Toughest Silver Age KEY DCs to find in high grade

[Aman619]

boy, 5K for that book?

sigh - - Im getting old....

[supapimp]

i thought you already were old?

[Aman619]

thanx buddy!

thanx for cheering me up.....

[tth2]

looks like phil wants that book pretty bad, i don't know why the aggressive bidding though with 5 days to go. isn't the seller comicdave a forum member?

 

I'm pretty amazed someone busted the reserve this early out. And yes, comicdave is a forum member, although not very active lately.

[tth2]

Has anyone noticed that the guy who started this thread, Qualitycomix, hasn't made a single posting since? I call that kind of hit and run posting a "JP". Very disappointing Brent, it's not like you. What were you doing, just trying to shill a Jimmy Olson #1 that you're trying to unload?

[Aman619]

[supapimp]

[tth2]

Not trying to start a fight with QC, it's just that I HATE hit and run posting. It is insulting to everyone on these boards. JP's infamous post was the most egregious example, and that egambart guy drives me up a wall, although it appears the rest of the forum has wised up by ignoring him now.

[burntboy]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this on any thread yet. A (minor) key DC for 1961 in NM+ surely books like this aren't supposed to exist?

 

Holy ! A 10 cent DC superhero book in 9.6 is just amazing. White pages to boot. The next highest CGC grade is an 8.5. That 9.6 is a stone-cold freak!

 

i'm with you here man - there aren't supposed to be any (many) 10cent DC's from that era in that shape. and 11x's the 9.2 guide price, so far, suggests the bidders feel the same way

[Comicdave]

looks like phil wants that book pretty bad, i don't know why the aggressive bidding though with 5 days to go. isn't the seller comicdave a forum member?

 

I'm pretty amazed someone busted the reserve this early out. And yes, comicdave is a forum member, although not very active lately.

 

Just because I don't post a lot doesn't mean I'm not active. I still read the forums.

It's just that the only time I get a chance to check out the forum is when I'm at work, so if i get busy I can't always reply to threads.

Plus I don't usually post or reply unless I have something to say. Most of the time when i'm reading through a thread and have something to add there are 4-5 more pages to go, and I don't like to reply to a post from a few pages back.

[tth2]

Nice of you to finally release some of those sweet sweet GLs!

[Comicdave]

Nice of you to finally release some of those sweet sweet GLs!

 

If only my Showcase 22-24 and GLs 1-5 were in as good condition.

[Comicdave]

By the way Tim, do collect anything in less than 9.4 condition? I had up on ebay back in early July a GL 6 and 10 both 9.2 that were highest graded but didn't see any bidding from you. Did you not see them or do you only go for 9.4 and above even though there may not be any currently available? Just wondering.

[comicartfan]

to get back on track about the hard to find DC in high grade, try and find these bad boys :

 

Superman 199 - even in 9.0 or higher

 

Detece 225

 

Batman 181, 155, 189

 

JLA 9, 21, 23, 31

 

Flash 175, 123, 151

 

WW 159

 

GL 40 , 59

 

Brave & Bold 28, 34,

 

Showcase 55, 60

 

Plastic Man 1

 

these are just off the top of my head....i'm sure there are more -

[Jeffreykli]

What about My Greatest Adventure #80?

 

It's got a black cover, and was hard for me to find in nice shape. The census has 3 in 9.6, none in 9.4, 1 in 9.2, and 1 in 9.0, out of 31 submissions.

[tth2]

By the way Tim, do collect anything in less than 9.4 condition? I had up on ebay back in early July a GL 6 and 10 both 9.2 that were highest graded but didn't see any bidding from you. Did you not see them or do you only go for 9.4 and above even though there may not be any currently available? Just wondering.

 

Hi David, yes, I was aware of those auctions and tracked them with great interest. In fact, I pointed them out to another forum member, Burntboy, in a Marketplace thread to help him benchmark the pricing for some 9.2 GLs that he was selling.

 

My priority is for books in 9.4 or above, so I rarely purchase 9.2s or below, even if they're the best known copies, to conserve available funds for the 9.4s and better that come along.

[tth2]

try and find these bad boys :

 

JLA 9, 21

 

Flash 151

 

Gotta disagree with you on these books, which are all relatively common in high grade. JLA 9 in 9.4 has come up on eBay a couple of times, along with numerous 9.2 copies (in fact, there's one on eBay right now). JLA 21 appears in 9.4 regularly, and there's quite a high number of issues in the census, particularly compared to the issues around it. Every hardcore JLA collector I know has a 9.4 copy. Similarly, Flash 151 has come up in 9.6 and 9.4 quite a few times, and there's quite a few issues in the census. This is all relative, of course. Any Marvel that appeared in these kinds of numbers would probably be considered scarce in high grade.

 

The toughest JLA to find in high grade, in my opinion, is #3. I have serious doubts as to whether a 9.4 or better copy will ever appear. I agree with you that Flash 123 is hard to find, but it pales in comparison to just about any Flash below 120.

[tth2]

What about My Greatest Adventure #80?

 

This one is a real head scratcher. There are no less than 3 9.6 copies, and all from pedigrees (Pacific Coast, Curator and Western Penn). I'm not sure I can think of another pre-1964 DC title that exists in 9.6 in that quantity, and ALL of them have come up for public sale in the last few years (in fact, the Curator copy might still be on Mark Wilson's site). So in that respect it's not that hard to find in HG. And yet, these pedigreed copies seem to be some totally weird anomaly, because as you point out, there are not that many other copies in high grade and historically speaking it was never particularly easy to find in high grade.

[rob_react]

By the way Tim, do collect anything in less than 9.4 condition? I had up on ebay back in early July a GL 6 and 10 both 9.2 that were highest graded but didn't see any bidding from you. Did you not see them or do you only go for 9.4 and above even though there may not be any currently available? Just wondering.

 

Hi David, yes, I was aware of those auctions and tracked them with great interest. In fact, I pointed them out to another forum member, Burntboy, in a Marketplace thread to help him benchmark the pricing for some 9.2 GLs that he was selling.

 

My priority is for books in 9.4 or above, so I rarely purchase 9.2s or below, even if they're the best known copies, to conserve available funds for the 9.4s and better that come along.

 

So at least I don't have to worry about YOU with all those sweet, high grade, but not SO high grade Green Lanterns in the new Heritage catalogue? Anyone else that wants to let some of them go by because they're not quite nice enough, feel free... I promise I'll leave the 9.4s alone

[RickHigh]

I’ve been following this thread and decided to add my two-cents worth on some of the hardest to find silver age DC key books. Below is a short list of some books that I’ve found tough to find over the years. I’m not sure if you can call all of them “keys”, but, nonetheless, here goes…

 

Brave & Bold #31. The first appearance of Cave Carson. This short-lived series was DC’s attempt to capitalize on the 1959 movie “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. I think all three B&B’s (31-33) are tough in high grade. Check the census on these books! Slabbed copies are almost non-existent. I’ve been looking for a strict NM copy of #31 for over 15 years!!! The highest graded is a 9.0. The black cover makes this one impossible to find. (PS. Check out the awesome Kubert artwork in B&B#40.)

 

Adventure #300. The Legion of Super Heroes series begins! What a great looking book. That blue cover is awesome and super tough in high grade. Only 3 copies graded 8.5 or above. The LOSH series was always a great read. I just saw an 8.5 copy sell on ebay for around $600.00. Someone got a great deal (IMO). There’s no telling when another high grade copy will appear again for that price.

 

Our Army at War #151. The first appearance of Enemy Ace. Highest graded copy is a 9.2 (only one!). Another sweet Kubert cover, and another black cover also makes this one a butch to find in high grade.

 

Superman #146. Classic cover and Supes origin retold. Great looking book, if you can find it in high grade, that is.

 

OK. I know that I’m stretching the word “key” by listing some of these, but they are all terrific books, and almost impossible to find in high grade.