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Archie 1 resto

Started by gadzukes,

102 posts in this topic

gadzukes

gadzukes

Posted
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I bought this Archie 1 about a year and a half ago and was really on the fence about leaving it alone or going for a full resto.

I'm guessing it probably would have graded as a 1.5 with a blue label if I would have sent it in to CGC as it was. Once a month I would take it out of the mylar and look it over. It presented very nicely for a 1.5 but it's flaws kept gnawing at me and I finally decided to send it in to Matt & Kenny.

 

Zeman just sent me some photos today & with his permission I thought I'd share. He told me he's still tweaking a few things on the cover (I'm not sure what he's tweaking because it sure looks great).

 

I know some of you probably think I'm nuts for having the resto done, and I would not have done it if the comic was a 2.0 or better, but since it was very low grade I decided to go for it.

 

What do you think? I'm having them slab it when all the work is done. Any thoughts on a possible grade? Zeman told me the insides look very nice. I believe he mended 1 tear to the 1st wrap and that was basically it for the insides.

 

Please note some really fine detail work Kenny had to do on the back cover. A couple of tiny words had to be recreated, and some super thin green lines in the pages of the "book" of the back cover. Great detail work!

 

Front cover before:

 

Scan_Pic0168_zps3d7d0ab2.jpg

Front cover after

Scan_Pic0170_zps041ae5c7.jpg

 

Back cover before

 

Scan_Pic0169_zps537151b2.jpg

Back cover after

Scan_Pic0171_zps6f28c08b.jpg

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HarryRod

HarryRod

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I would have done the same thing.

I, for one, have ZERO problem with a professionally restored book......who cares what color the label is?

That is a VERY well done resto job and a book that any of us should be proud to have in their collection

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gadzukes

gadzukes

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Yeah, I'm pretty confused on the randomness of Purple Grading. "Slight" books would be easier to grade, but when you get into "Extensive".... Pretty tough. I don't think the restorers spend as much time on interior pages, so the books probably get hammered for their interiors.

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Lost

Lost

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The front cover looked great. Considering a 1.5 recently sold for almost 10,000 I might have left this alone. Now your looking about half that, but its probably not an investment right? It just makes you happier to look at?

 

There should be some type of code among people doing restoration work to save people from themselves.

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gadzukes

gadzukes

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The front cover looked great. Considering a 1.5 recently sold for almost 10,000 I might have left this alone. Now your looking about half that, but its probably not an investment right? It just makes you happier to look at?

 

There should be some type of code among people doing restoration work to save people from themselves.

 

Overall my Archie 1 wasn't as good as the 1.5 that just sold for $10k (although my front cover looked nicer).

 

I disagree with you that I'm going to lose half the value of this comic. I don't know that I've increased the value all that much but I believe my comic could easily sell for $10,000 as it is right now, maybe more. If I ever plan to sell it I have great "before" photos of the comic so buyers can make a very informed decision.

 

I think that sellers of comics with Extensive resto should always have "before" photos ready for the buyers.

 

BTW, a 2.5 copy of this comic with SL resto sold recently for $6600. I think that price was super low (if I could go back in time 6 months and bid on it I would bid at least $8k).

 

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gadzukes

gadzukes

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I thought it looked GREAT before, especially for low grade, but Kenny did another Fantastic job! He's amazing.

 

Enjoy it:)

 

There's always going to be arguments either way. I will say this.... I "enjoyed" it for a year the way it was as a low grade comic. And now I am going to enjoy it seeing it at its full potential. Right after I bought it I had a thought about restoration, but I decided to be patient and wait for a year before I made a final decision. I have no regrets.

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Lost

Lost

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It's cool. I think some boardies are too polite to comment. When you have a character as iconic as Archie and a book as scarce as that, you can throw grade and price guide out the window.

 

I'm also amazed at how many people overvalued their restored books. Don't be another. Accept you sacrificed some fmv for aesthetic appeal regardless of what grade it gets as a restored book. Break the chain!!!

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Spiderphill

Spiderphill

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It's cool. I think some boardies are too polite to comment. When you have a character as iconic as Archie and a book as scarce as that, you can throw grade and price guide out the window.

 

I'm also amazed at how many people overvalued their restored books. Don't be another. Accept you sacrificed some fmv for aesthetic appeal regardless of what grade it gets as a restored book. Break the chain!!!

He didn't sac any FMV. I promise an 8.0 EP with that eye appeal will bring in more than a 1.5 blue.
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Sqeggs

Sqeggs

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It's cool. I think some boardies are too polite to comment. When you have a character as iconic as Archie and a book as scarce as that, you can throw grade and price guide out the window.

 

I'm also amazed at how many people overvalued their restored books. Don't be another. Accept you sacrificed some fmv for aesthetic appeal regardless of what grade it gets as a restored book. Break the chain!!!

He didn't sac any FMV. I promise an 8.0 EP with that eye appeal will bring in more than a 1.5 blue.

 

I'm inclined to agree with this. I think he may come out ahead. Either way, he has a much better presenting book now. (thumbs u

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Spiderphill

Spiderphill

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It's cool. I think some boardies are too polite to comment. When you have a character as iconic as Archie and a book as scarce as that, you can throw grade and price guide out the window.

 

I'm also amazed at how many people overvalued their restored books. Don't be another. Accept you sacrificed some fmv for aesthetic appeal regardless of what grade it gets as a restored book. Break the chain!!!

Scarce GA restored books are rising in price by the day BTW. 10 years from now, when all the blue labels are absorbed and restored hit the market, watch and see.
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Lost

Lost

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I'm sure I'm hearing from the people who own a lot of restored books. Hey it might go for 30,000 for all I know. Not a lot to compare it to. There's always some person with deep pockets who like to throw their money at frankenstein books... I mean restored books...

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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

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It's cool. I think some boardies are too polite to comment. When you have a character as iconic as Archie and a book as scarce as that, you can throw grade and price guide out the window.

 

I'm also amazed at how many people overvalued their restored books. Don't be another. Accept you sacrificed some fmv for aesthetic appeal regardless of what grade it gets as a restored book. Break the chain!!!

 

I don't think he sacrificed fmv. Book looks much, much higher grade and I think it would sell for more. It certainly looks wonderful.

 

I think it was a good choice to restore. Pre-restoration it had some loose pieces on the spine that over time could easily tear off or 'wear' off. The restoration not only makes the book look better, it makes the book safer to handle and helps to conserve the book and prevent handling damage.

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Artboy99

Artboy99

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It's cool. I think some boardies are too polite to comment. When you have a character as iconic as Archie and a book as scarce as that, you can throw grade and price guide out the window.

 

I'm also amazed at how many people overvalued their restored books. Don't be another. Accept you sacrificed some fmv for aesthetic appeal regardless of what grade it gets as a restored book. Break the chain!!!

 

I don't think he sacrificed fmv. Book looks much, much higher grade and I think it would sell for more. It certainly looks wonderful.

 

I think it was a good choice to restore. Pre-restoration it had some loose pieces on the spine that over time could easily tear off or 'wear' off. The restoration not only makes the book look better, it makes the book safer to handle and helps to conserve the book and prevent handling damage.

 

I agree, I can see it getting an EP 9.0 from what I see in the pics. The interior is what will bring it down from that.

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