PDGray

There is a guy I know who now OWNS a missile silo. Last I had heard he was contemplating putting it up for sale. PDG

I know this is a thread about another pedigree, but I wanted to post a recent purchase. It was presented to me as a possible Crippen book - the obvious clue being the pencil "D" on the cover. The book is in solid shape and the pages are not bad for a book from 1946, however, I wanted to get opinions on this book and whether anyone else thought it might be from the Crippen collection. My amateurish handwriting analysis shows some similarity, but with the books posted only a few posts earlier the "D" is more downward slanting, while this is more upward slanting. This could happen for any number of reasons, but looking for opinions. If so, would CGC identify it as such on a label if I submitted it without a paper trail? Thank you! PDG I

I like reading the different answers and justifications many of you have posted - thank you for your replies. I think there is usually some sort of balance. Most of these books, preserved properly, do offer an investment opportunity. At the same time would we all still buy these books if they were guaranteed to lose money? I tend to look at comic books as a pop culture phenomenon. They tend to reflect our culture and are a product of the time they were created. They give a small glimpse into that history, whether its Captain America punching the Nazis or Green Lantern being asked, "...and you done considerable for the purple skins! Only there's skins you never bothered with--! ...the black skins! I want to know...How come?! Answer me that, Mr. Green Lantern!" or the rise of the anti-hero when Batman tells Clark, "...I want you to remember Clark...in all the years to come...in your most private moments... I want you to remember...my hand...at your throat...I want you to remember...the one man who beat you..." These scenes are burned into my memory and have been for years. Even the ads in non-key issues have an enormous impact on me seeing what was being sold, whether its an ad for toy soldiers, or other comic books. It's a fascinating window into the past. Just my .02 PDG

So, do you consider yourself a collector or an investor? It seems that many of the topics I have read on this board have to do with people investing or hoping for a return on their investment in comic books. Now, while I understand that to a point, it seems to me that we are losing something in the hobby. I have been a collector for close to 50 years now. I have sold a few books here and there, but generally buy what I like and hold on to it. I was even against grading books because once it was encased, then I would never get to read it again. The last couple of years have begun to change my mind about that perspective. I have begun the slow process of getting some of my more valuable books graded or buying books that are already graded. I want to read them, but I also want to protect them so that when I leave this earth my wife and kids can look at a book and quickly get a market value on it if they need the cash. I certainly hope they would hold on to them, but I won't have a lot of say in the matter at that point. In my mind, if a book appreciates in value then great!! If it holds its own value, then great!! If it loses some value, thats ok too, because I know I will have gotten my enjoyment out of the book which is ultimately what it's all about. What do you think you are? Collector or Investor? PDG

Absolutely amazing book. I am curious about mine, but will not crack it open. I am sure someone somewhere has the info anyway. Thank you! Brilliant work on your part. This is all new information for me, but I am no GA expert by any stretch, so I appreciate the opportunity to learn. I stand in awe of the information available on this board. Thank you! PDG

Well, for what it's worth, I appreciate and applaud your research to have discerned as much about the story as you did, whichever story it might be. Thank you. PDG

My Crippen book has a W 10 on the cover. Do you have any idea what that means? The book was graded before I got it, but I would absolutely love to see the "code" that is on the inside of these books. As I understand it nobody knows how to interpret it, but it would be absolutely fascinating to at least know what's in there! PDG

This is the marking on mine. I believe this is a "K" but am not too familiar with the distributor markings. How do you determine what these markings mean? PDG

I am still VERY curious as to the details of the second set of brothers you learned of. While I would love to know names and such I am more interested in more details of this story. @sfcityduck can you confirm that one of the two sets is, in fact, the correct one? Respectfully, PDG

Thank you Jimbo. PDG

To add to this thread here is my copy of Black Diamond Western 11, a white pager. I am honored to have acquired this book recently and it should never come up for sale again in my lifetime. Having said that, this story really resounded with me. While I have read the other thread regarding the rumors about the truth of the story in the thread by SFCityDuck, I still felt compelled to acquire some piece of this story. It wasn't about winning or losing, but simply holding on to an amazing story - even if possibly muddled in history. See here: My own story is that I retired from the US Army a few years ago. My job was as a trumpet player. During my tenure I managed to play "Taps" more than 2,000 times. Sometimes for retirees, sometimes for Veterans, and sometimes for Active Duty Servicemembers of all branches. I played for Veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and every other conflict since then. I have seen the grief, I have seen the tears of the family members, and heard the stories or legends of those Servicemembers. Tying this particular book to one of those kindred spirits from the Army who also collected comic books reminds me of those who are much younger than I who went to those different armed conflicts and planned to come home yet didn't. So, this book isn't mine. Yes, it may physically pass to my kids one day, but this book will always belong to Junie. PDG

Absolutely amazing research!! I would be very interested in reading the story of this second set of brothers if you would care to share it. PDG

I see that now...nicely done!!! I got my Promise Collection book in. Will need to scan it and submit it there and post it here. PDG

I like the idea of the site, but it doesn't give much more of the story. Seeing all of the books is a pretty amazing sight though. PDG

I had absolutely NO idea that there were so few Allentown books. Most of my collection is Silver, so I am a novice when it comes to GA books, although I own/have owned probably a few hundred. My favorites were my Marvel Mystery 11 and my Superman 20. Both were stolen about 5 years ago now along with about 2500 other books from my collection. PDG

Is there somewhere that tells you more about the different pedigrees?? A link perhaps? I know we can read the short description that CGC posts regarding the recognized pedigrees, but I want to know the story behind the story. Anyone?? PDG

Some absolute stunners in this thread!! Post up more!!! PDG

I just bought my first Promise Collection book. I will wait until it arrives before I post it. My Pedigree collection is a bit smaller. Circle 8 - two books Crippen "D" - one book Mass Copy - one book Mile High II - one book (yes, I know this "pedigree" is questionable) Northland - one book Promise Collection - one book Savannah - one book Winnipeg - one book Total: 9 My target is to have one from each of the Pedigrees - Lord only knows how long that will take, or how much money that will cost me. PDG PDG

I just wish I had my XMen 1 that was stolen a few years ago. I pretty much have most of the books I really ever wanted, but that XMen 1 is long gone and way out of my price range. PDG

I have purchased a book which was claimed to have a certain pedigree, but the book was removed from the holder. The purchase came with the original CGC label. If I were to resubmit the book, would the new holder recognize the pedigree? I do not think the book is likely to be in the same grade as it was originally. Thank you for your time. PDG

Hello all! I have been a collector for about 40 years. Recently I have come across a book that was claimed to be a "Pedigree" book. Somewhere along the line it was removed from the CGC case, but still has the label. If this were sent back to CGC, with the original label would it retain the "pedigree" status? PDG

Again, thank you for the welcome. I owned that particular copy for a long time. The thieves managed to leave most of my books. They did get my key issues box along with about 2,000 other books by my guess. I still have probably 8-9,000 books now and have slowly built back some of what I had. Most of what I can afford to get now are lower to mid-grade books for the most part. I like having my display set up. I posted it in another forum somewhere, but this is a (mostly) Marvel display I have up currently in the attached photo. I still have my X-Men run from #3-35. I had two copies of 4 - thieves got one of them along with my GSX1 and 94. I got another copy of 94 a few years ago, so its not as bad. The second row from the top, with the X-Men are all signed by Chris Claremont. I was fortunate enough to meet him in Kansas City almost two years ago. Anyway, here is what I have in the display currently. I could probably do this 2-3 times with Marvels and not duplicate anything. I could do the same with my DC books. PDG

While not as many graded books, this is what my current display case looks like. I have others that aren't represented here, but I switch out periodically. And I know that a lot of these aren't silver. I think the most recent books are the blanks which I had Steven Butler do for me. Other than those I think the most recent may be the NM98. PDG

Thank you both. I know the books are long gone by now. I never took photos or scanned any of them. I never had any reason to do that. When I was in college all those years ago I used my key issues (Including the XMen 1) as a border around the top of the walls of my rooms. I thought it was kind of cool, but nobody else got it or understood it. Keep in mind this was the late 80s and early 90s. Yeah, I know the GA books might be trackable due to their rarity, but thats just how it goes I suppose. Maybe one day I can find another copy, but it's highly unlikely. PDG

Hello all!! I guess I am relatively new here, but I am the owner of a well-read and used copy of FF52. I bought it in a run from #22-140 or so several years ago. I have a display case in my house and this is hanging among a lot of other books. Have a great day!! PDG