dime-sized cutout in art: max grade? 0

[Pantodude]

Howdy.  I posted this in the wrong place (PGM thread) so relocating it here.  I suspect that only experience can answer this one.  Consider an early FF book where someone had cut out Richard's head in a panel, so it was a neat and oval dime-sized piece, but it affected the art on two pages as the front and back were story pages.  The missing piece is much smaller than the typical coupon cutout, and there is no cut in the page from the edge to the removed area as you often see--it was removed very neatly, with no other damage aside from the missing, small oval piece.  What would be the max universal grade?   

Edited September 21, 2021 by Pantodude

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 9/21/2021 at 7:27 AM, Pantodude said:

What would be the max universal grade?   

Absolute maximum: 7.0 IMO.

[gadzukes]

On 9/21/2021 at 7:52 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Absolute maximum: 7.0 IMO.

Or...... If it was an otherwise truly spectacular copy...... a 9.6-9.8 Green Label 

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 9/21/2021 at 8:28 AM, gadzukes said:

Or...... If it was an otherwise truly spectacular copy...... a 9.6-9.8 Green Label 

[10centcomics]

Tough question. I've seen blue labels with notes like "slightly affects art" or "slightly affects story" for small missing pieces, generally out of the margins (see example below). I don't know if a head cutout falls under this definition though as I would consider that much more significant. 

 

[gadzukes]

On 9/22/2021 at 11:11 AM, 10centcomics said:

Tough question. I've seen blue labels with notes like "slightly affects art" or "slightly affects story" for small missing pieces, generally out of the margins (see example below). I don't know if a head cutout falls under this definition though as I would consider that much more significant. 

 

Absolutely gorgeous copy of Superman 2.  Is the back cover as nice as the front?

Four "margin pieces" that go all the way into the art is pretty significant though.  I would have been nervous sending this one in for grading not know how much of a hit those margin tears were going to get.  7.0 seems about right with how nice this presents.

[shadroch]

A missing head renders the book incomplete. I don't see how it could be treated any differently than a missing MVS, most of which don't affect the story itself.  It should be a 0.5 or in a green label. 

[gadzukes]

On 9/22/2021 at 11:54 AM, shadroch said:

A missing head renders the book incomplete. I don't see how it could be treated any differently than a missing MVS, most of which don't affect the story itself.  It should be a 0.5 or in a green label. 

Do you feel the same about the Superman 2 above, or does the label notation basically make this a qualified book in your eyes?

[shadroch]

I'd have to see the pages but a slight margin being cut out is different from the head of a character being cut out.  I used to be more leniant on coupons or MVS's that didn't effect the story, or even missing pinups if the actual story was intact, but CGC came along and peoples perceptions changed. For example, I had a DD 7 without the pinup. If the pinup was there, I'd have called it NM, instead I sold it as a VG and had no problem moving it.

I don't see how a clipped coupon could get more of a hit than a missing head. Other may disagree. 

Edited September 22, 2021 by shadroch

[rjpb]

Some books are best described using a qualified grade, this sounds like it might be one of them. 

Let's say you have the opportunity to purchase a somewhat higher grade book, say an 8.0, except for part of a panel clipped out, and it's not a book that is scarce, so other options are available. What is the lowest graded complete copy you would prefer to have? The answer may vary depending on how much of the value is in the cover and how much is in the content, but answer that and you have a pretty good idea of what an unqualified grade should be.