Exactly who is "The Dentist"?

[bronze_rules]

"Listen. The Dentist has at least a billion dollars of his own, and another ten billion under management—half the orthodontists in Southern California retired at age forty because he dectupled their IRAs in the space of two or three years. You don’t achieve those kinds of results by being a nice guy."

 

"Maybe he just got lucky."

 

"He did get lucky. But that doesn’t mean he’s a nice guy. My point is that he put that money into investments that were extremely risky. He played Russian roulette with his investors’ life savings, keeping them in the dark. I mean, this guy would invest in a Mindanao kidnapping ring if it gave a good rate of return."

 

"Does he understand that he was lucky, I wonder?"

 

"That’s my question. I’m guessing no. I think he considers himself to be an instrument of Divine Providence, like Douglas MacArthur."

 

................

 

As told in "Cryptocomicon"

Neal Stephenson.

[jimbo_707]

So if I understand this thread and other threads correctly, some Hawkeyes were passed off as Mile Highs in the early 90s, fake coding and all, and the books were traced back to Dave Anderson, but Steve Geppi protected him?

 

Whatever happened to the fake Mile Highs? Are they still sitting in people's collections?

 

Does anyone have any photos of them?

[B-Smooth]

ok thanks

 

He looks a little different 31 years later...

 

 

Hey at least he's still got his hair. Show me anyone that doesn't look "different" 31 years later except maybe Clark.

 

He's not looking too hot these days

[cloudofwit]

the answer is no. Everyone knew it was a ridiculous price to pay. ( SO did Dave, but he was willing to pay what it took no matter what.) And thast he'd be buried in that book for a long time... Everybody was right. But its been almost 30 years later, the hobby continued to grow, its status as the BEST copy has never been challenged, and now he is the very proud owner of the very best copy of the very best comic book in the world.

 

Yes, this is basically correct! (thumbs u

 

Based upon my conversations with Dave in the past, he always felt that he had paid an absurb price for the book since it repesented a significant multiple to guide. Although multiples to guide are common nowadays, it was basically unheard of back in the 70's.

 

I guess Chuck was just ahead of the times when he priced out the Edgar Church books.

 

Is a "significant multiple" to Guide a tad under double Guide? :confused: If Anderson bought it for 25K in '82, that same year Overstreet had it as 13,500 in "Mint". (In '81, it was 11,500; in '83, it was 14,000)

 

Maybe at the time it was more the mere fact that a comic book sold for 25K...and as years went by, the narrative evolved to where he paid crazy multiples of Guide. Anyone have any thoughts?...Whatever the case, he won. ::

 

[jimbo_707]

the answer is no. Everyone knew it was a ridiculous price to pay. ( SO did Dave, but he was willing to pay what it took no matter what.) And thast he'd be buried in that book for a long time... Everybody was right. But its been almost 30 years later, the hobby continued to grow, its status as the BEST copy has never been challenged, and now he is the very proud owner of the very best copy of the very best comic book in the world.

 

Yes, this is basically correct! (thumbs u

 

Based upon my conversations with Dave in the past, he always felt that he had paid an absurb price for the book since it repesented a significant multiple to guide. Although multiples to guide are common nowadays, it was basically unheard of back in the 70's.

 

I guess Chuck was just ahead of the times when he priced out the Edgar Church books.

 

Is a "significant multiple" to Guide a tad under double Guide? :confused: If Anderson bought it for 25K in '82, that same year Overstreet had it as 13,500 in "Mint". (In '81, it was 11,500; in '83, it was 14,000)

 

Maybe at the time it was more the mere fact that a comic book sold for 25K...and as years went by, the narrative evolved to where he paid crazy multiples of Guide. Anyone have any thoughts?...Whatever the case, he won. ::

 

I wasn't collecting in the early 80s, but even in the late 80s people didn't pay over guide. The idea of paying "multiples of guide" was a very new concept(although many dealers over-graded to a ridiculous extent and sort of got multiples of guide that way). I turned down one Mile High book that was offered to me for less than double guide in '88 or '89. To most collectors, the idea of willingly paying a penny over guide was beyond ludicrous.

[Sqeggs]

the answer is no. Everyone knew it was a ridiculous price to pay. ( SO did Dave, but he was willing to pay what it took no matter what.) And thast he'd be buried in that book for a long time... Everybody was right. But its been almost 30 years later, the hobby continued to grow, its status as the BEST copy has never been challenged, and now he is the very proud owner of the very best copy of the very best comic book in the world.

 

Yes, this is basically correct! (thumbs u

 

Based upon my conversations with Dave in the past, he always felt that he had paid an absurb price for the book since it repesented a significant multiple to guide. Although multiples to guide are common nowadays, it was basically unheard of back in the 70's.

 

I guess Chuck was just ahead of the times when he priced out the Edgar Church books.

 

Is a "significant multiple" to Guide a tad under double Guide? :confused: If Anderson bought it for 25K in '82, that same year Overstreet had it as 13,500 in "Mint". (In '81, it was 11,500; in '83, it was 14,000)

 

Maybe at the time it was more the mere fact that a comic book sold for 25K...and as years went by, the narrative evolved to where he paid crazy multiples of Guide. Anyone have any thoughts?...Whatever the case, he won. ::

 

 

I thought he paid "only" $20K. In any event, I think it was more the absolute dollar amount rather than the amount relative to guide that made people wonder. As you say, though, it turned out to be the winning investment of a lifetime!

[Gotham Kid]

 

Thank you for bumping.

 

+1

 

Good read.

[TupennyConan]

Classic dentist thread NYE bump.

[Bosco685]

 

Thank you for bumping.

 

+1

 

Good read.

 

This is one of those historic topics in our hobby that should be brought up periodically.

 

There was a third thread on this topic around 2010-2011. But I think it was blown away by the mods because the OP was asking some pretty creepy questions.

 

"Who is The Dentist"

 

"What is his address"

 

"Where does he keep the books"

 

Which then led to some great responses back.

 

"What is his combination"

 

"What food do his dogs eat"

 

"What time is he not home"

 

[GIJOEISAWESOME-migration]

 

There was a third thread on this topic around 2010-2011. But I think it was blown away by the mods because the OP was asking some pretty creepy questions.

 

"Who is The Dentist"

 

"What is his address"

 

"Where does he keep the books"

 

Which then led to some great responses back.

 

"What is his combination"

 

"What food do his dogs eat"

 

"What time is he not home"

 

 

I would want to know that

[comicdonna]

Is his ebay id underthebigw? (?sp)

[jimbo_707]

Is his ebay id underthebigw? (?sp)

One is thebigloo (I think)...not sure if he has others currently.

[slym2none]

Does he drive a white Mercedes?

 

 

 

-slym

[comicdonna]

Is his ebay id underthebigw? (?sp)

One is thebigloo (I think)...not sure if he has others currently.

That's it. I purchased an Action #27 from him in 2004 I believe. He listed it as UNRESTORED in caps. When I got the book, I noticed the bottom of the spine was shiny. About 3 inches of the entire spine, at the bottom. I didn't know much about resto at the time. It came back from CGC as restored SA with glue on the spine.

[DeadpoolJr.]

Is his ebay id underthebigw? (?sp)

One is thebigloo (I think)...not sure if he has others currently.

That's it. I purchased an Action #27 from him in 2004 I believe. He listed it as UNRESTORED in caps. When I got the book, I noticed the bottom of the spine was shiny. About 3 inches of the entire spine, at the bottom. I didn't know much about resto at the time. It came back from CGC as restored SA with glue on the spine.

Message him, and see if you can get a refund.

[The-Collector]

Why do people become dentist? Ask yourself that.

They can't hack it in med school

 

In Australia at least entry into dentistry is harder than medicine. It is the superior career. Shorter hours, equal if not better pay and at the end of five years of study you are a specialist while a doctor has to study for four years plus another 3-5 of specialization.

 

 

This is a great thread. I have often wondered who he was but thought it might be impolite to inquire.

 

Anyone have more information on his venture capital activities?

[Mr.Diggler]

Does he drive a white Mercedes?

 

 

 

-slym

No, it's a white Bronco.

[Mark 1]

Thanks for the bump as I had heard stories about the dentist.

 

I heard one first hand from Allen Bellman that the Dentist gave him long lost prints of the pages from the comics that he drew back in the 40s.

 

I know Allen was very appreciative for that gesture. Sounded like a nice guy from that story. Good for him for having the foresight to buy a MH Action 1.

 

 

[ciorac]

Is his ebay id underthebigw? (?sp)

One is thebigloo (I think)...not sure if he has others currently.

That's it. I purchased an Action #27 from him in 2004 I believe. He listed it as UNRESTORED in caps. When I got the book, I noticed the bottom of the spine was shiny. About 3 inches of the entire spine, at the bottom. I didn't know much about resto at the time. It came back from CGC as restored SA with glue on the spine.

 

he is a very slippery fellow in my experience

[Rip]

I've heard a combination of good and bad stories over the years.

I would proceed with caution. He was on the forums once very briefly.

Doesn't always play with with others.

 

If I'm not mistaken he doesn't just have the Action 1 but he has Action 1-23 MH.