PGM Amazing Spider-Man #5 1 1

[DarkHorse337]

Hey everybody.

 

You think you guys can give me an estimate on what grade my Amazing Spider-Man #5 is? My guess is around 6.5 or a 7.0, I’m aware of the staple misplacement and some cream colored pages. If anybody can help much will be appreciated

 

Thanks

Edited September 10, 2020 by DarkHorse337

[StreetPreacher]

Looks like you found your way over here from reddit!  Apologies that you don't seem to be getting as much attention as I anticipated this crowd would muster for an Amazing Spider-Man #5, but here's a little bump, and I'm sure one of the regulars will chime in with their opinion. 

Personally, I noticed what appears to be some a small stain from some sort of liquid near one corner of the back cover, and the other corner appears to have been folded, however my amateur knowledge can't determine whether that's the sort of defect that a nice 'steam clean & press could fix?  The book definitely seems to 'present' well.  And I'd at least suggest transferring into a nice new crystal clear mylar back with a thick acid free back board.  For instance  I assume the 'wavy' appearance of Dr. Doom is just being caused by wrinkles on the old bag? 

IF the ebay sales info is accurate, then it could be valued at $1k+, so I'd say it's worth having the book looked at in person by someone knowledgeable AND AND trust worty   

And just curious how you came into possession of the book?  No offense, but it doesn't sound like you're a serious comic book collector :).  Just don't take it to a flea market and let anyone take advantage of you!  Smart to do some initial research on anything you're not familiar with, but know could be valuable...  Of course, more often than not the items DO end up being worthless, but I think you might have stumbled on a little bit more than just a lump of coal with this one

 

 

Edited September 10, 2020 by StreetPreacher

[StreetPreacher]

And just in case you're not aware, but ebay has this cool function that will show you a list of what  recently completed auctions actually SOLD for, not just the 'pie-in-the- sky' price that many people try listing products for...  And with a quick search I noticed another example of your book that appears to be in worse condition and recently SOLD for nearly $730 USD!  Not sure if you can post links here, but this is the book that actually SOLD for $730 USD:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/m4YAAOSweaResaQk/s-l1600.jpg

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uO8AAOSw4i5esaRA/s-l1600.jpg

Yours seems to have yellowed more over time, and this copy doesn't have any folds, but I'd say the cover on yours would be more desirable?  I'm new here too, what's worse, a serious spine tick infestation that could result in complete cover detachement, or a cover that's most major issue is yellowing?

So what's preferable, White bright and chewed up, or yellow and otherwise attractive?  Is there a technical grading system that covers this, or is it more personal preference?

Edited September 10, 2020 by StreetPreacher

[William-James88]

22 hours ago, DarkHorse337 said:

Hey everybody.

 

You think you guys can give me an estimate on what grade my Amazing Spider-Man #5 is? My guess is around a 7.0, I’m aware of the staple misplacement and some cream colored pages. If anybody can help much will be appreciated

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Could you please remove it from the bag and take a picture of the whole book? Because without that it's impossible to grade. Also you need to change that bag asap.

Edited September 10, 2020 by William-James88

[StreetPreacher]

1 hour ago, William-James88 said:

Could you please remove it from the bag and take a picture of the whole book? Because without that it's impossible to grade. Also you need to change that bag asap.

Looks like he did take a few more close up pics, but can't tell if it's still behind plastic.  I'll change my post to just links so as  not to confuse things

RE: I edited my post, so hopefully the only images showing up automatically in this thread are of the comic under scrutiny   And to the book owner, if you have a flat-bed scanner  then you can probably just do 2 high res images instead of messing with a camera

Edited September 10, 2020 by StreetPreacher

[William-James88]

1 minute ago, StreetPreacher said:

Looks like he did take a few more close up pics, but can't tell if it's still behind plastic.  I'll change my post to just links so as  not to confuse things

I saw the close ups but that doesnt give me an idea of the whole book. Right now there's just not enough to go on.

[StreetPreacher]

1 hour ago, William-James88 said:

I saw the close ups but that doesnt give me an idea of the whole book. Right now there's just not enough to go on.

They just stumbled into the forum from Reddit...  Give them some time to recover from their ordeal  

Edited September 10, 2020 by StreetPreacher

[thehumantorch]

Welcome to the boards DarkHorse.  

The close up shot of the back cover shows a lot of staining along the bottom as well as a long color breaking crease that runs almost the entire width of the book.  Combined with the tears around the upper staple I think 7.0 is way too optimistic. 

Unfortunately, your one photo of the entire front cover isn't very helpful, it just doesn't show enough detail and it's difficult to grade a book photographed in a bag.  It would really help if you could give us pictures of the bottom interior to see if the staining goes through the book and pictures of the front bottom staple area and all four corners. 

[DarkHorse337]

Thank you I actually have been collecting comics for my whole life, this comic is actually from my fathers collection. I had an inkling on the price but wanted to see what grade can be expected from professionals on the this website. I have it in 2 plastic coverings and was one of the few comics my dad dint get graded due to the staple on the front but in all I think its a pretty well together book.

[William-James88]

I don't think this book can get higher than 5.0 due to the hard crease in the back and the lower corner staining. CGC is tough on stains. It might get lower, but I'd be ok selling this or buying this as a 5.0.

[zzutak]

The the moisture stain at the spine bottom (which is visible on both the front and back covers) plus the 6" crease across the bottom-left corner of the back cover would, by themselves, justify a grade of no better than 6.0 FN.  That being said, a more significant issue may be the three turquoise marks around the top staple. 

[FoggyNelson]

I think it 3.5-4.0 nice key book

[StreetPreacher]

1 hour ago, zzutak said:

That being said, a more significant issue may be the three turquoise marks around the top staple. 

Are you suggesting potential 'restoration'?  Like someone decided to touch up a few minor white ticks with a turquoise marker?  If that's the case you'll be afflicted with the dreaded 'Purple/Restoration' label, which like a Les Paul with headstock repair, tends to automatically cut the resale value in half... 

If the book has had any touch ups over the years then you might better off just skipping any consideration of having it graded, and resign yourself to just selling it as an extremely well presenting raw copy.  And if you received it free and it doesn't exude any sentimental aura, then you'll still be able to get a few bucks or it.  CGC is strict when it comes to any form of restoration, but if you're patient you can usually find a collector who's reasonable enough to consider 'restoration' issues according to their specific  characteristics, you just might have to be ready to barter   Personally I'd be ecstatic to find a key issues I was looking for, and even get a few bucks off because some kid thought it was a good idea to try touching up the colour a bit   I wonder if you'd even notice that after the book's been bagged and slabbed?

Or since if it's from your fathers collection, then maybe just find a nice DIY slab or 4mm Mylar bag and preserve it for your own personal collection!  But DEFINITELY put it in a new bag, that old wrinkled mess isn't doing Spidey any favours!  And then you can send us some nice beauty shots when you change bags  

So was ASM #5 just a random comic?  Anything else fun that you might be interested in having graded?

EDIT: Sorry I must have missed your post, so you're pops has had comics graded before?  What service did  he use?

Edited September 10, 2020 by StreetPreacher

[Funnybooks]

Welcome to the boards

That diagonal crease along the back cover automatically puts the book imo at 6.5 max from the start even if the rest of the book was pristine 

add to that some moisture damage, a stack of other general moderate defects and I believe the book would grade at around a 5.0 at best

good luck

[Deadpoolica]

5.0

[The Lions Den]

This book has what appears to be amateur color touch, so it will almost certainly receive a purple (Restored) label if sent to CGC. And please bear in mind that where there's one form of restoration, there is often another. 

Add to that the long heavy crease on the bottom of the back cover and a significant stain on the bottom of the spine, and I would guess you're in the 4.5 - 5.0 range. 

Still, a decent copy of an early Marvel key...

[StreetPreacher]

Like I said on Reddit, you might not like what you hear, but at the least you can trust this crew to offer an honest assessment of exactly what you've got on your hands!  It sucks to hear that your book has been 'restored' (likely touched up by some kid  50 years ago lol), but better to know before you try selling it and money is involved...  It must be extremely frustrating to receive your book back from CGC after a 6 month wait only to find it's been awarded the dreaded restoration label and you didn't even know that book had been fixed up, and you probably would have been able to sell it for nearly as much in its raw form...  Although at least you know it's a likely a purple label example now, rather than paying CGC and waiting a few months to find out!

But as has been said, despite the 'defects' it's still a great key Marvel issue from the 60s, and it'll look great in new Mylar!  

And since it was your dad's book, is there any chance that YOU are responsible for the 'amateur' touch up job?  

But it seems to be a winner any way you look at it.  The book's still worth a few bucks if you end up selling, or since it came from dad's collection it'll be a beautiful way to remember him and your common interests!

Edited September 11, 2020 by StreetPreacher

[theCapraAegagrus]

4.5 IMO.

[Primetime]

4.0 (VG)

[CJ Design]

I unfortunately think CT by the staple also. Follow the staple top up to the "I" looks like a blue line to me.