Cap #54 graded as a 0.5 by CGC just sold for nearly $600! That's bonkers! 1 1

[HistoryBuffalo]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share the final price of this auction I'd been watching. With shipping the final hammer price on this copy of Cap #54 was $633.99!! I know that it has a Schomburg cover but geez! I'm shocked but in this market I really shouldn't be...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265132995188?autorefresh=true&nma=true&si=HKFkqM1A7g0wB%2Fwl9Fyuu5g%2FvM8%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Jake

[Qalyar]

The cover on this is fairly nice. I wouldn't be exactly surprised if someone has a coverless or otherwise structurally unsound copy and intends to marry the missing CF and damaged page from another book to this cover.

[Buzzetta]

Also keep in mind that the "Strictly eBay Crowd" doesn't see Golden Age Captain Americas that often.  One of my friends usually looks toward eBay as the ONLY source of comics.  When I told them about Comiclink and Comic Connect and Heritage he asked, 'but how do I know I can trust them."

But also keep in mind that I have seen books go for cheaper than everywhere else on eBay and sometimes they go for more.  Depends on the crowd. 

[Point Five]

That’s kind of what I was warning about in the WTB thread... to buy a GA Cap it will take time and you may need to get a bit lucky. That’s a nice-looking Schomburg cover and there’s a ‘floor’ for it even in .5/1.0 which can bob and weave at auction. You are probably right though that it’s trending up in the current market.

My screen name was at least partly a (hopefully playful) nod to that. I have always been happy to ’overpay’ for nice incomplete books if it was the difference between owning something early & rare or never doing so. 🙂

[Buzzetta]

10 hours ago, SkoBuffs99 said:

Hi all,

Just wanted to share the final price of this auction I'd been watching. With shipping the final hammer price on this copy of Cap #54 was $633.99!! I know that it has a Schomburg cover but geez! I'm shocked but in this market I really shouldn't be...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265132995188?autorefresh=true&nma=true&si=HKFkqM1A7g0wB%2Fwl9Fyuu5g%2FvM8%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Jake

I mean that might be a little high... but I also just remembered that it cost around $700 to get a Captain America Comics 48 with half a back cover and a stain on the last page.

I guess that is still cheaper in comparison to the eBay book as my copy of 48 is at least 'complete', but Golden Age Captain Americas have always been sought after. 

So if you are going to try and get a Captain America Schomburg book there is a certain entry level price for those things regardless of grade.  We saw this years ago when all Hulk 181s were around $600 just to get a copy in any grade up to a 3.0.  I remember that thread from years ago. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Buzzetta

[Point Five]

12 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

I mean that might be a little high... but I also just remembered that it cost around $700 to get a Captain America Comics 48 with half a back cover and a stain on the last page.

I guess that is still cheaper in comparison to the eBay book as my copy of 48 is at least 'complete', but Golden Age Captain Americas have always been sought after. 

So if you are going to try and get a Captain America Schomburg book there is a certain entry level price for those things regardless of grade.  We saw this years ago when all Hulk 181s were around $600 just to get a copy in any grade up to a 3.0.  I remember that thread from years ago. 

I love the NYC subway covers. That's a great one!

 

[D84]

I'm more concerned about the $39.99 shipping. 

[Robot Man]

2 hours ago, Point Five said:

That’s kind of what I was warning about in the WTB thread... to buy a GA Cap it will take time and you may need to get a bit lucky. That’s a nice-looking Schomburg cover and there’s a ‘floor’ for it even in .5/1.0 which can bob and weave at auction. You are probably right though that it’s trending up in the current market.

My screen name was at least partly a (hopefully playful) nod to that. I have always been happy to ’overpay’ for nice incomplete books if it was the difference between owning something early & rare or never doing so. 🙂

Very true for me as well. As a GA collector, I learned to concentrate more on the book than the grade. Some books almost never become available that you either take what you can (and often over pay) or you live without. You can always keep looking for a better one. 

[shadroch]

I recently offered a board member a remaindered copy of Cap 54 for $250 shipped. I guess I should be glad they passed on it.

[BakerFanOne]

As the cliche goes - buy the book, not the grade.  The cover image on this Cap is pretty nice and the paper quality is strong (OW/White).  And it is a nice Schomburg cover to boot!  Not surprised at all by the price and given the unbelievable boost in all things gold, silver and bronze, this is now the norm.  

[thehumantorch]

12 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

Also keep in mind that the "Strictly eBay Crowd" doesn't see Golden Age Captain Americas that often.  One of my friends usually looks toward eBay as the ONLY source of comics.  When I told them about Comiclink and Comic Connect and Heritage he asked, 'but how do I know I can trust them."

But also keep in mind that I have seen books go for cheaper than everywhere else on eBay and sometimes they go for more.  Depends on the crowd. 

How ironic  

[the blob]

42 minutes ago, shadroch said:

I recently offered a board member a remaindered copy of Cap 54 for $250 shipped. I guess I should be glad they passed on it.

As in the top 1/4 of the cover missing? I think most folks think a missing centerfold is more attainable. Put it in and send to pgx for grading and maybe they don't catch it. This is a decent looking book. What do 2.0s go for?

Edited May 2, 2021 by the blob

[the blob]

Not all .5s are the same. To someone who is not so concerned about the insides that is a decent copy. I have sold many low grade GA books with disclosed missing pages for their OPG value with the pages.

[rjpb]

Like many books, Caps have seen a big jump in the last year, with many selling for around double what they would have in early 2020. This has even effected the normally slower selling immediate postwar issues, as just getting any complete unrestored War cover Cap in 2.0 or better for under $1000 is pretty much impossible anymore, so paying $500-$600 for a low grade postwar issue with Schomburg cover doesn't seem so bad. Still $600 for an incomplete issue seems a little steep, but it would present reasonably well as a married copy, and coverless Caps aren't that uncommon. In general it's not all that unusual for incomplete books that would be around a Qualified 4.0 to sell for close to blue label 2.0 price, even more if the cover is the main attraction, though perhaps less if a key story is effected. 

[rjpb]

2 hours ago, shadroch said:

I recently offered a board member a remaindered copy of Cap 54 for $250 shipped. I guess I should be glad they passed on it.

A copy with the top of the cover missing would be expected sell for less than one missing the centerfold. 

[shadroch]

1 minute ago, rjpb said:

A copy with the top of the cover missing would be expected sell for less than one missing the centerfold. 

Last I looked, $250 was less than $600.

My copy is much nicer, especially with a color copy inside the front cover. 

What grade does CGC assign a remaindered book?

 

[Point Five]

2 hours ago, shadroch said:

Last I looked, $250 was less than $600.

My copy is much nicer, especially with a color copy inside the front cover. 

What grade does CGC assign a remaindered book?

 

Remaindered would be a .5 as well. But yep, as folks are saying there are many tiers of desirability within the .5 grade. I’ve never bought a remaindered book, and (while it’s subjective) would much rather have an incomplete one.

[shadroch]

I buy remaindered books when they are incredibly cheap. My first real exposure to these was when I stumbled into a store that had cut the top of the comic to return and then plastered an advertisement  on to the remaining cover. It was 1975 and the books were all DCs from 1955-58, mostly Worlds Finest and Detectives.  The store was asking a quarter each and trying to decide between a new Marvel or a crappy 1950s DC wasn't easy. I remembering offering the guy a dime a piece if I took them all but he wasn't interested.

 

The exception to that is my two Schomburg ones. The Cap and a Marvel Mystery. I paid about $100 for each of them.

Several years ago, someone posted a GA remaindered book in a green label. I think it was a 3.5 but am not sure. I think .5 is the correct technical grade but if you had two copies, one that would be a 6.0 if not for being stripped, and another would be a 1.0 if it weren't stripped, I think the values would be very different.