Thor and the rarity factor 0

[World Devourer]

There are other mid to late SA Thor issues scarce in 9.8.

 

128...one copy

129...zero

133...one

136...zero

138...one

150...one

157...one

167...one

Interesting.

 

I would argue, however, that there is a direct correlation between Thor being the cheapest of the core SA Marvel titles and the lack of 9.8 graded copies.

 

This, sir, is what I am getting at. Repetetive Asgardian sagas and no significant Marvel milestones seems to account for the lack of interest, which in turn meant very little collecting and almost no high-grade issues.

 

Is there anyone here who collected during this period who can offer some valuable insight?

Edited October 17, 2016 by crayoncreative

[Unca Ben]

 

Is there anyone here who collected during this period who can offer some valuable insight?

 

JIM / Thor seemed pretty darn popular when I was a kid.

JIM was the third Marvel superhero book to warrant an annual, after FF & Spidey, if that means anything.

And Thor had his own book, where the rest of the Avengers (Iron Man, Cap, Hulk, Giant-Man) shared stories in the split feature books.

My friends & I considered Thor one of the best Marvel books behind the top two, FF & ASM. TOS was up there, too.

Now, I came from a small town in the south; we weren't connected to any fandom at large, like the northeast fans were able to do - so my perspective is limited by that.

[KirbyJack]

I always thought it was because they got read more.

 

I'm also surprised to hear that Thor is cheaper than comparable year/month issues of Daredevil, Astonish, Avengers, etc. I might be wrong about that though. I usually bought readers.

[namisgr]

I don't believe after 50+ years there are any unslabbed freaks of nature out there, so sadly this is the quota for said issues.

You really need to read the FF 52 thread.

 

And you may also want to read the GL 76 thread in the BA forum.

 

Yes, there are some post-1965 issues that are relatively scarce in 9.8, but they never turn out to be all that scarce once there is some real financial incentive for more copies to appear.

 

Change the 'never' to 'rarely' and I would agree with you. Given that 9.6 copies of FF #51 go for over $5000, it's not for lack of financial incentive that there are no 9.8 slabbed copies after 17 years of CGC being in business - I believe a 9.8 copy would likely fetch $20,000 or more. It's not the only outlier comic, either, as others have pointed out already. Plus, there's more than a handful of early Bronze Age Marvels that have never been graded at 9.8.

Maybe it's just the pressers won't get out of bed for less than $50K anymore.

 

I guarantee that if a buyer who appeared with an ironclad offer of $80K for a FF #51 in 9.8, then one would appear. And probably more would quickly appear after that if it was a public sale.

 

Exactly. It would be a 9.6 submitted to CGC for re-appraisal.

 

Already tried it with the Pacific Coast copy. It stayed a 9.6.

 

The hobby has looked very, very hard for a 9.8 copy of this ish, and in 17 years hasn't uncovered one yet, even from the many SA pedigree collections.

 

[World Devourer]

I don't believe after 50+ years there are any unslabbed freaks of nature out there, so sadly this is the quota for said issues.

You really need to read the FF 52 thread.

 

And you may also want to read the GL 76 thread in the BA forum.

 

Yes, there are some post-1965 issues that are relatively scarce in 9.8, but they never turn out to be all that scarce once there is some real financial incentive for more copies to appear.

 

Change the 'never' to 'rarely' and I would agree with you. Given that 9.6 copies of FF #51 go for over $5000, it's not for lack of financial incentive that there are no 9.8 slabbed copies after 17 years of CGC being in business - I believe a 9.8 copy would likely fetch $20,000 or more. It's not the only outlier comic, either, as others have pointed out already. Plus, there's more than a handful of early Bronze Age Marvels that have never been graded at 9.8.

Maybe it's just the pressers won't get out of bed for less than $50K anymore.

 

I guarantee that if a buyer who appeared with an ironclad offer of $80K for a FF #51 in 9.8, then one would appear. And probably more would quickly appear after that if it was a public sale.

 

Exactly. It would be a 9.6 submitted to CGC for re-appraisal.

 

Already tried it with the Pacific Coast copy. It stayed a 9.6.

 

The hobby has looked very, very hard for a 9.8 copy of this ish, and in 17 years hasn't uncovered one yet, even from the many SA pedigree collections.

 

 

Beautiful copy - and I suspect as good as it will ever get.

Fight you for it.

[paperheart]

There are other mid to late SA Thor issues scarce in 9.8.

 

128...one copy

129...zero

133...one

136...zero

138...one

150...one

157...one

167...one

 

sold it to Doug

 

I didn't realize until checking the census how tough this book was above NM, but am aware of how often the cover is miswrapped front-to-back.

 

yep, mis-wrapped.

 

[World Devourer]

Whoa. That's very obvious.

[jbud73]

I don't believe after 50+ years there are any unslabbed freaks of nature out there, so sadly this is the quota for said issues.

You really need to read the FF 52 thread.

 

And you may also want to read the GL 76 thread in the BA forum.

 

Yes, there are some post-1965 issues that are relatively scarce in 9.8, but they never turn out to be all that scarce once there is some real financial incentive for more copies to appear.

 

Time machine to tth2 circa 2004, 2005, 2006 .........

[Silver Surfer]

I find that people are either big Thor fans or they could careless, there is no in between for some reason. I was always a big Thor fan since I probably was first read Avengers issues in the 160's. From there I remember seeing old JIM's at a big LCS that was filled with early SA books in the late 70's and they were special. Kirby/Lee cranked out so much new quality characters, villains and story lines that have endured to this day.

 

I don't think there is a big hidden cache of these low 9.8 census books but I wouldn't be surprised if some long time collectors are sitting on a few of these.

[World Devourer]

There are other mid to late SA Thor issues scarce in 9.8.

 

128...one copy

129...zero

133...one

136...zero

138...one

150...one

157...one

167...one

 

I did some checking and there is a CGC 10 for 156 (Sept. 1968). Yes, 10.

[tth2]

There are other mid to late SA Thor issues scarce in 9.8.

 

128...one copy

129...zero

133...one

136...zero

138...one

150...one

157...one

167...one

 

I did some checking and there is a CGC 10 for 156 (Sept. 1968). Yes, 10.

I believe Thor 156 was a warehouse find.

[namisgr]

The 10 came out of the Mile High 2 storage locker find. At one time, it was the oldest 10 on record - it may still be so.

[Sqeggs]

The 10 came out of the Mile High 2 storage locker find. At one time, it was the oldest 10 on record - it may still be so.

 

Isn't there a dental promo comic from the late 1940s that's a 10? I think someone posted that one.

[World Devourer]

Does anyone know who owns it?

[namisgr]

Does anyone know who owns it?

 

It sold for 5 grand in 2002. Considering that up until that point a copy of Thor 156 hadn't sold for more than something like $250, it was a remarkable price. There's no record on GPA of it selling since.

[World Devourer]

When it resurfaces I think $10K + is not out of the question.

[tth2]

Does anyone know who owns it?

 

It sold for 5 grand in 2002. Considering that up until that point a copy of Thor 156 hadn't sold for more than something like $250, it was a remarkable price. There's no record on GPA of it selling since.

If I recall correctly, it sold in an auction for some comic-related charitable cause.

[HouseofComics.Com]

The 10 came out of the Mile High 2 storage locker find. At one time, it was the oldest 10 on record - it may still be so.

 

Isn't there a dental promo comic from the late 1940s that's a 10? I think someone posted that one.

 

I believe that's correct. And submitted by Rozanski.

[Knightsofold]

The 10 came out of the Mile High 2 storage locker find. At one time, it was the oldest 10 on record - it may still be so.

 

I didn't know what the Mile High 2 find was, but I think I found it.

Looks like an excellent read! Thanks for mentioning it.

 

http://www.milehighcomics.com/tales/cbg65.html

 

 

[jimjum12]

Chuck has his detractors, but those two page spreads in the comics themselves, with inventory to back it up from this hoard, really gave credibility and impetus to the emerging back issue market in those days.... it really was a stroke of genius....and yet another seized opportunity on his part. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)