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Why is Harbinger 1 more expensive than other Valiant keys?
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48 posts in this topic

On 8/3/2021 at 11:12 AM, valiantman said:

Another consideration (already mentioned) is the original cover price.  Since Solar #10 originally cost more than twice the Harbinger #1 price, you could say that CGC 9.8 Harbinger #1 is still "more expensive" than CGC 9.8 Solar #10 up to the point that CGC 9.8 Solar #10 is twice the price of CGC 9.8 Harbinger #1 (relative to the cover price).

(the classic time machine question) "Would you rather have $100 worth of Harbinger #1 at cover price or $100 worth of Solar #10 at cover price?" :grin:

Personally, I'd rather have $100 worth of Unity #0 Red at cover price.  After about 5,000 copies, I'd stop buying them at cover price and look for something else to buy with my leftover $100. :kidaround:

835738040_u0red1.jpg.eaba489a8f915460ba88bce29693e2ac.jpg

Those of you who might have been collecting Valiant 20+ years ago on eBay (you know, last millennium) may remember that there was a time that the raw price for Solar #10 was about $8-$10, Harbinger #1 was about $8-$10, and Unity #0 Red was $25-$35.

Compared to CGC 9.8 Solar #10 and CGC 9.8 Harbinger #1, the CGC 9.8 Unity #0 Red is a bargain today.  They still sell for less than $300, despite having fewer CGC 9.8s than the other books.

I imagine that's more due to this just being a rare variant. If your collecting focus is on first appearances, you need those other books. If you're a completist, then you need this but you still need those other books.

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On 8/2/2021 at 2:57 PM, valiantman said:

To be fair, I'm sure they did weigh at least a metric ton. :grin:

More important than physical weight, Solar #10 had a "hefty" $3.95 cover price at a time when Amazing Spider-Man was $1.25, so Solar #10 wasn't expected to sell very well, yet the book had to go to a 2nd print (the only early Valiant to get a 2nd printing) about six months later due to demand.

Solar #10 might not be the #1 overall Valiant key issue, but it would be hard to have it reasonably listed outside the Top 3 or Top 5. (thumbsu

Do you think its worth getting the 9.8 in one's collection or is it a good key either way?

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On 8/5/2021 at 5:40 PM, William-James88 said:

Do you think its worth getting the 9.8 in one's collection or is it a good key either way?

A really good CGC 9.6 Solar #10 is a bargain. Just buy 3 of them and assume at least one would be a 9.8 on resubmission.  I have done that, a few times.

Edited by valiantman
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On 8/5/2021 at 7:07 PM, valiantman said:

A really good CGC 9.6 Solar #10 is a bargain. Just buy 3 of them and assume at least one would be a 9.8 on resubmission.  I have done that, a few times.

wo ho ho, sounds like a plan. And yes, 9.6 is a bargain, hence my question.

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On 7/17/2021 at 11:13 AM, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

It was the first Valiant title that was a new property (after Magnus and Solar, and a month before X-O Manowar). I think the value has to do with a number of things.

• As mentioned, it has condition issues, probably stemming from the coupon insert.

• Coupons were removed from a number of copies to redeem the limited pink version of Harbinger 0.

• Hype at the time. In his editorial in issue 1, Jim Shooter compared the book to Avengers #1. (A bit of a stretch, but clearly Shooter thought more of the property.) I don't recall a similar comparison being made for other titles.

• First appearance of the 5 main characters. Other original Valiant creations were teased in other books. The X-O armor (but not Aric) popped up in Solar. Rai debuted in Magnus. Jack Boniface had a cameo in X-O before becoming Shadowman in his first issue.

• The story at the time was a huge departure from other mainstream superhero comics at the time. In my opinion, it doesn't quite hold us so well on a re-read now, since comic storytelling has evolved a lot since then, but it was unique for the time period.

The only thing you missed here was that higher grade copes are harder to come by.  They had the same binding issues as X-O Manowar.  While X-O exists in greater numbers in 9.8's as more people were saving them and the publishing numbers increased they were still susceptible to the same damage where merely opening the book created incredible stress on the spine. 

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On 8/3/2021 at 10:12 AM, valiantman said:

Another consideration (already mentioned) is the original cover price.  Since Solar #10 originally cost more than twice the Harbinger #1 price, you could say that CGC 9.8 Harbinger #1 is still "more expensive" than CGC 9.8 Solar #10 up to the point that CGC 9.8 Solar #10 is twice the price of CGC 9.8 Harbinger #1 (relative to the cover price).

(the classic time machine question) "Would you rather have $100 worth of Harbinger #1 at cover price or $100 worth of Solar #10 at cover price?" :grin:

Personally, I'd rather have $100 worth of Unity #0 Red at cover price.  After about 5,000 copies, I'd stop buying them at cover price and look for something else to buy with my leftover $100. :kidaround:

835738040_u0red1.jpg.eaba489a8f915460ba88bce29693e2ac.jpg

Those of you who might have been collecting Valiant 20+ years ago on eBay (you know, last millennium) may remember that there was a time that the raw price for Solar #10 was about $8-$10, Harbinger #1 was about $8-$10, and Unity #0 Red was $25-$35.

Compared to CGC 9.8 Solar #10 and CGC 9.8 Harbinger #1, the CGC 9.8 Unity #0 Red is a bargain today.  They still sell for less than $300, despite having fewer CGC 9.8s than the other books.

Yes, I remember the Unity #0.  I have it in 9.8 and 9.6.  I guess not many people care about it as much as Solar #10 and Harbinger #1.

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