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Star Wars #1 CGC 9.6 35C sold for $21,805 last night on CL

101 posts in this topic

Nope. It's also possible that you could hand over your entire collection to me, as well as all your other assets, and agree to be my butler/chauffer/foot rubber for free for the rest of your natural life, too, but that's not very likely, is it...?

 

All I am saying is that it is not the forgone conclusion that you have painted it to be. How likely was it that one person was able to find a treasure trove of uber-limited signed ashcans, and that he could buy them all for a song, and then hold them over everyone's head like a Japanese feudal lord?

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Let me see if I can dig up a thread... hm

 

Oh look, it's a thread from 8 years ago with donut, banner, bronty, supapimp, etc.,. discussing this book...just need rob_react, murph, and JC to chime in and it'll be a reunion! :acclaim:

 

Star Wars #1 35-cent Variant CGC 9.2 on eBay

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How about Spider-Man platinum which was given out one to a store and was hard to find. Than a warehouse of sealed cases turn up.

 

Spiderman #1 Platinum is a totally different scenario than the 30s and 35s. Marvel kept a large chunk of these books in storage, much like Acclaim did with the Valiant Golds/Reds etc, which were found, not in a distribution warehouse, but rather in the offices and storage of the publisher. That's where New Dimension got their hoard of Spidey plats, either directly from Marvel, or through an intermediary who got them from Marvel.

 

Primer #2 where a dealer acquired half the print run of uncirculated copies.

 

Also a different scenario, because Primer #2 was an independent book, and not distributed through normal newsstand channels.

 

These finds were remainders from the publisher, and Marvel is not going to have any copies going back to the late 70's so you can scratch that off.

 

A more likely scenario is a collector who by chance lived in a community where his only option was to buy the variant cover price. Could of easily bought 5 copies of Star Wars #1 and put them in a box. The Iron Fist 14 to me is the real winner. Since it was not a #1 and buying multiple copies of a third tier comic is unlikely. Still to this day I continue to find dealers who are acquiring multiple copies of Star Wars #1 first printings in collections. Star Wars #1 was bought and hoarded the day it came out. It all comes down to the specific collector who lived in a specific town who did not have any other option other than buying the variant cover price editions. He had no idea he was buying a winning lotto ticket.

 

It is certainly possible...though not likely...that a customer 1. had access to 5 copies of 35 cent Star Wars in the early weeks of May, 1977, and 2. chose to buy multiples. Even in 1977, hoarding was not very commonplace.

 

It is MORE likely for Star Wars #1 (most likely of all, in fact), but when the conditions surrounding the issue are brought up, that likelihood drops to near nothing. While Star Wars wasn't bought and hoarded exactly the day it came out (it would take the movie coming out a couple weeks later to accomplish that), it's close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.

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If unsold copies were returned to Marvel. Who is to say Marvel made a count of the comics to evaluate how well they sold. Johnny errand boy was told to put them in the back room along with the other unsold test variants. Than in the early 1980's Marvel decides to clear out some pallets of old comics and stuff from the back room. Some low end bulk dealer gets a sniff on a bunch of cheap comics by the pallet. He buys them unknowing they are price variants, puts them into his storage. He is a hoarder and part buffoon than loses track because the boxes are up to the ceiling in the storage unit. Now its 2011 and his estranged wife sells out to another large warehouse dealer because her husband lost his mind and is in assisted living. Thats how we can get a warehouse find today in 2011.

 

If this scenario came true, the Star Wars #1 probably sold out. Yet there could be a long box of the Iron Fist 14 to be found as it was less likely to sell out.

 

How did Marvel sit on all those cases of Spidey Platinums for almost 20 years. Too much stuff in a warehouse, boxes and boxes stacked up.

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Nope. It's also possible that you could hand over your entire collection to me, as well as all your other assets, and agree to be my butler/chauffer/foot rubber for free for the rest of your natural life, too, but that's not very likely, is it...?

 

All I am saying is that it is not the forgone conclusion that you have painted it to be.

 

Mmmm....I love waffles for breakfast.

 

How likely was it that one person was able to find a treasure trove of uber-limited signed ashcans, and that he could buy them all for a song, and then hold them over everyone's head like a Japanese feudal lord?

 

Nearly as negligible, and it would have been far more likely they wre tossed along with the rest of the unsellable books Jay Co. got from Image in those days.

 

Remember, while there were 10 #2s, there was only 1 #3, and zero #1s.

 

And the song was "White Christmas."

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If unsold copies were returned to Marvel. Who is to say Marvel made a count of the comics to evaluate how well they sold. Johnny errand boy was told to put them in the back room along with the other unsold test variants. Than in the early 1980's Marvel decides to clear out some pallets of old comics and stuff from the back room. Some low end bulk dealer gets a sniff on a bunch of cheap comics by the pallet. He buys them unknowing they are price variants, puts them into his storage. He is a hoarder and part buffoon than loses track because the boxes are up to the ceiling in the storage unit. Now its 2011 and his estranged wife sells out to another large warehouse dealer because her husband lost his mind and is in assisted living. Thats how we can get a warehouse find today in 2011.

 

If this scenario came true, the Star Wars #1 probably sold out. Yet there could be a long box of the Iron Fist 14 to be found as it was less likely to sell out.

 

How did Marvel sit on all those cases of Spidey Platinums for almost 20 years. Too much stuff in a warehouse, boxes and boxes stacked up.

 

Returned comics were not returned whole.

 

They were stripped. Either the entire front cover was torn off, or the top third was cut/torn off, and that was returned to the publisher. The rest of the book was ordered destroyed by the publisher (though that, obviously, didn't always happen.) It would have been cost prohibitive to send the entire book back.

 

Interesting theory, though.

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As for the Platinum Spideys, Marvel sat on them for about 10-12 years, before ND acquired them. Because it was a special book, distributed in a special way directly from Marvel, the copies that didn't get sent out right away were put in storage/someone's office. It's not that hard to stuff 5-10 boxes of something into storage.

 

Acclaim had PALLETS of golds and whatnot for over a decade sitting in a storage facility, before it was liquidated in 2003-2004.

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As for the Platinum Spideys, Marvel sat on them for about 10-12 years, before ND acquired them. Because it was a special book, distributed in a special way directly from Marvel, the copies that didn't get sent out right away were put in storage/someone's office. It's not that hard to stuff 5-10 boxes of something into storage.

 

Acclaim had PALLETS of golds and whatnot for over a decade sitting in a storage facility, before it was liquidated in 2003-2004.

 

Neatstuff knew the Platinum's were part of the bulk deal they bought in 2008. It was not a surprise find in bulk, they had a count as they were still in printer cases.

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As for the Platinum Spideys, Marvel sat on them for about 10-12 years, before ND acquired them. Because it was a special book, distributed in a special way directly from Marvel, the copies that didn't get sent out right away were put in storage/someone's office. It's not that hard to stuff 5-10 boxes of something into storage.

 

Acclaim had PALLETS of golds and whatnot for over a decade sitting in a storage facility, before it was liquidated in 2003-2004.

 

Neatstuff knew the Platinum's were part of the bulk deal they bought in 2008. It was not a surprise find in bulk, they had a count as they were still in printer cases.

 

Neatstuff? I always confuse them with ND. One of the two, anyways. All those East Coast guys blend together after a while. Koch, Dolgoff, Carbonaro, Neat Stuff, New Dimension...all the same guys. lol Was it really as late as 2008...? hm

 

Could be, all I remember was the picture of 300 plats at once. ;)

 

(Of which, I am the proud owner of the last 12. :cloud9: )

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I was in an antiques mart last weekend outside of Lansing, Michigan and was excited to find a 5.0 $.35 John Carter variant for $2, only to then notice the blank UPC box, so I passed, assuming it was a reprint similar to the Star Wars issues.

 

Anyone confirm whether John Carter # 1 had a $.35 reprint?

 

No. It's an early Whitman/Direct Market version, distributed either in 3-packs by Western (as JC contends) or directly to the early comics shops. I contend it was most of Western, and a little of the DM (Western being the major player in the DM in the late 70's.)

 

The myth that there are reprints of these late Bronze books floating around is one that was perpetrated by Overstreet for decades.

 

Common sense alone dictates that. Marvel had no incentive to reprint books that didn't sell out in the first place.

 

Hold on there, cowboy!

 

John Carter 1 DID have a 35 cent variant. Just not the book he's talking about. BTW I know you know this, just making sure others don't make the same mistake.

 

**Credit where credit is due! I'm stealing all scans from the AMAZINGLY AWESOME StlComics variant board***

 

35 cent variant John Carter 1:

 

johncarter1.jpg

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The level of FAIL in this thread is staggering. doh!

 

Until I came along, that is... :whistle:

 

Just off the top of my head...and I think I'm pretty read in on this area.

 

2) There have been "hoards" of 35 cent variants found. A "hoard" of 35 cent variants is 15. 30. Something like that. There are NOT "big collections" of them out there.

 

Except, of course, the complete and near complete collections that have been put together by Harry, Terry Hall, etc.

 

Right, of course. BTW, it is still stunning to me that Terry was able to finish the 35 cent run, and Harry's two or three books short. A just amazing feat. It would be much much much easier to put together a run of Action Comics 1-900 in slabbed 8.0 or higher than somebody to put together a full run of 35 cent variants in any condition. The Action run would only take enough money.

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I was in an antiques mart last weekend outside of Lansing, Michigan and was excited to find a 5.0 $.35 John Carter variant for $2, only to then notice the blank UPC box, so I passed, assuming it was a reprint similar to the Star Wars issues.

 

Anyone confirm whether John Carter # 1 had a $.35 reprint?

 

No. It's an early Whitman/Direct Market version, distributed either in 3-packs by Western (as JC contends) or directly to the early comics shops. I contend it was most of Western, and a little of the DM (Western being the major player in the DM in the late 70's.)

 

The myth that there are reprints of these late Bronze books floating around is one that was perpetrated by Overstreet for decades.

 

Common sense alone dictates that. Marvel had no incentive to reprint books that didn't sell out in the first place.

 

Hold on there, cowboy!

 

John Carter 1 DID have a 35 cent variant. Just not the book he's talking about. BTW I know you know this, just making sure others don't make the same mistake.

**Credit where credit is due! I'm stealing all scans from the AMAZINGLY AWESOME StlComics variant board***

 

35 cent variant John Carter 1:

 

Emphasis mine.

 

:whistle:

 

;)

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The level of FAIL in this thread is staggering. doh!

 

Until I came along, that is... :whistle:

 

Just off the top of my head...and I think I'm pretty read in on this area.

 

2) There have been "hoards" of 35 cent variants found. A "hoard" of 35 cent variants is 15. 30. Something like that. There are NOT "big collections" of them out there.

 

Except, of course, the complete and near complete collections that have been put together by Harry, Terry Hall, etc.

 

Right, of course. BTW, it is still stunning to me that Terry was able to finish the 35 cent run, and Harry's two or three books short. A just amazing feat. It would be much much much easier to put together a run of Action Comics 1-900 in slabbed 8.0 or higher than somebody to put together a full run of 35 cent variants in any condition. The Action run would only take enough money.

 

I agree.

 

BUT.

 

I suspect, if you start throwing around Action #1-900 8.0 or better MONEY around, a few more would turn up.

 

But it would take a LOT of money for people to start the earnest, nationwide search.

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Still plenty of dealers at shows sell the price variants as standard editions. The level of expertise here on the boards does not translate to the general back issue dealer, or weekend warrior show dealer.

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Honestly so would I .

 

i'd rather have the SW1 .35 cents variant than a GL 76 in CGC 9.6. :acclaim:

 

the very idea of that preference makes me ill :sick:

 

hm

 

Gold Nintendo World Championships

 

:grin:

 

sigh. not remotely the same thing. nor something I care to own (unloaded the one I owned in like a week).

 

Although, since you mention, I'd certainly far prefer that to this!

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Honestly so would I .

 

i'd rather have the SW1 .35 cents variant than a GL 76 in CGC 9.6. :acclaim:

 

I'd rather have both my eyes gouged out before taking that SW1 over a GL76. I enjoy Star Wars more than the Green Lantern, but valuing the book so highly just due to the front cover price is :screwy:

 

I agree.

 

There are a lot of variant books in the GA and SA out there that are more rare than this one.

 

This just caught the hype bug and it will keep on riding that wave until specific warehouse

finds bring it back down to earth.

 

 

 

There will never be a "warehouse" find of these books. They were distributed for a very specific reason, they were COMPLETELY distributed, they were distributed clandestinely, and most of the collecting world had no idea most of them existed for a decade and a half after they were released.

 

While Star Wars #1 got press right away, that press didn't translate to the rest of the Marvel runs. How many people knew, for example, that there were identical circumstances for #2-4? Nobody!

 

The reason this sells for so much, and has retained its value is because not even the POSSIBILITY that these could be "stashed in a warehouse somewhere" exists.

 

The biggest hoards out there are ones that have been painstakingly...and I mean PAINSTAKINGLY...assembled over the years, most over the last decade and a half. Before eBay and the internet, these were UNCOLLECTABLE.

 

Yes, there is always the possibility that collections will turn up with pristine copies of these books from original owners...but they will be, like most pedigrees, SINGLE copies. No one had any reason to buy multiple copies of these books, ESPECIALLY back in 1976 and 1977. This would be compounded even further if it was determined that the REGULAR copies were placed on, or near, the same racks that these were (though this has never been proven.)

 

So those hoping for a warehouse find, keep hoping.....

 

I think you are wrong, bud. Several years ago, there was a dude that had bought (or had owned for a long time) the stock of an old newsstand. (joe rodrigues?) He had multiples of books that you never see multiples of including charltons and the Marvel Hanna-Barbera books that were only distrubted through newsstands.

 

There is absolutely no reason that someone, in one of the test markets of course, doesn't have a couple of cases of 35 cent Star Wars #1s. Is it likely, maybe not. But it is not the metaphysical certitude that you put it out there to be. Just because they were completely disseminated to distributors (and presumably not returnable to complete your logic) does not mean that there is not a treasure trove of them out there.

 

Waiting for me to discover, I hope.

 

Improbable. You stand better odds of finding a box of 35¢ Flinstones 1 or Scooby Doo 1.

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First thing...

 

Comics distributed to the newsstands in 1976 and 1977 were still distributed "the old way", that is, stringed up like newspapers. There wouldn't be any cases in any event.

 

I know in 1977 some comics left World Color Press in boxes. I have some World Color Press literature that shows this. The comics I got from my neighbors who worked there were bundled in string, but many that were being sent out to distributors went out in boxes.

 

Second thing...

 

These were limited to, according to Sol Brodsky (I think it's Sol, correct me FD if I'm wrong) 1,500 copies each, at least of the Star Wars #1. While it's not a foregone conclusion, it's reasonable to surmise that that was the print run for all of them. They were sent to six distribution cities/test markets throughout the US. That means each center got, at best, 250 copies total. That means that each individual newsstand *may* have gotten 10-20 copies, total, and probably less.

 

World Color Press could print 40,000 comic books in a hour in 1977. 1,500 comics would have been a very quick print and is probably why us townies never saw the variants.

 

I agree. I seriously doubt anyone is sitting on any quantity of these.

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Honestly so would I .

 

i'd rather have the SW1 .35 cents variant than a GL 76 in CGC 9.6. :acclaim:

 

I'd rather have both my eyes gouged out before taking that SW1 over a GL76. I enjoy Star Wars more than the Green Lantern, but valuing the book so highly just due to the front cover price is :screwy:

 

I agree.

 

There are a lot of variant books in the GA and SA out there that are more rare than this one.

 

This just caught the hype bug and it will keep on riding that wave until specific warehouse

finds bring it back down to earth.

 

 

 

There will never be a "warehouse" find of these books. They were distributed for a very specific reason, they were COMPLETELY distributed, they were distributed clandestinely, and most of the collecting world had no idea most of them existed for a decade and a half after they were released.

 

While Star Wars #1 got press right away, that press didn't translate to the rest of the Marvel runs. How many people knew, for example, that there were identical circumstances for #2-4? Nobody!

 

The reason this sells for so much, and has retained its value is because not even the POSSIBILITY that these could be "stashed in a warehouse somewhere" exists.

 

The biggest hoards out there are ones that have been painstakingly...and I mean PAINSTAKINGLY...assembled over the years, most over the last decade and a half. Before eBay and the internet, these were UNCOLLECTABLE.

 

Yes, there is always the possibility that collections will turn up with pristine copies of these books from original owners...but they will be, like most pedigrees, SINGLE copies. No one had any reason to buy multiple copies of these books, ESPECIALLY back in 1976 and 1977. This would be compounded even further if it was determined that the REGULAR copies were placed on, or near, the same racks that these were (though this has never been proven.)

 

So those hoping for a warehouse find, keep hoping.....

 

Not necessarily true. They are out there.

 

The setting: the crappy, run down Diplomat Hotel, NYC, 1978. A dealer on the upstairs balcony had stacks of about 50 each of the following issues. Strange Tales 178 and Star Wars 1. 50 cents each. Clearly distributor returns. I bought 3 copies of the 178. And none of the SW 1, because......it was priced 35 cents and must have been a reprint. By 1986 or so, I knew how bad a mistake I made.

 

These were definitely the true price variant (I was very aware at the time of the Diamond direct distribution variant as well).

 

The fact that these ended up in one place kind of solidifies the theory that many variant copies of books went back to distributors. There's always the chance (a longshot, granted) that someone will show up with a stash straight from a distributor.

 

Don't think it's possible? I once saw 4 long boxes of the 30 cent price variant of Howard the Duck 3.

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