What will cold do to collection?

[AstuteObservation-migratio]

He freeze wrapped every comic. They were sealed individually in an airtight bag with most of the air removed..

 

I couldn't remember if it was every comic or if he just wrapped each box. Every comic makes sense, but good lord, that seems like a TON of work.

 

Not only does it sound like a ton of work, but it also sounds like a ton of wasted money. Can you imagine his power bill? Why would he waste all that money on a freezer that he doesn't need to be running? He could easily use it as storage without power running. We did that at a restaurant I used to work for when the thing went belly up. It cost a fortune to remove the old walk in so we just turned it into dry storage.

 

He has a website, click on the "Time Capsule Comix" link on the left: http://biccomix.com/ It's hard for me to take him seriously since he's such a huckster, but it seems some in this thread have had some good results.

 

"When these comics were published, RJ was busy running a booth at a Detroit convention. Being too busy to shop, he found a number of children who would fetch various comics from quarter bins and bring them to him. Some of these comics were sealed in Mylar and bagged again in vacuum bags . These were quite nice, so RJ ended up hunting up the source and buying out the dealer who had over 1000 of these rare gems. The dealer explained that the sealed items had come from an eccentric collector who had encased everything in this unusual manner.

 

Unusual indeed! Sealing brand new cherry picked books back in the early 80's. The dealer was upset that he might need to unwrap these gems only to try to sell them for a mere quarter. We didn't want to unwrap these either!

 

We kept these in frozen storage for over two decades, have de-thawed, a few of these and are now ready to make a few of these available. *

 

Here we are nearly 25 years later and now we have opened our vault and will make these available to collectors who can appreciate such a silly eccentric concept. No certification for us as these are just too nice to be unwrapped, re-bagged, packaged, shipped, handled by office personnel, handled by graders, etc. All this activity can only damage these gems. This is your opp. to get them unhandled direct as they were sold to RJ two decades ago. Look for more of these from time to time.

 

What you see is what you get! No guarantee of anything as these are sealed. It's possible that a coupon could be cut, a page missing etc. ( worse case scenario) There has been no way to examine these gems and no reason to break the seals. Buyers should examine the photo and base your bid upon its appearance and bid accordingly. No refund for any reason. ( other than damaged in shipment and then insurance will pay for damage)( an unlikely event).

 

RJ 's feeling is that these should never be unsealed. Doing so could only deteriorate the beauty and violate the integrity of the concept. It is hoped that only true collectors will bid for these and give these a new home where they will be appreciated for what the are; a true and rare collector's item of unusual beauty.

 

More ...

 

Many questions have been arriving since we have been advertising that our comics have been frozen for the last 25 years. The original article that inspired this process has been found in the 1981 12th Overstreet guide authored by Ernest W. Gerber P.E. and Richard D. Smith PhD, P.E. There is a lot of scientific discussion about PH , acidity, humidity and alkaline buffers, etc. and is the reason for the following statements.

 

" Keep Cool. The rate at which paper deteriorates doubles each time the temperature increases 10 degrees F . For example , the rate of deterioration at 85 degrees is 8 times faster than the rate at 55 degrees F."

 

This meant that leaving comics in an unheated warehouse in a Michigan climate would be better than storing them inside at 70 degree temps. The average temp in our situation is 20 degrees F. It varies greatly like any climate, however our storage in summer temps is always 10-20 degrees colder than outside temps. IF summer temps begin to climb we often move items to air conditioned environment.

 

Most collectors store comics in their homes at 70 degrees F. all year round. Compare this to 20 degrees F. average and the difference is our comics will have aged 32 times slower.

 

A dramatic graph in the article shows that average storage conditions result in yellowing to begin in 15 years, brown in 35 years and brittle in 40 years. Storage in Mylar improves the process with yellowing in 55 years and brittle in 100 years. There was no study or information in the graph to indicate dramatic lowering of temps and the use of Mylar, however one could presume that this would greatly extend the life of paper. Without studies and assuming the "AVERAGE STORAGE CONDITIONS" were 70 degrees F. it would not be out of line to say that our collection of comics would have 32 times the life expectancy of normal, or yellow in 1,760 and brittle in 3,200 years.

 

Since we pull these comics and sell'm after 20-25 years, the optimum storage conditions end and average deterioration begins. Comics are simply going to last 20-25 years longer than nearly all other comics. In 100 years nearly all 70's comics will be brown brittle and nearly dust while our comics will stand out as survivors in the yellow stage. In the event that collectors continued our cold storage program , comics would continue to survive for many generations well up to the year 5203. If estimated temps were adjusted to frige temps , of 40 degrees F. not 20 degrees, comics would begin to disintegrate in 2828 surviving a mere 725 years beyond all others.

 

When you make a purchase, should you store these in the frige? R.J. thinks so if you really want your surviving great great grand children to reap the benefits. One can only ask, "What will the value of a handful of surviving collectibles be in the year 2525? "

 

Other thoughts come to mind here too. If one were to purchase collections of 30 year old comics from bankrupt comic book stores, would you be better to make the purchase in Florida or Alaska? IF you had a summer cottage, would you be better off storing your comics there or at your own home. Attic or basement with dehumidifier?

 

rj

 

We have TIME CAPSULE comics in almost every title. If you are interested at all in TIME CAPSULE COMICS and want to see a title listed, please write so we can begin listing the titles of interest to you. It will take years to list everything. We just want to begin with titles of interest. This page not 100% up to date, however most items are available. Prices also not guaranteed. Most will be the same or slightly higher. Overstreet guide 9.2 prices is used for most."

 

 

[nmtg9]

Thanks for all the responses.

 

Kev, security shouldn't be a problem, its pretty quiet around here, and there are more attractive things to steak if they broke into the house.

 

When I get around to this project next year I will post pics, but the wife wants a new floor in the kitchen and dining room first.

[Stryfe1000]

Thanks for all the responses.

 

Kev, security shouldn't be a problem, its pretty quiet around here, and there are more attractive things to steak if they broke into the house.

 

When I get around to this project next year I will post pics, but the wife wants a new floor in the kitchen and dining room first.

 

Neil,

 

I'd started doing something very similar. Separated the garage in half. Replaced the window with a double glazed unit in the "Man-Cave" section and then used Kingspan panels to create an interior, insulated shell. Added a thick interior door between the two halves of the garage and was just about to insulate the ceiling, then we decided to sell the house for something bigger.

 

Hoping that I'll have a proper comic room in my next place

[chrisco37]

Another thing to consider is that taking a cold book and then putting it into a warmer or humid environment is going to cause condensation on the book, much like it would on a glass with ice in it.

 

Reynold Jay is a dealer who owns a building that was formerly an ice cream parlor, and he stores comics in the walk-in freezer they had. He says he wrapped them somehow so that condensation formed on the plastic and not directly on the books, but I forget how he did it exactly. Aside from not keeping the books at a stable temperature, condensation would be the major concern if the temperature gets below freezing.

 

He freeze wrapped every comic. They were sealed individually in an airtight bag with most of the air removed..

 

I bought several of his books and they were spectacular but I'm guessing most people won't go to those lengths to store their books.

 

 

Yep. He was also one of the pioneers of the C&P game. He was offering his CGC Prep service way back in 2002.