I don't know the definition of rare anymore.

[eccomic]

Jolly is not an ashcan, but another weird hybrid book that in all likelihood is a remander strip reprint book, like Famous Funnies, that did not sell and was wrapped up in a strange cover. Rare yes, but price is hyper-inflated. Al Stotz of basement comics has similar books and they can be had for as little as $300.00

[ciorac]

Ciorac, based on your criteria, virtually any Centaur comic is the best mainstream comic to collect. I don't have any ashcans but I just love owning something that hardly nobody has. It is of no joy to me to own all the popular Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman comics. I also try and collect rare comics that other people would find interesting if I decide to sell them later. You can collect something with no demand that no one has ever seen but if it has a cool cover or story or is historically important, people will get excited about it.

 

I hear you. There are a couple of Centaurs that I would like to own.

 

But, unlike you, I find no joy at all for me in owning something that really isn't a comic. That's why I haven't went for the items listed in my original query to you.

 

I do, however, love the really early 1930s comics, as they are tough to find, not too expensive (for the most part, with some notable exceptions) and link directly to the history and continuity that led me to comics in the first place

 

I also don't collect foreign editions

[BOOT]

I am deeply insulted on what is called rare these days. I regularly call out people on Ebay.

Ah, Bo, let the hucksters have their fun!

 

Comic collecting is one of the only fields of collecting where knowledge can still give you an edge. There is a matrix of desirability, availability, and price. Truly rare comic books can still be had for relatively bargain prices.

 

The development of American comic books from the 1850s to the 1950s was an historic explosion of colorful mass communication. Thousands and thousands of titles were produced, many of which have still never been documented in any reference or history. What other field presents the opportunity to own truly rare, perhaps even unique items?

 

You can hunt down higher grade copies of popular superhero comics, you can get reading copies of common oddball comics, you can try to find previously unknown rarities, and every flavor in between.

 

Unlike many other fields of collecting, the rarity of a comic book does not always mean a higher price. Is this a drawback or an opportunity? While high grade "blue chip" mainstream books may show steady incremental growth, are unknown rarities like penny stocks, with the possibility of explosive gains? Does it matter? Is financial gain the issue, or reading, or the thrill of discovery? Why do you collect comic books after all?

 

[jimbo_707]

Bo ( or any Boardies that can verify this) PGC mint listed a copy of Jolly Comics 1 on eBay listing it as the 'rarest comic on Earth'. Any truth to this?

"PGC mint" and "truth" don't belong in the same paragraph.

[MrBedrock]

Bo ( or any Boardies that can verify this) PGC mint listed a copy of Jolly Comics 1 on eBay listing it as the 'rarest comic on Earth'. Any truth to this?

"PGC mint" and "truth" don't belong in the same paragraph.

[fifties]

Bo ( or any Boardies that can verify this) PGC mint listed a copy of Jolly Comics 1 on eBay listing it as the 'rarest comic on Earth'. Any truth to this?

"PGC mint" and "truth" don't belong in the same paragraph.

CGC isn't much better, grading comics with brittle pages as high as 3.5...

[OtherEric]

Two Faces of Communism CGC 9.0

 

 

Is this one actually hard to find, or is it just that it's rare in grade? My copy is missing a largish chunk out of the lower right corner of the front cover, but I figured it was worth the $5 or so I paid for it last year as something interesting to read...

[H0RR0RSH0W]

It would appear that the OP of this thread simply has a high standard of what should be called rare. Within reason peoples definition is going to vary and there ought to be some tolerance for that. They are synonymous.

 

If the word rare sets off flags then perhaps it might suffice to say that an item is "uncommon" instead. It seems to me that the relevance to comic book collecting is that desirability needs to be factored in. I mean what about books that once existed in high numbers but over time have become rare because many have been destroyed?

 

rare

 

adjective, rarer, rarest.

1. coming or occurring far apart in time; unusual; uncommon: a rare disease; His visits are rare occasions.

2. thinly distributed over an area; few and widely separated: Lighthouses are rare on that part of the coast.

3. having the component parts not closely compacted together; not dense: rare gases; lightheaded from the rare mountain air.

4. unusually great: a rare display of courage.

5. unusually excellent; admirable; fine: She showed rare tact in inviting them.

 

 

scarce

 

adjective, scarcer, scarcest.

1. insufficient to satisfy the need or demand; not abundant: Meat and butter were scarce during the war.

2. seldom met with; rare: a scarce book.

 

 

uncommon

 

adjective, uncommoner, uncommonest.

1. not common; unusual; rare: an uncommon word.

2. unusual in amount or degree; above the ordinary: an uncommon amount of mail.

3. exceptional; remarkable.

 

According to the dictionary definition, the part that disqualifies most peoples opinion is that items are far apart in time or widely separated. If I am catching the drift it is that something is only rare if it is genuinely one of a kind or there about. For example rare is uncommon but uncommon is not necessarily rare.

 

[G.A.tor]

there is rare, and then there is rarely offered or sale... the two are not always one in the same...

[G.A.tor]

Ciorac, based on your criteria, virtually any Centaur comic is the best mainstream comic to collect. I don't have any ashcans but I just love owning something that hardly nobody has. It is of no joy to me to own all the popular Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman comics. I also try and collect rare comics that other people would find interesting if I decide to sell them later. You can collect something with no demand that no one has ever seen but if it has a cool cover or story or is historically important, people will get excited about it.

 

centaurs suck...NO one should collect or even want to collect them!

[DR.X]

centaurs suck...NO one should collect or even want to collect them!

 

greggy collects them.

[Bo_Hogg]

@gator

[Bo_Hogg]

Basically, eccomic, BOOT, and esquirecomics are my heroes on here. A lot of their stuff is better than mine. We all love the same stuff.

[Artboy99]

There are many ways one can use the word rare. Being one of a kind, or one of only a few definitely makes something rare. Another aspect to it is the book may not necessarily be rare in quantity but it is in quality, and add on top of that how often it is offered for sale.

An example I can give is Planet Comics #15.

Rare? Perhaps considered as such by most collectors yet in the single year I was looking for a copy I found more than 10 available. Being able to find a copy for sale almost every month of a year tells me the book isn't necessarily rare as I am sure there are additional copies in collections not being offered for sale.

How many of those 10 copies I found for sale had brittle pages? 9. Could I then say that Planet Comics 15 is rare in decent page quality?

What about overall grade of the book, and I can say Planet Comics 15 is also rare in grade above 5.0.

How often is the book offered for sale in a grade above 5.0 with decent page quality?

These examples should also be factored when considering rarity in my opinion.

 

[Sqeggs]

Jolly is not an ashcan, but another weird hybrid book that in all likelihood is a remander strip reprint book, like Famous Funnies, that did not sell and was wrapped up in a strange cover. Rare yes, but price is hyper-inflated. Al Stotz of basement comics has similar books and they can be had for as little as $300.00

 

That makes sense. The listing mentions the FF interior.

[Sqeggs]

there is rare, and then there is rarely offered or sale... the two are not always one in the same...

 

There is rare, there is rarely offered for sale, and there is rarely offered for sale at a price I can pay.

 

That last category isn't rare.

[G.A.tor]

I've had the pleasure of seeing a lot of boots and esquires stuff

Very awesome

[fifties]

If I am catching the drift it is that something is only rare if it is genuinely one of a kind or there about. For example rare is uncommon but uncommon is not necessarily rare.

Technically, if an item is one of a kind, it's considered unique, as opposed to rare.

 

Personally I would consider a comic rare if I only saw it come up on eBay maybe once every 5-10 years or so, but that's just my opinion.

[sfcityduck]

It would appear that the OP of this thread simply has a high standard of what should be called rare. ... If I am catching the drift it is that something is only rare if it is genuinely one of a kind or there about. For example rare is uncommon but uncommon is not necessarily rare.

 

I don't think you've got Bo's point at all. He's lambasting people for calling common, but desirable, books "rare." Such as ASM 1. He's also lambasting people for using the term "rare" as mere puffery.

 

Bo knows what a truly "rare" book is. That's what he searches out. He posted in response to my finding "The Nightingale":

 

That is like freakin incredible!!!!!!!!!!!! That is one of the rarest comics in the world. I have been looking for that forever. Much praise to you!!!!!!!!!

 

That's a book with 6 or so known copies, only two in the hands of collectors (other four in institutions). That's a book I call "very rare," "extremely rare" even. Bo would call MPFW No. 1, about 10 known copies, "rare." He'd call a LOT of books "rare" where there are over 10 copies and it comes up for sale every once in a while. He's not crazy. He's just pissed at the puffery.

[Sqeggs]

I've had the pleasure of seeing a lot of boots and esquires stuff

Very awesome

 

Sounds like a British pub.