Showcase #4 Club 12 12

[texmurphy2099]

On 7/26/2021 at 10:28 AM, BoomCity said:

A nice 4.0 cr ow sold on elite comics on Instagram for $22k this weekend. 

it was a really nice copy!  I was the camera guy for that, I held it in my hands!!!

[Dark Knight]

I bought the SilverAgeComics/Elite 4.0 copy 

[BoomCity]

On 7/26/2021 at 12:05 PM, Dark Knight said:

I bought the SilverAgeComics/Elite 4.0 copy 

Nice purchase and congrats! It was a very nice presenting copy.

[Dark Knight]

On 7/26/2021 at 12:40 PM, BoomCity said:

Nice purchase and congrats! It was a very nice presenting copy.

After losing out on the Heritage 5.0 copy, I needed to step up

[GAMBIT]

On 7/26/2021 at 2:05 PM, Dark Knight said:

I bought the SilverAgeComics/Elite 4.0 copy 

Welcome to the 4.0 club 

[Terry E. Gibbs]

Still a few days to go, funny as it is not in the big fall auction next month. Much better more expensive book than many in that auction, guess the need for immediate sale.

https://comics.ha.com/itm/silver-age-1956-1969-/superhero/showcase-4-the-flash-dc-1956-cgc-vg-35-cream-to-off-white-pages/a/122132-13703.s?ic=homepage-myrecommendations-Comics-item-052114&tab=MyRecommendations-080216

[Terry E. Gibbs]

On 8/8/2021 at 8:42 AM, Terry E. Gibbs said:

Still a few days to go, funny as it is not in the big fall auction next month. Much better more expensive book than many in that auction, guess the need for immediate sale.

https://comics.ha.com/itm/silver-age-1956-1969-/superhero/showcase-4-the-flash-dc-1956-cgc-vg-35-cream-to-off-white-pages/a/122132-13703.s?ic=homepage-myrecommendations-Comics-item-052114&tab=MyRecommendations-080216

3.5 cr ow $21,600 congrats to the owner and everyone else here who stopped waiting in the wings.

GPA shows almost 100% in a year. The book got hot back pre 2016, bought by a lot of people who were not DC fans but looking to flip for $$$. When it cooled off especially after the JL movie. Many of those people all wanted to get out at the same time. Also coincided with a batch of returns, with top 1/3rd cover torn off coming on market for first time, filling in demand for low value books. Since then the book  has dried up. I am expecting more of those flippers to now move out of it and chase hot Marvels. I think the next thing will be the DC Fandome, when the first trailer should be ready.

The book has basically evaporated on ebay.

Other one is this has flowed through to SC8. Not in the high grades, but the 1.8 to 2.5s have all move up a notch.

 

Do I sound like a genuine Flash tragic . sigh

 

 

 

 

[Pantodude]

Like some folks have related, my hunt for one of these was also a bit tortuous.  I even hounded some fine folks on these boards who were known to sell big keys, but I could not find the right opportunity.  I almost crossed it off my wantlist so I could free up funds for keys that would be easier to find!  Glad I stayed the course.  What's so cool about this book is the cover's color scheme befitting a holy grail, while also being unique from my other SA keys, both Marvel and DC.  It really stands out, even in great company!  As a date stamp guy, the "7-5" was a lucky bonus  (the official release date). 

  

Edited November 3, 2021 by Pantodude
clarity

[Terry E. Gibbs]

Very nice colours, the reds are really nice. Congrats.

[Albert Tatlock]

The original CCA file copy here.

Any guesses as to how much, if anything, that provenance would add to value?

[Terry E. Gibbs]

On 4/2/2022 at 6:37 AM, Albert Tatlock said:

The original CCA file copy here.

Any guesses as to how much, if anything, that provenance would add to value?

No idea. I have seen SC4 with Infantino signature sell for less than I thought  it would have sold without. The grade of that book should put it very high, not sure that the file copy will make too much difference. You will also get different prices for Heritage, Comic Link, Hakes, Metropolis, or ebay. They each publicise their stuff differently (except ebay) and each have a dedicated group of fans always watching and waiting. The thing with an auction is the commission and you need two people who really are dying for it, not one. 3rd party grading like HA always helps lift a high grade book but in this case it needs to be out of the slab to be appreciated. Also not sure some of the new money shooting up prices will understand the subtlety of this. Really great book, if the cover photo was better as you may start to get offers right now.

[DanCooper]

On 4/1/2022 at 3:37 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

The original CCA file copy here.

Any guesses as to how much, if anything, that provenance would add to value?

Cool book.

Do you mind sharing the backstory on how it was acquired and is there any further documentation of its Comics Code Authority provenance/roots?

 

[Aman619]

Hope it’s not a Danny Dupcak file copy stamp. 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Aman619

[innocuous]

On 4/1/2022 at 12:37 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

The original CCA file copy here.

Any guesses as to how much, if anything, that provenance would add to value?

 

Beautiful looking copy. 

I generally don't see a premium assigned to file copies. For some pedigrees, you might see a premium. Regardless, given the potential high grade, this copy would likely command a strong price, especially if you squish it.

:

[Primetime]

On 8/9/2021 at 7:34 PM, Pantodude said:

Like some folks have related, my hunt for one of these was also a bit tortuous.  I even hounded some fine folks on these boards who were known to sell big keys, but I could not find the right opportunity.  I almost crossed it off my wantlist so I could free up funds for keys that would be easier to find!  Glad I stayed the course.  What's so cool about this book is the cover's color scheme befitting a holy grail, while also being unique from my other SA keys, both Marvel and DC.  It really stands out, even in great company!  As a date stamp guy, the "7-5" was a lucky bonus  (the official release date). 

  

congrats  July 5 (1956) would be an accurate time frame arrival date. 

[Albert Tatlock]

On 4/1/2022 at 11:24 PM, DanCooper said:

Cool book.

Do you mind sharing the backstory on how it was acquired and is there any further documentation of its Comics Code Authority provenance/roots?

 

I purchased this, along with several other SA DCs (nothing of this standard, though) from Leonard Darvin at one of Phil Seuling's July 4th weekend Conventions in NYC, possibly in 1974, but more likely in 1975 or 1976.

The transaction was for cash. The thought did cross my mind that Mr Darvin was operating solely on his own account. I do not know who, if anyone, would have had to give him the green light to dispose of the CCA's holdings. There were already substantial gaps on the shelves.

The asking price for all the issues I took was midway between the two top conditions quoted in the then current Overstreet.

There is fortunately no index card with this particular one, so no unsightly staple holes in cover.

I would have also liked to get Showcase 2 to complete my set, but someone had already beaten me to it.

[DanCooper]

On 4/3/2022 at 9:43 AM, Albert Tatlock said:

I purchased this, along with several other SA DCs (nothing of this standard, though) from Leonard Darvin at one of Phil Seuling's July 4th weekend Conventions in NYC, possibly in 1974, but more likely in 1975 or 1976.

The transaction was for cash. The thought did cross my mind that Mr Darvin was operating solely on his own account. I do not know who, if anyone, would have had to give him the green light to dispose of the CCA's holdings. There were already substantial gaps on the shelves.

The asking price for all the issues I took was midway between the two top conditions quoted in the then current Overstreet.

There is fortunately no index card with this particular one, so no unsightly staple holes in cover.

I would have also liked to get Showcase 2 to complete my set, but someone had already beaten me to it.

Very interesting backstory. Thanks for sharing.

I imagine Leonard Darvin was still at the Comics Code Authority when you met him at the Seuling show.

What other books did you pick up from the CCA's files? Can you post an example of one of the index cards you mention, if you have one?

Thanks again for posting and replying.

 

 

[Albert Tatlock]

On 4/3/2022 at 3:24 PM, DanCooper said:

Very interesting backstory. Thanks for sharing.

I imagine Leonard Darvin was still at the Comics Code Authority when you met him at the Seuling show.

What other books did you pick up from the CCA's files? Can you post an example of one of the index cards you mention, if you have one?

Thanks again for posting and replying.

 

 

Mr Darvin had the keys to the CCA office, a short walk from the Convention hotel at Grand Central.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and no-one else was on the premises.

Attached are scans of two consecutive issues of Adventure, one of which has staple holes along top edge where the index card was originally attached. I removed the staples from the cards in case of rust, but the staple holes, of course, still mar the item slightly.

The other one has no card, no staple holes, but is stamped as a file copy.

The others I have so far checked fall into one or the other of these categories, and there do not appear to be any with both card and stamp, but I have many more that I am not in a position to examine in the immediate future. However, I can say that several have the staple holes but no card, but I do not remember whether the cards were still attached at the time. Possibly I removed them later and may have discarded them.

[DanCooper]

On 4/3/2022 at 3:22 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

Mr Darvin had the keys to the CCA office, a short walk from the Convention hotel at Grand Central.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and no-one else was on the premises.

Attached are scans of two consecutive issues of Adventure, one of which has staple holes along top edge where the index card was originally attached. I removed the staples from the cards in case of rust, but the staple holes, of course, still mar the item slightly.

The other one has no card, no staple holes, but is stamped as a file copy.

The others I have so far checked fall into one or the other of these categories, and there do not appear to be any with both card and stamp, but I have many more that I am not in a position to examine in the immediate future. However, I can say that several have the staple holes but no card, but I do not remember whether the cards were still attached at the time. Possibly I removed them later and may have discarded them.

Fascinating discovery in relationship to the Comics Code Authority affiliation! (thanks again for sharing this, Albert!)

I don't know if anything has been written on how the Comics Code Authority actually monitored/reviewed things after the Code went live in early 1955. I know Heritage Auctions had some Code Authority historical documents in an auction this past November, but I don't know if any of the literature addressed monitoring/reviewing books.

From the looks of things, the dates on the card/books seemed to indicate a short time prior as to when the books were received/reviewed by the Comics Code Authority versus when actually on the newsstands (about a week or so prior. Example - the Showcase 4 is dated June 29th, 1956 on the splash page stamp. Newsstand date is around July 5th, 1956)

I don't know how CGC would treat the CCA provenance or file copy status. As alluded to earlier, Silver Age "file copy" status comes under great scrutiny, based on all the bogus Marvel/DC file copies that Fantazia (Dupcak) flooded the market with in the 1980s-90s.

If the Showcase 4 checks out with no restoration on it, and having the rest of the books you purchased from Darvin as examples with CCA notes and stamps, that could give your Showcase 4 extra value for provenance (even if CGC won't recognize it as a file copy or CCA affiliation).

Still, a great story and find! Thanks again!

 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by DanCooper

[Albert Tatlock]

Thanks, Dan,

I had not previously been aware of the activities of your friend (or otherwise) Mr Dupcak, but I have now read up on it.

Caveat emptor, as the Romans were well aware, before our medium was even dreamt of.

There can be no issues of restoration with these, as they have been nowhere since I purchased them, and discussion of restoration of comic books would have been met with complete bafflement back in the world of almost 50 years ago.

I will, in due course, post other examples which may be of interest, although most of my holdings of these are not outside the ordinary.

Mr Darvin, of course, would have had other customers besides myself, and the books will probably not have evaporated in the meantime. 

Even if any documentation is no longer extant, there is still the giveaway evidence of the double pair of  staple holes along top edge of cover, and/or the 'FILE COPY' stamp.

Someone, somewhere, will be holding more of these, which these boards may bring into the open.

To forestall any offers which may surface, I am not looking to dispose of any of my collection in the forseeable future.