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If you could trade your entire Comic Book Collection for just one CGC Graded Holy Grail Comic... Would You Do It?

Started by SW3D,

19 posts in this topic

SW3D

SW3D

Posted
Posted

If you could trade your entire Comic Book Collection for just one CGC Graded Holy Grail Comic... Would You Do It? And if so... What would that comic be?

 

Okay, you're probably thinking... "What are you mad?" Trade thousands upon thousands of comic books for just one stinking comic? I don't care if it is just one Holy Grail comic... I just won't do it! Years upon years of collecting all coming down to just one comic! No way!

 

But let's say... hypothetically... if somebody were to ask you that question, would you do it? And if the answer were yes... What graded Holy Grail Comic would you choose?

 

Now before you jump the gun and answer it... let's put down some parameters...

 

The parameters of the trade would be based on:

1. An Even Trade: One CGC Graded Holy Grail Comic Book for Your Entire Comic Book Collection: Strictly comic books, comic magazines, from all ages, graded and ungraded, nothing else (no original comic art, no graphic novels, no books, no posters, no toys, no figurines, etc.).

 

2. The Fair Market Value of Your Entire Comic Book Collection versus the Fair Market Value of One Graded Holy Grail Comic Book.

 

3. The Holy Grail Comic: One CGC Graded Comic Universal Label with White Pages (no Signature, Qualified or Restored Labels), any grade levels from any Age.

 

4. No Refunds or Returns Policy: In other words: It's a Final Deal! You can't change your mind.

 

Okay... now that we got that out of the way...

 

First Question: Would I exactly do it? Would I trade everything for just one thing?

 

The answer is... YES! Why? Probably to finally own a piece of history... real serious history... a coveted Holy Grail! But I would only settle on a high grade: 9.2 and up.

 

Second Question: What is my entire comic book collection really worth?

 

That's a tough one. And it's everything I own both graded and ungraded. And based on this assumption, I need to be practical and conservative and not inflate values and numbers (even though I would like to), because honestly, one really couldn't liquidate an entire collection (unless you had a collection of high grade Golden Age goodies) and expect a buyer to fork over every penny you think it's worth... that's just not going to happen. So I'm thinking in terms of a reasonable, current, fair market value for the entire collection as if a professional would appraise the collection and make an offer on the spot to buy it.

 

So now I have a number/value in my head, and I am going to use that "number/value" and consider a trade for a graded holy grail comic... and this is going to be the tough one. Realistically, my entire collection is not worth a high grade Action Comics #1 or Detective #27. And sadly, it's not worth 9.8 grades of Silver Age goodies like Showcase #4, Amazing Fantasy #15, X-Men #1, Avengers #1, or my favorite: Fantastic Four #1. Lamentably, I have to come down to earth and be very reasonable.

 

But alas, all is not lost. For I reasoned, there is a holy grail comic I could potentially get a trade for, and there winner is ... drumroll please:

 

CGC Graded, Daredevil #1 (1st Appearance of Daredevil/Matt Murdock), at 9.8 with White Pages

 

My alternative would be:

 

Another drum roll please...

 

CGC Graded, Tales of Suspense #39 (1st Appearance of Iron Man/Tony Stark), at 9.4 with White Pages

 

So I ask you dear reader:

 

"Would you trade your entire collection for just one CGC Graded Holy Grail Comic?"

 

And if so...

 

"What would it be?" Include a 1st Choice and a 2nd Choice.

 

I look forward to your thoughts and musings.

 

SW3D

13379.jpg

 

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surfer99

surfer99

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I think if I had been asked this question 7 years ago I would hav jumped on it. Probably would pick an Xmen 1 in 9.4 or something, or maybe a Tales of Suspnse 49 in 9.4. Now though, there is no way I make the trade. Primary reason being it has taken me years to find the books in my collection I have now and those can't be replaced with money because they are just too hard to come by. Great question SW3D, thanks for asking!

 

 

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Lee K

Lee K

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After much thinking in the brain thing, I have come to a conclusion: no.

 

It is just too much the fun part of my life to find and make secure the ones I already have, to trad them for a single book, no matter how cool that book is.

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Shivabali

Shivabali

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I would trade all my comics for a comic that doesn't exist: Amazing Fantasy #15 9.8 signed by Ditko (who doesn't sign). A 9.6 sold in 2011 for $1.1 million. A 9.8 SS would probably go for double that. Let's do it!

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kaholo1256

kaholo1256

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Love these interactive questions.

 

As for me the easy answer for me is no. Mainly because I never got in this with the hopes of ever flipping or pricing. Yeah I own one thing here or there in phenomenal condition but raw and one day it would be awesome to pay to get it graded officially but the FMV Walkthrough actually intimidates me a little.

 

My big thing is for the childhood ones I couldn't possibly trade those away especially since I am looking forward to reading them to my son in about a year and a half from now. I read them with my daughter when she was young but let's face it I don't own any Barbie titles so they didn't hold much of her attention....shes not a big fan of Wolverine...I know wierd huh...

 

If I did have to say yes I wouldn't even know where to start. My grails are much more affordable than most with them being 9.8's of Green Lantern 76, X-Men 12, Batman 232 or 251. I'm more attached to the artists and the characters than the actual financial costs of the book.

 

As for how much, maybe worth college and tuition for my son and daughter at a half decent school if it ever came down to it.

 

K

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Westy Steve

Westy Steve

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Yes, absolutely. I had a friend that started with a room full of comics and kept trading up and trading up until, in the end, he had four comics. But they were super cool and key.

 

He found, and I agreed, that looking at those four comics was better than browsing a room full. And they stored a lot better.

 

I've personally sold off almost all my comics to buy other collectibles. Then I sold off those collectibles and started collecting all over again from ground zero. And I have to say that it has been a lot of fun putting the collection back together and the things I learned the first two times have really helped me zero in on a nicer collection.

 

So, yes...definitely.

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GamingEtc-migration

GamingEtc-migration

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I would do it but for a slightly different reason. To use arbitrary round numbers, let's say my entire collection was worth 100,000 FMV and I could trade it for one book of that value. I would do it because no one will EVER sell an entire collection for full FMV unless you already have nothing but amazing sought after keys. Everyone has a pile of books that make list for 3, 5, 10 dollars here and there but are almost impossible to get money out of and you are either stuck with them because you bought a collection for something specific and have these left over, or they just mean something to you personally and most people wouldn't care, Either way the chance to get full value out of books that in general have no value would be amazing. I don't know about everyone here but I have thousands and thousands of books that would be hard to ever get FMV out of.

 

So anyway, I would make the trade for whatever was of equal value then sell that book and rebuy the part of my collection that I actually really care about and come out with a sweet profit and get rid of a lot of junk. Then I could use that profit to buy something else desireable too.

 

Emotionally, I would no be happy converting my whole collection into one thing. It would be something to attain something unattainable, but I have put a lot of time and effort into what I have and genuinely love my books, especially the ones I've had signed that will someday be truly irreplaceable. Sometimes I pull out and random box and just look through it for no reason and put the lid back on with a smile...I wouldn't be willing to trade that feeling away.

 

I like these line of questions a lot though, keep it up.

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SW3D

SW3D

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Wow... totally dig your way of thinking and approach.

 

Now that I think of it... it would be nice to be able to convert and obtain books that I always desired, keep them for a few years... then upgrade... continously cycling and upgrading the collection. I would probably be very satisfied.

 

I have no issues with letting go of my comics. Although they have great sentimental value, new books will bring new memories... and that's very important.

 

Let's live for the future whilst we enjoy the present!

 

Glad you liked the questions... I am about to launch another "PRESSING DEBATE". No... I'm just kidding. :)

 

I can already feel the slings and arrows getting ready to be hurled at me.

 

SW3D

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RedFury

RedFury

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I actually did this sort of thing a couple of years ago.

 

I decided that my collection was 1) too big and not very manageable 2) unfocused (I was collecting all sorts of stuff) and 3) not very liquid if I needed to sell.

 

The books I enjoyed the most were the keys, so I decided to sell everything and concentrate on those.

 

But what about reading comics? Not a problem. I have 150 volumes each of DC Archives and Marvel Masterworks, plus numerous others to keep me busy for years and years.

 

I had about 25 short boxes of misc gold and silver books. I kept 25 slabs of GA books I really liked and sent the rest to auction.

 

With some of the proceeds I bought a Superman #1 and some other keys, growing my collection to about 40 books. Then I made a trade for a Batman #1 and I'm back down to about 25 books.

 

Superman%25201%2520and%2520Batman%25201.JPG

 

 

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SW3D

SW3D

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Hey RF,

 

Holy SPOON!

 

Damn... you have two holy grails there! My eyes are popping out!

 

Could you tell us more about the other goodies in your collection?

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

SW3D

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Brandon Shepherd

Brandon Shepherd

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I like this question and have enjoyed reading all the responses so far. I studied the guidelines laid out by SW3D and came up with an estimate of the FMV of my CGC and raw collection combined. I thought about what one CGC Universal labeled grail I would choose to equal this FMV, I believe this would get me a beautiful Gaines File Copy in 9.8 grade from the horror genre, mabe one of the early examples. I have yet to read any of the EC Archives but I have always enjoyed the covers, I hope to collect the reprints someday and I have always wanted to own a Gaines File Copy. I believe I could also use this to buy a beautiful Edgar Church/Mile High Action Comics example, provided it is not a WWII cover or one of the early numbers. After taking all of this into consideration, I would have to pass, while I would love to look at my one Gaines File copy in 9.8 grade or my Mile High, I would not be able to help wanting more of them, to have that one small taste and nothing else would be too hard.

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