Parm10 Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Hey guys, I recently purchased a book that has 1 color breaking spine tick and was said to be “a 9.8 candidate” after a press. I’ve been reading through the previous threads about color breaking spine ticks and it seems that if that is the only defect of the book, it could be a 9.8 since it isn't perfect. Some threads have said a press makes color breaking ticks look worse. It’d really help if I got some opinions on what the potential grading of this book could be. Pictures are attached. (The tick is circled in the last picture) Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvelmaniac Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Welcome To The Boards!!! I cannot help with your pressing question, however, IMO... If the book is perfect in every other way and that color breaking spine tick is the only defect IMO that book will be a VF/NM 9.0 MAX. Typically and by the grading standards a color breaking spine tick will not garner a grade higher VF+ 8.5. The first mention of stress lines comes in...NM 9.4 NM+ 9.6 - no creases, bends, or color break. NM 9.4 - Almost no stress lines NM- 9.2 - Almost no stress lines VF/NM 9.0 - A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible VF 8.0 - Very slight staple tears and a few almost insignificant stress lines may be present How does/will CGC view that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qalyar Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 CGC's internal grading standard clearly deviates from that one in this regard. There are occasional books that have a single color break and no other flaws that manage to come back with a 9.6. More frequently, I'd consider a book with one such tick and no other issues at all to be a likely 9.2/9.4 candidate (note of course that books with a color break on the spine often have other defects). Regardless, it definitely does not hard cap the grade at 9.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 There's no way I would give that book a 9.8. Sorry... Lightning55 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Very difficult to overcome... Oh, sorry... I thought this was a question about another kind of tick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parm10 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Thanks for all the feedback guys. Really helpful in knowing the books potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning55 Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 There is a big difference between mild spine ticks and color-breaking spine ticks. It is my experience that you can get a 9.8 with a few light spine ticks, as long as they are subtle and definitely do not break color. Like maybe 3 or so. If you have more light ticks, probably drops to a 9.6. If even one tick breaks color, it will be 9.6 or below, depending on how many, how severe, other defects, etc. I agree that the defect in the photo is significantly more than a spine tick, a substantial crease. I'm not a fan of the CGC grading scale. Talk about a lack of specifics, almost the definition of vague. Purposely vague. Mendicus and The Lions Den 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William-James88 Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 On 8/6/2020 at 5:49 PM, Parm10 said: Hey guys, I recently purchased a book that has 1 color breaking spine tick and was said to be “a 9.8 candidate” after a press. I’ve been reading through the previous threads about color breaking spine ticks and it seems that if that is the only defect of the book, it could be a 9.8 since it isn't perfect. Some threads have said a press makes color breaking ticks look worse. It’d really help if I got some opinions on what the potential grading of this book could be. Pictures are attached. (The tick is circled in the last picture) Thanks They lied. For a 9.8 the ONLY defects found on it have to be from manufacturing. Basically you can't have flaws on it, hence why its the grade that has become the gold standard. A spine tick/crease show the comic was handled or read. This is more like a 9.4, press or no press. The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speople Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 In this topic, https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/470841-does-grading-depend-on-what-mood-a-grader-is-in/#comments I found an Adventure Comics 332 CGC graded at 9.2 with 7 spine ticks and an iffy corner as well. The 9.2 GPA of that issue is north of 1k dollars. Dunno what the lower GPAs are worth (and therefore the size of the 'gift' the seller received from CGC as a result of that grade instead of a lower one) but with that many faults how on Earth that issue got a 9.2 is beyond me. Parm10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speople Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 3 hours ago, Will78 said: $1,000 for a 9.2 of that crappy book? People are stupid Only 3 higher copies are known to exist none of which have ever come up for sale. When a 9.2 becomes available it seems bids go crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William-James88 Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 5 hours ago, Will78 said: $1,000 for a 9.2 of that crappy book? People are stupid But dude, its Moby in SPAAAAAAAAAACE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbukiLord Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 Not sure why people say it's a 9.0 with a color break, you can have a color break and get a 9.6, I have some and have seen many. I've also seen 9.8's with color breaks but they are much older books, I think they would be a bit more strict as it's still a fairly new book. This one is pretty big though, if it was half the size I'd say you have a good shot at a 9.6 but maybe a 9.2-9.4 with that one. The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning55 Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 (edited) 18 hours ago, IbukiLord said: Not sure why people say it's a 9.0 with a color break, you can have a color break and get a 9.6, I have some and have seen many. I've also seen 9.8's with color breaks but they are much older books, I think they would be a bit more strict as it's still a fairly new book. This is true, and it constantly frustrates me. It's like a "conditional" condition. "It's a 9.6 due to it's age, would probably be a 9.0 if it was a modern book." The grade standards shouldn't change for anything. That's the definition of "standards". Everything is a 10.0 with a big IF following that - if it didn't have creases, if it wasn't water stained, if it wasn't read a million times. Like adjusting for the age of something. If 8.0 for a Golden Age book is hard to attain, so be it. It's an 8.0, top of the line, very expensive, since it's hard to get over 8.0. Let's not just call it a 9.0 because it's a Golden Age, giving allowances for whatever defects it has. Even in Overstreet describing 9.4 Near Mint, they state: bindery tears must be 1/16" or less on Silver Age or later, Golden Age up to 1/4" ok. What???? It is what it is, not what you want it to be. Just because something doesn't exist in super-high grades, doesn't mean we should lower the standards to meet it. Like grading on a curve - whoever invented that left us a hot mess. Edited August 10, 2020 by Lightning55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendicus Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 I'm curious about this as well, only the comic in question that I'm looking at has 1 barely visible spine tick that doesn't break color. The reason it doesn't break color is because the tick is on an area of the cover is plain white. Aside from the tick there is a tiny scuff on the back cover. Would this put the book into the 9.6 range? I can upload a photo if it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...