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CGC Comic Slabs sealed at corners with glue?
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Started by skeltner,

21 posts in this topic

skeltner

skeltner

Posted
Posted

Hi guys!

I'm totally new to collecting comics, and bought some of the 70's Star Wars comics.  I got one from one seller, and 3 from another.  All of them when under a jewler's loupe show what maybe glue or melted plastic barely peeking out of the seam around the corners where the posts are.  Whatever it is looks almost to be made from the same plastic as the slab.  The fact I'm seeing this on all of them, and from two different sellers, I'm assuming this is from when CGC sealed the comics?  They're all the type you can slide the paper into the sides if you wanted to. 

Does anyone know what I'm seeing, that could tell me what CGC did here to glue/adhere the corners together? I'm curious to understand how they accomplished this, which would help advise what I'd see if someone actually had cracked the cases.  The first one I saw gave me a start, until I saw it on all of them. :)

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skeltner

skeltner

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Hey jools@jim!

I would, but honestly I only spotted it because I was inspecting a tiny crack on the oldest slab under a jewler's loupe to see if I could tell if it was a minor crack or a sign of tampering.  The crack is small doesn't look to go into the post, so I'm not concerned about it.  I think it might have gotten knocked on the corner.  In any case, I don't have camera equipment that could photograph under the needed magnification to show it or I would certainly post a photo for you.  And again, I see it on all 4 comics.

Edited by skeltner
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skeltner

skeltner

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I manged to get a photo!  I see something like this, in some fashion, on all 4 of the comics I got.  This one is from the seller I only bought one comic from.  A really well cared for slab.  Looks like either glue or melted plastic sneaking out of the corner, my guess is from when CGC put the comic in the slab and sealed the corners?  Do they glue the posts in?

 

 

comiccorner.jpg

Edited by skeltner
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paperheart

paperheart

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34 minutes ago, skeltner said:

I manged to get a photo!  I see something like this, in some fashion, on all 4 of the comics I got.  This one is from the seller I only bought one comic from.  A really well cared for slab.  Looks like either glue or melted plastic sneaking out of the corner, my guess is from when CGC put the comic in the slab and sealed the corners?  Do they glue the posts in?

 

 

comiccorner.jpg

i can only imagine what lizard's going to have to say about this...

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skeltner

skeltner

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4 minutes ago, paperheart said:

i can only imagine what lizard's going to have to say about this...

Well, what do you have to say about it? I don't know what I'm looking at which is why I came to this place.  I've got 4 comics from 2 different sellers on opposite sides of the country that have this same "feature" to a degree.  You guys are the experts, I'm just here to learn and hopefully not regret a purchase.

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Larryw7

Larryw7

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9 minutes ago, paperheart said:

i can only imagine what lizard's going to have to say about this...

Lizards will be thrilled because it means he can crack books out of the slab easier.

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skeltner

skeltner

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I'm starting to feel like you guys know something but are letting me get set up for a nice "look at the dumb newbie" moment.  :$

All of the comic's numbers come up in the CGC system, though I guess that can be faked.  The comics themselves seem appropriately graded and look authentic.  They're in the heat sealed inner wells.  I'd love to hear what I'm missing here though.

EDIT: Adding some more photos, including the corner with the small vertical crack that started this all (first image below).  These are the same thing, from the 3 other comics.  Again, that clear plastic look that matches the case.

comic2.thumb.jpg.2b64df28064e6eb0f6ae26e8ffa7b34c.jpgcomic4.jpg.bda53b47ef532197b287614a61421be3.jpgcomic3.thumb.jpg.130b56413aea014307e2085460bdd365.jpg

Edited by skeltner
adding photos
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kav

kav

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4 minutes ago, skeltner said:

I'm starting to feel like you guys know something but are letting me get set up for a nice "look at the dumb newbie" moment.  :$

dang.  Ok i dont know much about slabs but since no one's giving any useful info I dont like the looks of this-it looks like it was glued back together which I can think of some bad reasons for doing that.

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AJD

AJD

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I don't think the slabs are heat sealed - I think they are ultrasound welded. The corner posts are push fits, but in such a way that you can't pull them out again without breaking them. The fact that yours looks intact makes me think you have nothing to worry about. I pulled a few of my slabs out to look, but I don't seem to have any of the 'glue' effects. (BTW, it doesn't look like glue to me, it looks like melted plastic, so probably just part of the sealing process.) 2c

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Turtle

Turtle

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7 hours ago, AJD said:

I don't think the slabs are heat sealed - I think they are ultrasound welded. The corner posts are push fits, but in such a way that you can't pull them out again without breaking them. The fact that yours looks intact makes me think you have nothing to worry about. I pulled a few of my slabs out to look, but I don't seem to have any of the 'glue' effects. (BTW, it doesn't look like glue to me, it looks like melted plastic, so probably just part of the sealing process.) 2c

I agree with this.  I don't see anything out of the ordinary.  Tiny imperfections in the plastic around the seams are pretty common. 

I once used superglue on an empty CGC case I just cracked just to see if 1) if it would actually work and 2) what it would look like.  Maybe I used the wrong glue, but it didn't hold together very well and the whole area turned very cloudy and noticeable. 

I think you're fine.

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lizards2

lizards2

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8 hours ago, paperheart said:

i can only imagine what lizard's going to have to say about this...

(shrug) I wasn't going to enter the fray here, but I have plenty of slabs I could compare with, as do you.

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lizards2

lizards2

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8 hours ago, skeltner said:
8 hours ago, paperheart said:

i can only imagine what lizard's going to have to say about this...

Well, what do you have to say about it? I don't know what I'm looking at which is why I came to this place.  I've got 4 comics from 2 different sellers on opposite sides of the country that have this same "feature" to a degree.  You guys are the experts, I'm just here to learn and hopefully not regret a purchase.

I think you answered your own question.

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lizards2

lizards2

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8 hours ago, Larryw7 said:
8 hours ago, paperheart said:

i can only imagine what lizard's going to have to say about this...

Lizards will be thrilled because it means he can crack books out of the slab easier.

Man, I do hate the new slabs.  The screwdriver method makes getting them out way easier, but they are still a pain in the you know where anyway. 

If I was smart, I'd be wearing leather gloves and safety glasses when I pop those suckers open, as usually there are shards flying everywhere. :p

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lizards2

lizards2

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8 hours ago, skeltner said:

 The comics themselves seem appropriately graded and look authentic.  


 

The inner and outer wells hide lots of defects in your "not obviously gift-graded books".  Actual grades are often impossible to determine while the book is still encapsulated.

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lizards2

lizards2

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7 hours ago, kav said:
8 hours ago, skeltner said:

I'm starting to feel like you guys know something but are letting me get set up for a nice "look at the dumb newbie" moment.  :$

dang.  Ok i dont know much about slabs but since no one's giving any useful info I dont like the looks of this-it looks like it was glued back together which I can think of some bad reasons for doing that.

I can too, but there would be more to some kind of fraud than glue on a post - you need to break at least two to get into the inner well to do anything. The labels or books would need to be switched, etc., and depending on the version of the case, that would likely be pretty tough without some obvious tampering with the inner well label area. 

Do you have any other ideas?   I'm just trying to think.  I have broken out  and cut open hundreds of all the outer well / inner well versions, and I would think fraud would be pretty tough and very obvious.  Maybe if you had a sonic unwelder it would be less invasive, if such a thing exists.  And the version of the case relates to how easy it would be to tamper with.

Any other ideas?  I know there has allegedly been some fraud with switching labels, but again, I think it would be very obvious.

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lizards2

lizards2

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skeltner is new so limited to 5 posts a day, and can't post any more - he sent me a pm.

I looked at several of my in stock slabs, and many of the old to newer ones have that oozy-glue effect.  The new/new (clear, heavy, deeply ribbed) cases don't seem to have it.

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entalmighty1

entalmighty1

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23 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

skeltner is new so limited to 5 posts a day, and can't post any more - he sent me a pm.

I looked at several of my in stock slabs, and many of the old to newer ones have that oozy-glue effect.  The new/new (clear, heavy, deeply ribbed) cases don't seem to have it.

Doesn't look out of the ordinary to me.  I know I've seen many like this before.  I don't think there's anything to worry about here.

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