Staple Question 0

[Bluefear]

The top staple of the book is missing half of the staple, because it looks like it broke off.

How does this affect the grade of the book? Is the book considered incomplete?

I've attached a picture of the bottom staple, which is complete, and a picture of the top staple which is broken.

I've never seen this before and any help would be appreciated.

[Lazyboy]

No, it's not incomplete. Also, it actually looks like it was manufactured that way, though it's hard to say for certain from that one picture

[silverseeker]

I don't think the top staple is broken, and I've seen a few books with this issue.

My guess is that something was off with the machine that assembled this particular book, and the bottom tine of the top staple wasn't properly driven through it. If you look at the front cover the bottom of the top staple may even have a bump or curl in it, meaning less of it was driven through the book. I hope this explanation makes sense, and maybe an expert can weigh in with the correct term for this phenomenon ...

I had a Spidey #100 with this exact issue and it was graded 9.6 by CGC, so I don't think this issue impacts a book's grade.

Edited January 20, 2022 by silverseeker
Minor tweak.

[zzutak]

On 1/19/2022 at 4:31 PM, Lazyboy said:

No, it's not incomplete. Also, it actually looks like it was manufactured that way

Absolutely.    The tell is the faint halo-type stain that surrounds each leg of the staple.  This impression/stain indicates exactly where the staple legs have been in contact with the centerfold paper.  The halo on the "missing" staple leg is roughly circular, indicating that the rest of the leg was never present.  This is definitely a manufacturing anomaly.

 

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by zzutak
"the rest of" added before "the leg"

[theCapraAegagrus]

Definitely not incomplete. All this does it keep it out of the 9.9-10 range.

[Spawnfreak]

On 1/20/2022 at 6:56 AM, zzutak said:

Absolutely.    The tell is the faint halo-type stain that surrounds each leg of the staple.  This impression/stain indicates exactly where the staple legs have been in contact with the centerfold paper.  The halo on the "missing" staple leg is roughly circular, indicating that the leg was never present.  This is definitely a manufacturing anomaly.

 

 

Just a thought; I think the bottom half of the staple had to be present at some time, as it is the staple which punches the hole!  What I mean is that there is no hole until the staple goes through the paper.

[zzutak]

On 1/20/2022 at 5:42 AM, Spawnfreak said:

What I mean is that there is no hole until the staple goes through the paper.

Very true.    I should've added "the rest of" before "the leg" (in my second-to-last sentence).  Corrected via edit. 

[Lazyboy]

On 1/20/2022 at 5:56 AM, zzutak said:

Absolutely.    The tell is the faint halo-type stain that surrounds each leg of the staple.  This impression/stain indicates exactly where the staple legs have been in contact with the centerfold paper.  The halo on the "missing" staple leg is roughly circular, indicating that the rest of the leg was never present.  This is definitely a manufacturing anomaly.

Well, most likely, anyway. There is a non-zero chance that it could have broken off somehow a long time ago, but it was probably just made that way.

[Bluefear]

Thank you all for the great replies!

I appreciate all of the assistance.

 

[thehumantorch]

On 1/20/2022 at 8:18 PM, Bluefear said:

Thank you all for the great replies!

I appreciate all of the assistance.

 

These type of questions are a staple of the boards.

[djzombi]

On 1/20/2022 at 10:23 PM, thehumantorch said:

These type of questions are a staple of the boards.

oof.