Tom Reilly Collection Master List

[BLBcomics-migration]

The largest batch of old comic books i know of which got sold was 600,000 comic books in 1966. There were over a dozen Superman #1 issues in there. This one i will make into an article for paper print purposes. I know all the players who tried to buy it and the ones that succeeded. And have letters documentation while the deal was going down

 

Mile High was NOT the best collection to ever surface.

 

This is amazing and I can't wait to hear about it! Many questions come to mind, but the first is - was this collection compiled second hand, or was it an original owner collection? There was a post the other day about the first printed advertisement for "used comic books" and I believe it was around 1955, so by '66 I would think someone could have put together a pretty sweet collection 2nd-hand.

 

I'll happily wait for the full story, and thanks for joining us!

 

My understanding is it was mainly accumulated in the 1940s and 1950s - and there was very little in the way of 1960s books - which makes it even more mind boggling in the concept. Portions were bought off stands, portions came 2nd hand. Forty years ago that almost makes no difference, in my mind.

 

It sold for like $25,000

 

i first learned of this from a fellow who couldn't raise that kind of money re a bank loan from banks - and he and his partner tried like crazy to get that kind of money back then.

 

With CBM going away as a print concept, i wonder where the best place to place this article would be - any ideas?

 

bob beerbohm

[FFB]

The largest batch of old comic books i know of which got sold was 600,000 comic books in 1966. There were over a dozen Superman #1 issues in there. This one i will make into an article for paper print purposes. I know all the players who tried to buy it and the ones that succeeded. And have letters documentation while the deal was going down

 

Mile High was NOT the best collection to ever surface.

 

This is amazing and I can't wait to hear about it! Many questions come to mind, but the first is - was this collection compiled second hand, or was it an original owner collection? There was a post the other day about the first printed advertisement for "used comic books" and I believe it was around 1955, so by '66 I would think someone could have put together a pretty sweet collection 2nd-hand.

 

I'll happily wait for the full story, and thanks for joining us!

 

My understanding is it was mainly accumulated in the 1940s and 1950s - and there was very little in the way of 1960s books - which makes it even more mind boggling in the concept. Portions were bought off stands, portions came 2nd hand. Forty years ago that almost makes no difference, in my mind.

 

It sold for like $25,000

 

i first learned of this from a fellow who couldn't raise that kind of money re a bank loan from banks - and he and his partner tried like crazy to get that kind of money back then.

 

With CBM going away as a print concept, i wonder where the best place to place this article would be - any ideas?

 

bob beerbohm

 

How about Comic Buyer's Guide? I was not going to renew my subscription because I hate the new magazine format, but I'd definitely buy an issue if it had that story in it.

[ghoulaid]

 

Mitch Mehdy bought from Theo for what he paid for it. That whole story went AP/UPI all over the country. This was early May 1973 by this point.

 

best

 

robert beerbohm

 

Yep ... I still have that article saved that I cut out of the paper and put in a scrapbook. I had been collecting for 8-10 years by that point and was still in high school but I was comic book CRAZY. Welcome to the boards and thanks for your insights! Oh ... My preference would be to see your articles in CBG also. I don't buy any other comic related magazines.

[PedigreeMan]

Bob,

 

What about Alter Ego for your article? I know Roy is more into the history of the creators and stuff, but this may up his alley.

 

For that matter, where are Will Murray et al. going to publish their articles once CBM goes bye-bye as a print publication?

 

Alan

[dam60]

Bob, I too wanted to thank you for sharing your memories and knowledge with us here on these forums. I really love learning about the history of the hobby and different pedigree collections.

 

Regards,

 

Dave

[Thegoldenage]

Welcome to the Boards Bob!

 

Bob and I have spent many hours on the phone talking about the history of comic books. He is one of only a handful of comic book hobbyists who are still active that have a knowledge of the hobby that dates to the early days. Some of the stories he has told me are fascinating.

 

To confirm Bob's account of large collections of Golden Age comics turning up I once had a conversation with Lane Carter at a San Diego Con (I think it was 1999). Lane told me that in the early days of the Con guys would come in with pallet loads of Golden Age comics that had recently turned up. He told me that the Mile High Collection was not the largest collection of comics ever found, nor was it the best, but it was one of the first to be carefully documented and as such, easy to trace.

[fantastic_four]

the Mile High Collection was not the largest collection of comics ever found, nor was it the best

 

I don't doubt that there have been major Golden Age finds besides Mile High, but claims of "better" collections sound like they could be exaggerated. By better are people meaning higher average grades? That's tough to believe without evidence, and without documentation, people's fading memories and exaggerated, looser grading standards from the 60s and 70s could be creating a reality separate from the one we all share...

 

What's so amazing about the Church books is how shockingly many 9.6 and 9.8 books are in it, even by today's standards. Tough to swallow that there were other complete, unread huge collections out there.

[drbanner]

the Mile High Collection was not the largest collection of comics ever found, nor was it the best

 

I don't doubt that there have been major Golden Age finds besides Mile High, but claims of "better" collections sound like they could be exaggerated. By better are people meaning higher average grades? That's tough to believe without evidence, and without documentation, people's fading memories and exaggerated, looser grading standards from the 60s and 70s could be creating a reality separate from the one we all share...

 

What's so amazing about the Church books is how shockingly many 9.6 and 9.8 books are in it, even by today's standards. Tough to swallow that there were other complete, unread huge collections out there.

 

I agree...would be interesting to see the statistics of where the Church copies rank in the census vs. "every other copy that has been graded", which would likely include books from those bigger/better collections.

[rjpb]

By better are people meaning higher average grades? That's tough to believe without evidence, and without documentation, people's fading memories and exaggerated, looser grading standards from the 60s and 70s could be creating a reality separate from the one we all share...

 

Would that be the "all books are in very good to mint condition" reality of circa 1970?

[batman_fan]

I was compiling a list of all the Pedigree collections CGC graded for a while (Got busy in my personal life and dropped it for now). Based on how far I got, the Church books on average had higher grade and higher page quality than any other collection (I tried to keep track of the page quality as well). Of course this list only has books sold in the last 5 or so years that have been CGC graded.

[Larryw7]

the Mile High Collection was not the largest collection of comics ever found, nor was it the best

 

I don't doubt that there have been major Golden Age finds besides Mile High, but claims of "better" collections sound like they could be exaggerated. By better are people meaning higher average grades? That's tough to believe without evidence, and without documentation, people's fading memories and exaggerated, looser grading standards from the 60s and 70s could be creating a reality separate from the one we all share...

 

What's so amazing about the Church books is how shockingly many 9.6 and 9.8 books are in it, even by today's standards. Tough to swallow that there were other complete, unread huge collections out there.

 

In the book COMICS:BETWEEN THE PANELS, Lane's brother Gary talks about how the Mile High/Church books made him reevaluate every book that he thougt was "Mint" in his collection. He said that all of his NM/M books all went down a notch to VF in comparision to the MH's. He even says that the Mile High books made him realize that some of the "orange" cover books in his collection were actually originally deep, rich reds, and the MH's brilliant colors revealed this to him.

 

So I'd say that the MH's had to have been pretty near the top of the heap condition wise when it was discovered for so much reevaluation to have occured because of it.

[Thegoldenage]

don't doubt that there have been major Golden Age finds besides Mile High, but claims of "better" collections sound like they could be exaggerated. By better are people meaning higher average grades? That's tough to believe without evidence, and without documentation, people's fading memories and exaggerated, looser grading standards from the 60s and 70s could be creating a reality separate from the one we all share...

 

What's so amazing about the Church books is how shockingly many 9.6 and 9.8 books are in it, even by today's standards. Tough to swallow that there were other complete, unread huge collections out there.

 

The Mile High collection was certainly one of the better collections found, but not the best. San Francisco's routinely outgrade Mile Highs. (That was reported to me by a Grader at CGC). The Rockford Collection also contained many super high grade comics. A good example is the Rockford More Fun 53, which is the same grade as the Mile High More Fun 53. You have a good point about grading differences between the 70's and today. I guess we will never know for sure since so many collections were found and distributed before any inventory was taken.

[BLBcomics-migration]

 

This huge 600,000 copy collection sold in 1966 i am going to write about evidently had a lot of high grade in it. Notation of providence did not begin until Chuck marketed the Edgar Church books as the "Mile High" collection. There was a LOT of stuff turned up before these EC (as in Edgar Church) books came onto the marketplace. I need to relocate the file folder the 1960s letters are in i have concerning this transation as it was unfolding and begin compiling notes again as well as re-interview those guys i know are still alive. This was a true mother lode.

 

And i do not ever remember ever seeing a browning paper type old comic book in the 1960s - this was a pheom that guys like Bill Sarill and Ernie Gerber told us was soon going to be happening to older pulp comic book paper exposed to any kind of heat. That began happening in the 1970s just like they said.

 

Nowadays, i feel whiteness of paper is way more important than how many spine stress bends any given book might have.

 

and how come a number of you have eBay type names,

which makes it difficult to know who one is communicating with?

 

bob beerbohm

[Timely]

The Mile High collection was certainly one of the better collections found, but not the best. San Francisco's routinely outgrade Mile Highs. (That was reported to me by a Grader at CGC). The Rockford Collection also contained many super high grade comics. A good example is the Rockford More Fun 53, which is the same grade as the Mile High More Fun 53. You have a good point about grading differences between the 70's and today. I guess we will never know for sure since so many collections were found and distributed before any inventory was taken.

 

 

I COMPLETELY disagree. The Mile High collection is the best collection known. There is the occasional Rockford, Pennsylvania, "D" copy, Larson, Allentown, etc... and actually quite a few San Fransisco books that would beat out the Mile High copy on a book by book basis, that is true. But how many of those pedigrees can go head to head with the Mile High run of Action Comics #1-160? Marvel Mystery Comics #1-92? How about a smaller title like Boy Commandos #1-36?

 

I've owned many DC Mile High runs through the years. I have yet to see any run of San Fransisco's (or ANY other pedigree) that came close to what I owned.

 

West

[Forbush-Man]

The Mile High collection was certainly one of the better collections found, but not the best. San Francisco's routinely outgrade Mile Highs. (That was reported to me by a Grader at CGC). The Rockford Collection also contained many super high grade comics. A good example is the Rockford More Fun 53, which is the same grade as the Mile High More Fun 53. You have a good point about grading differences between the 70's and today. I guess we will never know for sure since so many collections were found and distributed before any inventory was taken.

 

 

I COMPLETELY disagree. The Mile High collection is the best collection known. There is the occasional Rockford, Pennsylvania, "D" copy, Larson, Allentown, etc... and actually quite a few San Fransisco books that would beat out the Mile High copy on a book by book basis, that is true. But how many of those pedigrees can go head to head with the Mile High run of Action Comics #1-160? Marvel Mystery Comics #1-92? How about a smaller title like Boy Commandos #1-36?

 

I've owned many DC Mile High runs through the years. I have yet to see any run of San Fransisco's (or ANY other pedigree) that came close to what I owned.

 

West

 

You go, boy!

[rob_react]

The Mile High collection was certainly one of the better collections found, but not the best. San Francisco's routinely outgrade Mile Highs. (That was reported to me by a Grader at CGC). The Rockford Collection also contained many super high grade comics. A good example is the Rockford More Fun 53, which is the same grade as the Mile High More Fun 53. You have a good point about grading differences between the 70's and today. I guess we will never know for sure since so many collections were found and distributed before any inventory was taken.

 

 

I COMPLETELY disagree. The Mile High collection is the best collection known. There is the occasional Rockford, Pennsylvania, "D" copy, Larson, Allentown, etc... and actually quite a few San Fransisco books that would beat out the Mile High copy on a book by book basis, that is true. But how many of those pedigrees can go head to head with the Mile High run of Action Comics #1-160? Marvel Mystery Comics #1-92? How about a smaller title like Boy Commandos #1-36?

 

I've owned many DC Mile High runs through the years. I have yet to see any run of San Fransisco's (or ANY other pedigree) that came close to what I owned.

 

West

 

A rebuttal on a message board is all well and good, but what you really need to do is figure out who the grader at CGC was that told him that "San Francisco's routinely outgrade Mile Highs" and have a special "pedigree death match" in the office.

 

And sell T-Shirts!

[Timely]

The Mile High collection was certainly one of the better collections found, but not the best. San Francisco's routinely outgrade Mile Highs. (That was reported to me by a Grader at CGC). The Rockford Collection also contained many super high grade comics. A good example is the Rockford More Fun 53, which is the same grade as the Mile High More Fun 53. You have a good point about grading differences between the 70's and today. I guess we will never know for sure since so many collections were found and distributed before any inventory was taken.

 

 

I COMPLETELY disagree. The Mile High collection is the best collection known. There is the occasional Rockford, Pennsylvania, "D" copy, Larson, Allentown, etc... and actually quite a few San Fransisco books that would beat out the Mile High copy on a book by book basis, that is true. But how many of those pedigrees can go head to head with the Mile High run of Action Comics #1-160? Marvel Mystery Comics #1-92? How about a smaller title like Boy Commandos #1-36?

 

I've owned many DC Mile High runs through the years. I have yet to see any run of San Fransisco's (or ANY other pedigree) that came close to what I owned.

 

West

 

A rebuttal on a message board is all well and good, but what you really need to do is figure out who the grader at CGC was that told him that "San Francisco's routinely outgrade Mile Highs" and have a special "pedigree death match" in the office.

 

And sell T-Shirts!

 

. Well, everyone has their favorite pedigree. I really do like most of the ones out there. The best book I ever owned IMO was the Allentown copy of Detective Comics #29. Yes it is better than the MH copy...but there would be no contest if you compared the Allentown run of Detective Comics to the MH run of Detective Comics.

 

West

[BLBcomics-migration]

I agree Edgar Church's collection is the best known batch of books to hit the market. And that many of these titles were sold as runs.

 

Thing is, with the Tom Reilly books, soon after we got them, we limited collectors to just TWO copies that could be purchased on any given day (actually week). They were selling too fast back in early 1973 and realized we were going to run out too quickly.

 

This is something John Barrett and i agreed upon trying to figure out how to maximize this collection to make as many collectors happy as possible as well as maintain old comics inventory, because it takes a large nice inventory in many cases to be able to purchase more of the same.

 

(and we were waiting for the 1973 Overstreet to be released -

 

Upshot is, there were no RUNS sold out to anybody, at least not in the 2/3rds plus portion of his collection we ended up with and mercantiled over thirty years ago.

 

Wait till i get the article prepared on this 1966 batch i mention previously - it just might blow the socks off of what one thinks to be the greatest batch of comics ever uncovered.

 

I was going to write this up sometime ago (as well as a number of other essays), but got sidetracked for some years now doing comics archeology in the 1800s once i got my first copy of The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck from 1842. I feel that area has been brought to light enough for me to look-see into other areas of this hobby we all love so much. I view the American comic book history time line to be over 160 years and growing. And the comic strip is hundreds of years old now, invented over in across the Atlantic.

 

 

But back to the topic at hand: I also hope to include a photo or two to show what this collection encompassed - and then one will know that most of this stuff was high grade. And in many multiples of most every comic book published back in the day. This is going to take some time to put together, so some patience is in order - and i am going to ask Roy Thomas to run it in Alter Ego, most likely the best remaining forum for examining older comics legends. He has been asking me to send stuff in, this is a no brainer for me to work on.

 

best

 

robert beerbohm

[Forbush-Man]

But back to the topic at hand: I also hope to include a photo or two to show what this collection encompassed - and then one will know that most of this stuff was high grade. And in many multiples of most every comic book published back in the day. This is going to take some time to put together, so some patience is in order - and i am going to ask Roy Thomas to run it in Alter Ego, most likely the best remaining forum for examining older comics legends. He has been asking me to send stuff in, this is a no brainer for me to work on.

 

I will be so interested to view that post, Bob! I hope it will happen soon!

 

.....and "Thank You so much" for joining this forum! Your posts have been informative and very enlightning! Did the Tom Reilly books have any distinguishing characters? ie: date marks, stamps, ect,....did you mention something about date stamps on the back covers,....can't remember?

 

(hope I spelled everything correctly, I never claimed to be a good speller!)

[Timely]

Many of the books have the stamp "Tom Reilly" on the back cover. Some books have a date stamp on the front cover while others have a hand written date with a "g" or "G"

 

West