Archie UK Price Variants 5 5

[rakehell]

Morning Darlene.

These two are up on eBay UK -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203694882969

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203694893858

They're both just outside my preferred price point (for pence price product), or I'd be keeping quiet & hoping you didn't notice them.

Or are they yours & you're selling some of your doubles?

Enquiring minds & all that...

Still, they're the first I've seen in many many moons. 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/15/2021 at 9:34 AM, rakehell said:

Morning Darlene.

These two are up on eBay UK -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203694882969

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203694893858

They're both just outside my preferred price point (for pence price product), or I'd be keeping quiet & hoping you didn't notice them.

Or are they yours & you're selling some of your doubles?

Enquiring minds & all that...

Still, they're the first I've seen in many many moons. 

 

I messaged the seller to see if they had any more two days ago, but no response. I have these two already - if the staples weren't rusty, I'd have a go, but they're there for the taking. 

PM me with any more news Matilda (and vice versa) - no point alerting the competition, eh. 

[rakehell]

On 11/15/2021 at 9:37 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

PM me with any more news Matilda (and vice versa) - no point alerting the competition, eh.

Ah. Good point. Will do. 

Though don't hold your breath. These are the first I've seen for probably over a year.

Off to do work now. Sigh...

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/15/2021 at 9:41 AM, rakehell said:

Ah. Good point. Will do. 

Though don't hold your breath. These are the first I've seen for probably over a year.

Off to do work now. Sigh...

It gets you out of the house though, doesn't it. Have fun 

[Get Marwood & I]

I tried to add something to my Archie UKPV journal page earlier today and managed to sod it up somehow. It now has 'next page' links which I can't seem to get rid of. That'll teach me to tinker. Anyway, regular readers of this thread Rakehell will know that Archie #108 is not only the sole March cover dated Archie UK Price Variant, but also the earliest cover dated UKPV of any of the seven known publishers.

Here she be, with her weirdy 9d font price:

I did a quick assessment of the 'on sale' / LOC dates on Mike's Comic Newsstand for the other March dated Archie's (excluding the non-UKPV 25c issues) and here are the results:

Tells a story, doesn't it.

I have a fun Archie UKPV story coming up soon, if you can bear the excitement. Just waiting for Pat to deliver something...... 

[rakehell]

On 7/18/2022 at 2:34 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Here she be, with her weirdy 9d font price:

Nice one Lucille! Never seen one before. I love that it has an odd font for the ppp (pence price point, don'tyouknow). 

On 7/18/2022 at 2:34 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

I have a fun Archie UKPV story coming up soon, if you can bear the excitement.

I'll try to contain myself, but I ain't makin' any promises. 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/20/2022 at 9:39 AM, rakehell said:

Nice one Lucille! Never seen one before. I love that it has an odd font for the ppp (pence price point, don'tyouknow). 

Yes, I refer to the technical term for that in my post: weirdy.

On 7/20/2022 at 9:39 AM, rakehell said:

I'll try to contain myself, but I ain't makin' any promises. 

It's actually quite a good one. You'll like it as you know the first bit already from our old PM discussions....

[rakehell]

On 7/20/2022 at 9:51 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

weirdy

Saw dat. And don't call me Weirdy.

On 7/20/2022 at 9:51 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

You'll like it as you know the first bit already from our old PM discussions....

Edited July 20, 2022 by rakehell

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/20/2022 at 9:57 AM, rakehell said:

Saw dat. And don't call me Weirdy.

  that, Petunia.

While we're waiting for Pat, I picked up this 10c copy for comparison to its 9d cousin:

 

Aint never seen s' much distribution ink in moi loife.

And it looks like a double cover too, doesn't it.

Spooky effect. 

I'm going to do a post on The Fly too soon. Only the one UKPV, but lots of nice T&P distribution copies in the run:

 

Nearly a full set, in fact 

Shame there isn't a pence copy of this one:

I bought it anyway.

"I should think so too" 

 

[rakehell]

On 7/20/2022 at 10:20 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

While we're waiting for Pat, I picked up this 10c copy for comparison to its 9d cousin:

That's lovely. 

On 7/20/2022 at 10:20 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

And it looks like a double cover too, doesn't it.

I thought that was just your two copies stacked. 

On 7/20/2022 at 10:20 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

I'm going to do a post on The Fly too soon. Only the one UKPV, but lots of nice T&P distribution copies in the run:

On 7/20/2022 at 10:20 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Shame there isn't a pence copy of this one:

Instantly my favourite Archie cover. Never seen that one before. 

[Get Marwood & I]

So, where was I.

@rakehell

About a year ago, I spotted a lot of comics listed online by an auction house not too far away from me in Chesham. The lot had a couple of Charlton pence copies that I wanted, a few Dells but also a copy of Katy Keene #52 which, whilst obscured in the image, could have been the elusive pence copy I had been seeking since I started this thread four years ago:

Trouble is, the lot also had a couple of Marvel keys so I knew it would go high if any comic bods spotted it. 

I decided to pop along for the hell of it, and calculated my highest price on the train ride there (what I would pay for the books I wanted plus what I'd maybe get by selling off the Marvel keys).

When I got there, I found the pile just sitting on a shelf, had a look through, and there she was in all her 9d glory. I sneaked this picture:

 

Even though it's 'just an Archie', proper comic enthusiasts will know what it's like when you find that comic that you've been looking for for years. The thrill is just wonderful and my heart raced a little as I pondered bidding, winning and taking her home along with her Charlton and Dell pence mates. Who'd have thought that a grown man could get that excited about a Katy Keene comic, 60 plus years after it was published?

Anyway, the lot was midway through the auction so I registered, found a nice old seat (which turned out to be one of the auction lots ) and waited while books, paintings, furniture and bric a brac failed to set the place alight. About a hundred lots in, the dealers and regulars are looking at me with that 'novice' look on their faces, wondering who I am and why I'm there. Then the comic lot comes up. At this point, no lot has gone over a hundred quid. There's internet bidding and the comic lot opens at a few hundred to audible gasps. They're not used to comics, I thought, crossing my fingers. The online bidding gets to about £500 then stops. The auctioneer is a little flabbergasted and asks if that's it. I raise my number and suddenly I'm the most important person in the room. And clearly the only comic person there in person. Am I going to win.....? The pulses race. 

A bag of sand later, and I've lost even after bidding way more than I intended. Drat.

I say drat, I was gutted.

I pop over to the payment booth and ask the chap if he would give my number to the winning bidder, telling him I'm interested in the non-Marvels. I never hear from him.

Fast forward a year to last week, and I see a few Charlton pence copies online that I'm after. Then a few Dells. Familiar, they are. I dig out the photo from the Chesham auction and, sure enough, they're the books from that lot. So I drop the seller a line - any chance you have a Katy Keene #52 with those books you've just listed? He's a little evasive at first, but then comes back and says no. I tell him that's a shame, thank him for looking, and mention what I was prepared to pay for it. The next day, I get this message from him:

Once again, the pulses are racing.

So, I make the deal, win all the other books I wanted and end up paying a fraction of my losing bid from the previous year. 

Here she is:

How fantastic is that 

It just shows you, sometimes, books are meant to be with certain people. It took a while, but Katy finally made it to her new home, to sit happily alongside her 24 (of 25 known) other UKPV Archie mates:

Brilliant. 

Of course, now that I have her the mystery is gone and she's just another comic in my collection.

Only joking!

Aren't I......

Four years and it's the only example I've seen. I know Marvel leads the way on pretty much everything, but some of these pence copies for the less collected publishers are like gold dust. I love them. And I love that I'm likely the only person on Earth collecting them. Five years ago we knew pretty much nothing about the pence copies for Archie, Dell, Charlton, King and Gold Key. I'm so happy that I decided to be the one to bring these books to wider attention. 

[Albert Tatlock]

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Four years and it's the only example I've seen. I know Marvel leads the way on pretty much everything, but some of these pence copies for the less collected publishers are like gold dust. I love them. And I love that I'm likely the only person on Earth collecting them. Five years ago we knew pretty much nothing about the pence copies for Archie, Dell, Charlton, King and Gold Key. I'm so happy that I decided to be the one to bring these books to wider attention.

The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake is the hallmark of a civilised society.

Or a symptom of an underlying aberration that afflicts a section of the community, and for which a cure has not so far been found.

But if it were, I would turn it down.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/23/2022 at 4:58 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake is the hallmark of a civilised society.

Or a symptom of an underlying aberration that afflicts a section of the community, and for which a cure has not so far been found.

But if it were, I would turn it down.

Thanks Albert. I like that. 

[OtherEric]

On 7/23/2022 at 8:58 AM, Albert Tatlock said:

The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake is the hallmark of a civilised society.

Or a symptom of an underlying aberration that afflicts a section of the community, and for which a cure has not so far been found.

But if it were, I would turn it down.

Perfectly said, sir!

[rakehell]

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

So, where was I.

Processing... 

[rakehell]

Managed to squeeze a few minutes & read through this again...

First, thank you Steve (Velma ) for your doggedness in pursuit of these little rocking-horse droppings. I'm always amazed at how you manage to winkle these out of obscurity and add to our collective knowledge. Well done, sir. 

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

The online bidding gets to about £500 then stops.

Ouch! I'm impressed that you stayed in it past that point. It's a geometric progression beyond what I could have reasonably paid for them.

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Fast forward a year to last week, and I see a few Charlton pence copies online that I'm after. Then a few Dells. Familiar, they are. I dig out the photo from the Chesham auction and, sure enough, they're the books from that lot.

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

So, I make the deal, win all the other books I wanted and end up paying a fraction of my losing bid from the previous year. 

I wonder what the other guy was left with after you skimmed all the interesting stuff?

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

How fantastic is that 

Pretty bloody fantastic. 

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

I love them.

Me too.  

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

And I love that I'm likely the only person on Earth collecting them.

You ain't, but we can still hold our AGM in a phonebox. 

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

I'm so happy that I decided to be the one to bring these books to wider attention. 

Again, I'm happy that you've shed light on these rarities. I might not always have the time to properly reply your posts, but I'm always interested in what you put out there. And inside, I'm seething with jealousy. Seriously, well done Mary Ann. 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/27/2022 at 9:49 AM, rakehell said:

Again, I'm happy that you've shed light on these rarities. I might not always have the time to properly reply your posts, but I'm always interested in what you put out there. And inside, I'm seething with jealousy. Seriously, well done Mary Ann. 

Ah, bless you Geraldine. The KK episode had every aspect of collecting in it that appeals to me so I'm glad someone else appreciated it 

[rakehell]

On 7/27/2022 at 10:34 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

The KK episode had every aspect of collecting in it that appeals to me so I'm glad someone else appreciated it 

I am that someone. 

[Yorick]

@Get Marwood & I So the chair you sat in didn't sell?  Your writings make me laugh out loud.  People here wonder what I'm looking at...

...and THANK YOU for that Jughead Creature cover.  Never seen that before and it's GOOD!

[Get Marwood & I]

On 8/4/2022 at 7:28 PM, Yorick said:

@Get Marwood & I So the chair you sat in didn't sell? 

Imagine if I'd broken it 

On 8/4/2022 at 7:28 PM, Yorick said:

Your writings make me laugh out loud.  People here wonder what I'm looking at...

...and THANK YOU for that Jughead Creature cover.  Never seen that before and it's GOOD!

Cheers Yorick. The Creature Jughead seems to be worth a bit as it goes, which I didn't realise when I picked it up. It's a nice bonus when that happens. I snagged a cheap Charlton UKPV with a 'Creature' cover too the other month and that seems to sell very well too. The Creature seems to be very popular with collectors.