75 cent Marvel Canadian Price Variants

[Silverspider]

Not sure if this has been discussed yet. I usually like my runs to match being either direct editions or retail versions( I prefer retail versions but that's just me). Anyway I noticed all my Marvel 75 cent issues are nearly impossible to find. Being Canadian I bought most of these issues in the early to mid 80's from retail outlets here in Canada. My question? Do any of you think this would add to a rarity factor=$ increase like the price variants from the late 70's? I did a search in the CGC census and for Amazing 252 it does list a Canadian price variant. Total submissions for the regular "US or Direct edtion" was over 3000. The Canadian version had roughly 20. That's a 150:1 ratio. If this reflects the overall production than these books should classify as rare?

 

My Canadian Retail version of Amazing #252

 

US retail version

 

Direct Edition

 

My Canadian Retail version of Amazing #239

 

US retail Version

 

Direct Edition

 

[FlyingDonut]

 

Canadian price covers wanted.

[Stronguy]

Get a room you two!

[silverage12c]

I have got a TON of these from the 80s, as I am Canadian and bought a lot of comics off the newsstands and a couple LCS stores in Winnipeg back then. I have never considered them to be substantially different or any more/less valuable or collectible.

 

Here are a couple other examples:

 

 

When Alpha Flight #2 was released, they were printing Canadian copies with the 75¢ price. By the time they got to issue #11, they did away with this and listed both USD, UK and CAN prices on the same cover.

 

What I find odd is that UK pence copies often sell for less than a regular copy, but others seem to seek out these CDN versions. I don't think there's any real consensus, and I don't think Overstreet treats them differently.

[Silverspider]

I checked through my books again and it looks like it all started when the Canadian price increased over the US around October 1982. They stayed at 60 cents in the US and went up to 75 in Canada. The 75 cent price amount was the only price listed on Canadian "Retail" books. This lasted until the next price increase for Canadians in mid 1985 when they went to 95 cents and the US books then went to 75. Only until then did the books have both prices listed on all books including retail. Direct versions always listed both prices during this period including the UK price.

[silverage12c]

This brings to mind the current mess with the value of CDN vs USD --- I pointed it out to the guys at my LCS last week. As recently as 6 or 8 months ago, Marvel and DC had Canadian prices of as much as 20% to 40% higher printed on their new releases. (For instances, a regular Marvel issue was marked $2.99 USD and $3.65, or higher, in CDN). This was despite the CDN dollar catching up and passing the USD in currency value.

 

Just recently, they finally caught up and adjusted things. Last week, a $3.99 cover price was marked $4.05 CDN. Such a small difference, I wonder why they even bother.

[dcy1]

mn what you think about this one

 

u s version

 

 

canadian version (come on try to find one ) it mine

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

 

 

[RustyStaple]

I agree that the Canadian cover price should have a superior price as the amount printed alone would have been a fraction of the US run.

 

Do all Canadian cover prices carry the 'CC' symbol?

[silverage12c]

Do all Canadian cover prices carry the 'CC' symbol?

I'm not sure what the "CC" means, but it's not exclusive to the CDN versions --- it also appears on the US version of Alpha Flight #2, which I posted above.

[FlyingDonut]

 

 

you know, for a guy who could use some cash, you're taking a long time to come up with a price for books I'll buy.

 

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

I just finished moving. Gonna take some time to dig them all out.......

[Silverspider]

Looking through Doug Sulipa's site I noticed he makes mention of the scarcity of these 75 cent variants. Here's a section from his items for sale under Investment grade.

 

 

 

Jack of Hearts (Marvel Pub; Limited / Mini Series; 1983; Great art by famed Canadian Artist George Freeman; 1st Solo Series for the character

 

that began in Hulk & Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu); = Canadian Newsstand VARIANT Cover Price Editions;

 

>> Canadian Variants are 25-100 Times Scarcer than US Direct Copies & are Uncommon to SCARCE in VF or Better;

#1(1/1984; Canadian Newsstand VARIANT Edition with Single original Cover Price of $0.75; ** VF/NM, 9.0 = $3.50);

 

#3(4/1984; Canadian Newsstand VARIANT Edition with Single original Cover Price of $0.75; ** NM-, 9.2 = $5);

 

 

 

Does anyone have a CGC'd book of these versions? I'm wondering if they include "Canadian Price Variant" on the label?

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

[Silverspider]

 

WOW! Simply awesome stuff Beyonder!

 

 

 

Well I guess we know there were around 3 solid years of Marvel variants, did DC also have the same 75 cent newstand only price anytime during this period? I did not buy DC's after 1982 ish.

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

DC had them as well. I have a bunch of Teen Titans books that are Canadian newsstand.

[silverage12c]

Starting to really like this thread, especially as a Canuck myself. Here are a few more I pulled out just now. I always loved these Sinkiewicz painted covers. Bought these new at Syd's Carousel in Transcona (suburb of Winnipeg) as a 15-year old kid. Most of my friends had already left comics far behind, in favor of girls, cars and booze.

 

 

 

 

[codfish]

CC has something to do with distributors or something I read something somewhere about this.

 

As for the value being different ... here in Winnipeg dealers make no note or charge different prices from the American counterparts. In fact you would have a hard time convincing some variant collectors that these are true variants. Considering the fact that both pence and Canadian newsstand comics were never sold on US newsstands I would tend to agree. Time and this variant crazed era may say otherwise.

[silverage12c]

Hey, Aaron!

[codfish]

Mornin'