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What's the deal on Vault of Horror #12 (#1)?

Started by sterlingcomics,

38 posts in this topic

ciorac

ciorac

Posted
Posted
If I had to rely on info provided by Heritage vs Ciorac, Ciorac wins every time...the dude has a memory like 10 elephants and a passion for comics nearly unmatched, and we all know of Heritage and their many past listing mistakes (I am not saying intentional, but mistakes nonetheless)

 

I appreciate that Rick. After 12 years my memory may have faded on the grade since I haven't seen the book in such a long time, but one thing is for certain they were all marked the #2 copies. That is indisputable. Each copy was marked and ranked according how they were graded when purchased from Bill Gaines. If there were 7 copies, then they were numbered from nicest down, 1 - 7. The #1 copies were not being offered for sale, so I bought the #2's.

 

The EC set was so awesome, it would be difficult to forget. It also included the Mile High copy of Haunt of Fear #15 (1).

 

All of these books were raw at the time of course, since it was many years before CGC. so they could have acquired defects prior to slabbing. But Rob Hughes and I graded every book and we both had the WAC 10 and 11 10.0 and 9.9 respectively. And as I said, none of the other books graded less than NM on that fateful day.

 

And Adam, I don't recall the run stopping at #25. So, as was the case in other instances during this deal when I bought Bill's inventory, he contacted people who he had sold books to and re-purchased them so the sets I was buying would be complete.

 

 

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adamstrange

adamstrange

Posted
Posted
If I had to rely on info provided by Heritage vs Ciorac, Ciorac wins every time...the dude has a memory like 10 elephants and a passion for comics nearly unmatched, and we all know of Heritage and their many past listing mistakes (I am not saying intentional, but mistakes nonetheless)

 

I appreciate that Rick. After 12 years my memory may have faded on the grade since I haven't seen the book in such a long time, but one thing is for certain they were all marked the #2 copies. That is indisputable. Each copy was marked and ranked according how they were graded when purchased from Bill Gaines. If there were 7 copies, then they were numbered from nicest down, 1 - 7. The #1 copies were not being offered for sale, so I bought the #2's.

 

The EC set was so awesome, it would be difficult to forget. It also included the Mile High copy of Haunt of Fear #15 (1).

 

All of these books were raw at the time of course, since it was many years before CGC. so they could have acquired defects prior to slabbing. But Rob Hughes and I graded every book and we both had the WAC 10 and 11 10.0 and 9.9 respectively. And as I said, none of the other books graded less than NM on that fateful day.

 

And Adam, I don't recall the run stopping at #25. So, as was the case in other instances during this deal when I bought Bill's inventory, he contacted people who he had sold books to and re-purchased them so the sets I was buying would be complete.

 

 

Not the VOH 38-40. I have "evidence". :whistle:

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EastEnd

EastEnd

Posted
Posted

I just took a quick look at "Tales of Terror!", Grant Geissman's authoritative book on EC Comics. It includes a fairly lengthy interview with Russ Cochran, who along with Bob Overstreet, was with Bill Gaines when the File Copies were opened and sorted. At page 283, Russ describes the opening of the Gaines archives (great reading by the way!) and he states the following:

 

"For example, we opened the Vault #12 package, there was one copy in there. He [Gaines] had pulled out the other eleven over a period of time for this, or that, or the other. So in the Gaines File Copies there is only one complete set of Vault and the rest were missing a #12."

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Buck Biggins

Buck Biggins

Posted
Posted
I noticed that the highest graded copy on the census is "only" a 9.4, which is a COW paged Northland copy. Does anyone know if there were any specific Gaines File Copy of this issue? I'm assuming that the Gaines copy/copies isn't/aren't (gulp) below 9.4 for this issue. I'm just trying to understand if the scarcity is real or perceived.

 

I'm hoping someone on the inside track might know what's really going on. IE they have seen a high grade Gaines copy of this issue raw/etc or know how many Gaines issues were available.

 

Thanks!

 

Look at the can of worms you opened :headbang:

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ciorac

ciorac

Posted
Posted
If I had to rely on info provided by Heritage vs Ciorac, Ciorac wins every time...the dude has a memory like 10 elephants and a passion for comics nearly unmatched, and we all know of Heritage and their many past listing mistakes (I am not saying intentional, but mistakes nonetheless)

 

I appreciate that Rick. After 12 years my memory may have faded on the grade since I haven't seen the book in such a long time, but one thing is for certain they were all marked the #2 copies. That is indisputable. Each copy was marked and ranked according how they were graded when purchased from Bill Gaines. If there were 7 copies, then they were numbered from nicest down, 1 - 7. The #1 copies were not being offered for sale, so I bought the #2's.

 

The EC set was so awesome, it would be difficult to forget. It also included the Mile High copy of Haunt of Fear #15 (1).

 

All of these books were raw at the time of course, since it was many years before CGC. so they could have acquired defects prior to slabbing. But Rob Hughes and I graded every book and we both had the WAC 10 and 11 10.0 and 9.9 respectively. And as I said, none of the other books graded less than NM on that fateful day.

 

And Adam, I don't recall the run stopping at #25. So, as was the case in other instances during this deal when I bought Bill's inventory, he contacted people who he had sold books to and re-purchased them so the sets I was buying would be complete.

 

 

Not the VOH 38-40. I have "evidence". :whistle:

 

The run I bought only went to #28, if memory serves.

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ciorac

ciorac

Posted
Posted
There were no actual Gaines copies of Vault of Horror #12. When the file copies were opened up, there was not a single copy in the bunch. Gaines bought a high grade copy of #12 from me. That book later became the 9.2 Gaines copy.

 

Steve

 

So what was the 9.4 copy of #12 in the run I bought from Bill that said "Gaines File Copy" and was listed #2 of 2, along with the rest of the run?

 

It has been a lot of years, so I don't know anymore at this point. I only know the run was complete.

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metropoliscomics

metropoliscomics

Posted
Posted
There were no actual Gaines copies of Vault of Horror #12. When the file copies were opened up, there was not a single copy in the bunch. Gaines bought a high grade copy of #12 from me. That book later became the 9.2 Gaines copy.

 

Steve

 

So what was the 9.4 copy of #12 in the run I bought from Bill that said "Gaines File Copy" and was listed #2 of 2, along with the rest of the run?

 

The book I sold years ago became the #1 copy. I was under the impression that only the #1 set had a #12. It is possible that another copy was bought on the secondary market to "become" another file copy.

 

Steve

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ciorac

ciorac

Posted
Posted
There were no actual Gaines copies of Vault of Horror #12. When the file copies were opened up, there was not a single copy in the bunch. Gaines bought a high grade copy of #12 from me. That book later became the 9.2 Gaines copy.

 

Steve

 

So what was the 9.4 copy of #12 in the run I bought from Bill that said "Gaines File Copy" and was listed #2 of 2, along with the rest of the run?

 

The book I sold years ago became the #1 copy. I was under the impression that only the #1 set had a #12. It is possible that another copy was bought on the secondary market to "become" another file copy.

 

Steve

 

True enough, it could have happened.

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EastEnd

EastEnd

Posted
Posted
how could Gaines buy a copy and ad it to the runs and call it a Gaines File Copy? I can see the desire to fill a major hole with a HG copy, but for it not to me documented, or forgotten in only a decade? weird fantasy fer sure man!

 

I wonder if Jim Halperin knows that. He owns the book and paid close to $30k for it.

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sterlingcomics

sterlingcomics

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Please note the highest graded copy is from the NorthFORD Pedigree, and not NorthLAND.

 

My brain still screws that up...I don't know why.

 

Thanks for the info guys! The mystery thickens....All I know is I want to understand true HG scarcity as it pertains to the Gaines collection, as it appears that HG copies of other pedigree collections don't even come close. This more or less confirms that VOH #12 is going to be near impossible beyond 9.4 as it stands today.

 

Do you guys know of any other valleys in the Gaines collection noteable of being scarce in high grade? I noticed that some of the later issues from EC were limited in production, and I noticed that on the CGC census some goes no higher than 9.4.

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