Grading quiz

[tb]

Thought this one might have general interest.

 

For those of you who know which book I am talking about, please hold off your comments for a little while to give others a chance to think about it.

 

Perfect (9.6 or so) 1944 DC with only the spine to note (see picture below). Guess what CGC graded this book.

 

(Edit: I'll post the answer Sunday around 3pm California time).

 

[Shield]

8.0

[uluru]

8.5

[ArAich]

8.0

 

 

Ditto...

[Aces]

With the Golden Age curve I'd have to guess 8.5.

[BachelorOfComix]

9.4

[Tomega]

8.5-9.0

[COI]

9.0

[tb]

 

Any insights into CGC's grading standards that could explain this? The

grading seems to be inconsistent with other high grade SP DC's from

the early 1940s that I've bought previously (all of which were much nicer).

 

I have no hard feelings to either CGC or the seller. Overall, I've been happy

with the vast majority of CGC graded books I've bought and mainly ordered

this particular book out of curiosity. I'd just like to understand how CGC

arrived at the 9.4 so I can plan future purchases around it.

 

[PovertyRow]

I'd start by calling them and getting the graders' notes.

[BachelorOfComix]

[tb]

POV,

 

I've done that when I felt a book was graded too low. However, I don't see how the grading notes could explain how obvious spine damage was ignored by 3 graders? If this is allowed for an SP "cover cleaned" 9.4 GA book, I'll be careful buying cleaned comics in the future.

 

[BachelorOfComix]

Don't comics of that vintage have glued spines instead of staples?

[THE_BEYONDER]

Thought this one might have general interest.

 

For those of you who know which book I am talking about, please hold off your comments for a little while to give others a chance to think about it.

 

Perfect (9.6 or so) 1944 DC with only the spine to note (see picture below). Guess what CGC graded this book.

 

(Edit: I'll post the answer Sunday around 3pm California time).

 

 

Maybe the two CRACKS on the left side of the CGC case have something to do with it......

[tb]

BOC,

 

The two staples are not visible from the front cover (bad QP). If you did not cheat

(which I consider to be highly unlikely), I'd like to hire you as my personal grading

psychic.

 

Am debating whether to break this out of the slab and read it...

 

[BachelorOfComix]

I did not cheat The reason why I said it was a 9.4 was because if it wasn't a 9.4 or higher why would you start this thread to begin with? Furthermore, we all know CGC is lenient on Gold books. Personally, I think the the CGC grade is incorrect. Around an 8.5 would be more appropriate.

[Arty]

Am debating whether to break this out of the slab and read it...

 

Free that book from it's plastic prison

 

Seriously I'm really curious is there any signs of cleaning you can find.

 

 

Note: seller strongly disagreed with CGC about restoration of this book.

 

From ebay auction description:

 

"COMMENTS: OK, first of all this book was given a purple label for slight restoration (cover cleaned). I am STILL upset about this for a number of reasons, first and foremost being the fact that I do not believe any restoration has been performed on this book. Before submitting the book for grading I took it to two well-respected members of the field...Greg Pharis of San Diego Comics (an Overstreet advisor for over 20 years), and Jamie Newbold, owner of Southern California Comics, one of the best and most respected West Coast resources for Golden and Silver Age books...and it was the opinion of both of them that the book had not been restored in any way. Once I received the book I immediately called CGC to find out how they arrived at the conclusion that the cover had been cleaned. What I received in the way of an answer was a lot of conjecture and hyperbole..."It appeared that perhaps..." and "It's quite possible that...", and yet I couldn't get one straight definitive answer as to how the restoration could be spotted. Apparently it's just an educated guess at best. My favorite comment, though (and I am paraphrasing), was that "Often you can get an idea for whether or not a cover has been cleaned by the condition of the rest of the book. If the book shows signs of wear and the cover appears to be too nice in comparison, that could be an indication that the cover has been cleaned." Could be?!? OK, let's assume that to be a valid point...I'm wondering what other wear to the book was evident to such a degree that the cover looked too nice when the book was graded Near Mint with White pages! Perhaps restoration was evident simply because it's not a pedigree book and my name isn't Heritage Comics. OK, sorry for the lengthy diatribe, but I still believe this book to be unrestored and simply one of the greatest specimens of this classic Japanese World War II cover. There is a reserve to protect my investment but it is below NM guide value. A blue label would put this book in the $4000-$5000 range, but as it stands with the questionable purple label, this may be an excellent opportunity to acquire a white-paged Near Mint book for a song. Feel free to contact me with any questions."

 

 

[tb]

Since Arty quoted the auction, let me just repeat that the seller was very

nice and I already left positive feedback. I don't blame him for anything:

when buying books like these my decision is based 95% on the certification

and picture and only marginally on what the seller might have to add. I am

deliberately making a few high risk purchases of SP books as a trial run before

taking chances on more expensive ones. I bought this one because I was

interested in this type of restoration.

 

I am particularly curious if the cover might have been wet cleaned? I've

read that it is removed during this process so it would seem that spine

damage could be a sign of wet cleaning?

 

 

[PovertyRow]

Since Arty quoted the auction, let me just repeat that the seller was very

nice and I already left positive feedback. I don't blame him for anything:

when buying books like these my decision is based 95% on the certification

and picture and only marginally on what the seller might have to add. I am

deliberately making a few high risk purchases of SP books as a trial run before

taking chances on more expensive ones. I bought this one because I was

interested in this type of restoration.

 

I am particularly curious if the cover might have been wet cleaned? I've

read that it is removed during this process so it would seem that spine

damage could be a sign of wet cleaning?

 

Prior response saved for future info from graders!

[tb]

POV,

 

The strange thing is that the book appears perfect except for the spine -

looks like it was never opened (at least through the slab). My untrained

eyes don't see anything special about the "fabric".