UK editions 3 3

[Get Marwood & I]

On 2/8/2022 at 12:04 AM, Pantodude said:

XM #14:  Your specific example is an X-Men #14 in CGC 8.5:   No recent comparison for 8.5, but a 7.5 cents sold for $1600 on 10/12/21, followed by a UKPV 7.5 for $1710 on 10/31/21.   

Great stuff, I was hoping you'd chime in Panto.

On 2/8/2022 at 2:49 AM, Bayowolf said:

Great research Pantodude!

BTW that UK #14 X-Men 8.5 CGC just went for $1320 (with the BP) on Heritage. Too much for me.

It was a very nice looking 8.5. Much better looking than the #15 UK CGC 8.5 that went for $660.

A #18 X-Men UK 7.0 CGC was a mere $159. 

There were two 8.5's on Heritage, one pence, one cents, both OWP, going up against each other. I got these results:

[Get Marwood & I]

On 2/8/2022 at 3:45 AM, alexgross.com said:

being ten times rarer than US cents copies isn't very meaningful without discussion of the demand for such books. after all there are incredibly scarce comics out there worth very little due to almost no demand. 

the latest heritage auction had several SA pence key books like ff5, asm3, asm4, hulk1. while they sold for less than their cents counterparts have recently been selling for (asm3 went for 7k vs 15k gpa for cents copy), it was the strongest showing i've seen for pence copies maybe ever. interest in these books appears to have risen recently!

 

One other factor that I've noted is that books in UK based auctions, which are generally raw, are doing tremendously well lately. Perhaps the home market in this case are rekindling their love and experience of the books they used to have as kids in the UK. And maybe they are finally taking advantage of the books available on home soil, as opposed to paying out for long, nervy shipping times. There are lots of factors in play. Bayowolf thought the Heritage cents X-Men #14 looked nicer than the UK graded equivalent. Eye appeal may have played a part, therefore in the price difference as it does with any books. Overall, it does look like they are on the rise though, pence copies. I think that is just, as they have equal production status to the cents copies, but a little part of me dies as I see each book move further and further out of financial sight. 

[Still Only 35c]

On 2/8/2022 at 2:31 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Spot on Bluemed. I own some of the rarest UK Price Variants known - and they aren't worth sh for that very reason. Near zero supply. Near zero demand! 

I'll buy them from you @Get Marwood & I

[Pantodude]

On 2/8/2022 at 3:19 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

One other factor that I've noted is that books in UK based auctions, which are generally raw, are doing tremendously well lately. Perhaps the home market in this case are rekindling their love and experience of the books they used to have as kids in the UK. And maybe they are finally taking advantage of the books available on home soil, as opposed to paying out for long, nervy shipping times. There are lots of factors in play.

Right.  If the OP is asking how UKPVs compare to cents in sales, we should definitely include results in the UK, whether or not reflected in GPA data.  

Take that sale in the UK auction in mid-October of a UKPV raw ASM #1, which remains a record whether cents or pence, raw or slabbed.  Folks discussed that sale in the Marvel UK Price Variant thread.  That 3.5ish raw ASM #1 sold for over $17K, well above the then recent $13.5K result on Oct. 9 for a  slabbed 3.5 cents version. Also above the all-time high of $16,800 for a slabbed 3.5 (per GPA), which happened on Aug. 15 and again on Oct. 17, 2021. Big bucks for an ASM #1, regardless of version.  

Just based on the limited discussion in this thread, we see that UKPVs have set enduring all-time highs in certain grades of early SA and BA keys, like ASM #1 and #4 and WBN #32, and nearly reached an all-time high for XM #4.  The FF #1 in 3.5 UKPV also looked pretty strong, almost as high as a 4.0 cents fetched just days ago. 4 of those 5 sales were in US venues (!) despite UKPVs still underperforming at times here.  So baby steps i guess, with the occasional leap!   

In November, there was another huge auction in the UK, where many raw UKPVs of different early SA keys did quite well, too, if i recall correctly.  It was discussed in the Marvel UK Price Variant thread w/ lots of pix.  I didn’t track any of it, unfortunately, so i don’t know if any results there joined the ranks of ASM1 and 4, WBN32, and XM4.  

Edited February 8, 2022 by Pantodude

[Redshade]

On 2/8/2022 at 12:04 AM, Pantodude said:

Just to add to what has already been said.  Results vary but have improved in recent years  It's at least somewhat akin to the initial lack of appreciation for the 35-cent price variants and newsstand editions. Back then, the newsstand covers were thought to be uglier and avoided.  The internet also has stories explaining how folks routinely ignored the 35-cent price variants back in the day.    

If talking about slabs, and looking only at the few recent UKPV sales (on GPA) of early SA keys that sold shortly after a CENTS sale in same grade, results were really all over the place.  We saw UKPVs fetch the same or more, sometimes a lot more, than their cents counterparts:  

XM #14:  Your specific example is an X-Men #14 in CGC 8.5:   No recent comparison for 8.5, but a 7.5 cents sold for $1600 on 10/12/21, followed by a UKPV 7.5 for $1710 on 10/31/21.  

ASM #4
7.5:  cents =  $5850 on 12/1/21;  UKPV = $7200 on 2/6/22 (record high for 7.5 cents version = $6200).
2.5:  cents = $1140 on 10/3/21; UKPV = $1146 on 11/19/21 

ASM #13
3.0:  cents = $900 on 12/26/21 (and $957 on 1/31/22); UKPV = $950 on 1/23/22 

FF #1 
    

Nice research Pantodude.

[jeffreyk]

Is this considered a UK price variant?  It is a US version with a US price tag, nothing noted on the label.  It just has a UK distribution stamp, almost like a date stamp.  Any idea how much the stamp hurts its value?

[Get Marwood & I]

On 2/9/2022 at 12:43 AM, jeffreyk said:

Is this considered a UK price variant? 

No. It is a cents copy that was imported to the UK and distributed by Thorpe & Porter (That's their 9d price stamp on the cover). To qualify for 'UK Price Variant' designation, a book has to be part of the original US print run, and have a printed UK price. 

On 2/9/2022 at 12:43 AM, jeffreyk said:

It is a US version with a US price tag, nothing noted on the label.  It just has a UK distribution stamp, almost like a date stamp. 

You've just answered your own question there, I think, Jeffrey 

On 2/9/2022 at 12:43 AM, jeffreyk said:

Any idea how much the stamp hurts its value?

CGC have confirmed that it does not affect the grade - they treat it as part of the natural production and distribution process. Value will be determined by the individual - some won't like it, some will, and some won't care. 

On 2/9/2022 at 12:43 AM, jeffreyk said:

 

[jeffreyk]

On 2/9/2022 at 5:33 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

No. It is a cents copy that was imported to the UK and distributed by Thorpe & Porter (That's their 9d price stamp on the cover). To qualify for 'UK Price Variant' designation, a book has to be part of the original US print run, and have a printed UK price. 

You've just answered your own question there, I think, Jeffrey 

CGC have confirmed that it does not affect the grade - they treat it as part of the natural production and distribution process. Value will be determined by the individual - some won't like it, some will, and some won't care. 

 

Thanks for getting back to me.  I certainly did not get a discount for the stamp when I bought the book a few months ago.  I would prefer the book without the stamp but it did not deter me from buying it.  

[Get Marwood & I]

On 2/9/2022 at 12:19 PM, jeffreyk said:

Thanks for getting back to me.  I certainly did not get a discount for the stamp when I bought the book a few months ago.  I would prefer the book without the stamp but it did not deter me from buying it.  

I think most would prefer it without Jeffrey, even in the UK. I wasn't keen on them myself years ago but have since grown to love them as I see now how they represent a part of my countries history in respect of American comics imported to the UK (and at a time where pretty much everything cool about comics was in play). Your '8' stamp is the earliest I have seen for that issue, incidentally - I just added it to my table:

Click on it if you'd like to know more. 

[jeffreyk]

Thanks for your help!

[Pantodude]

Just a minor update, since we somehow missed this biggie before.  A Journey into Mystery #83 CGC 3.5 OW/W UKPV sold for $13995 on 11/22/21, which was strong compared to the last three sales of  JIM 83 cents in 3.5 for $10800 on 8/15/21, $13767 on 9/29/21, and $13250 on 1/3/22.  There are only 28 blue JIM83 UKPVs vs 1601 blue cents. I'll cross-post this on the Marvel UKPV thread.  

Edited February 18, 2022 by Pantodude