in a public sale. (All previous 9.0s have been OWW or worse). And yes, for those counting at home, that’s four copies of FF 1 from the Truckee Meadows collection. All with white pages. Including two of the top 20 ever slabbed by CGC.

You don’t say. Hmmm.