Top 50 Silver Age Keys by FMV: a look at 3.0 and 6.0 (recently added) 2 2

[Pantodude]

An alternative to Overstreet Price Guide's 2019-2020 ranking, which was based on Overstreet’s estimates for the FMV of books in NM- (9.2) grade.  That ranking is no longer tied to reality.  Some books took off relative to others, but also new books have joined the top 50, pushing prior books out. 

With so little recent info, I didn't want to estimate FMV of some keys in 9.2.  So I ranked the top 50 SA books based on current FMV for a 3.0.  Should be more practical those without deep pockets, at least not that deep!  

But using lower grades could have squeezed out DC books that would otherwise rank higher, if DC keys of the SA are relatively less common in higher grades and remain expensive, like BB28, JLA1, Flash 123, various Showcase issues, etc.  In other words, a ranking using higher grades could not only include more DC keys, but also rank them higher.    

Also, this is not in any way a statement on relative historical importance.  Just a valuation-based ranking to see where things are at (since Overstreet doesn't do it!).  That said, here it is, with guesstimates for those few books w/ less recent sales:

Rank	using Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 2019-2020	Rank	using approx. FMV 3.0 as of 2/27/2022
1	Amazing Fantasy 15	1	Amazing Fantasy 15	$48,000.00
2	Incredible Hulk 1	2	Incredible Hulk 1	$27,500.00
3	Fantastic Four 1	3	Showcase 4	$23,750.00
4	Showcase 4	4	Fantastic Four 1	$19,000.00
5	Brave and the Bold 28	5	Amazing Spider-Man 1	$14,400.00
6	Journey into Mystery 83	6	Journey into Mystery 83	$13,000.00
7	Amazing Spider-Man 1	6	X-Men 1	$13,000.00
8	X-Men 1	8	Tales of Suspense 39	$12,500.00
9	Tales of Suspense 39	9	Fantastic Four 5	$11,000.00
10	Showcase 22	10	Avengers 1	$4,400.00
11	Tales to Astonish 27	11	Incredible Hulk 2	$3,995.00
12	Avengers 1	12	Showcase 22	$3,600.00
13	Flash 105	13	Amazing Spider-Man 2	$3,500.00
14	Adventure Comics 247	14	Tales to Astonish 27	$3,425.00
15	Justice League of America 1	15	Daredevil 1	$3,400.00
16	Action Comics 242	16	Amazing Spider-Man 3	$3,178.00
16	Action Comics 252	17	Fantastic Four 4	$3,007.00
18	Our Army at War 83	18	Tales to Astonish 13	$2,863.00
19	Fantastic Four 5	19	Strange Tales 110	$2,800.00
20	Showcase 8	20	Amazing Spider-Man 14	$2,760.00
21	Strange Tales 110	21	Brave and the Bold 28	$2,750.00
22	Green Lantern 1	22	Journey into Mystery 85	$2,750.00
23	Fantastic Four 2	23	Adventure Comics 247	$2,533.00
23	Fantastic Four 4	24	Fantastic Four 2	$2,500.00
25	Fantastic Four 3	25	Fantastic Four 3	$2,300.00
26	Amazing Spider-Man 2	26	Fantastic Four 48	$2,000.00
28	Showcase 9	27	Our Army at War 83	$2,000.00
28	Fantastic Four 12	28	Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1	$1,999.00
28	Incredible Hulk 2	29	Strange Tales 89	$1,995.00
28	Sgt. Fury 1	30	Amazing Spider-Man 4	$1,800.00
32	Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane 1	31	Fantastic Four 12	$1,750.00
32	Daredevil 1	32	Showcase 8	$1,700.00
32	Tales to Astonish 35	33	Action Comics 252	$1,699.00
34	Amazing Spider-Man 3	34	Avengers 4	$1,620.00
35	Showcase 6	35	X-Men 4	$1,600.00
35	Showcase 13	36	Flash 105	$1,585.00
35	Showcase 14	37	Journey into Mystery 84	$1,530.00
35	Showcase 17	38	Fantastic Four 6	$1,475.00
35	Tales to Astonish 13	39	Amazing Spider-Man 6	$1,430.00
40	Our Army at War 81	39	Amazing Spider-Man 5	$1,351.00
41	Richie Rich 1	41	Sgt. Fury 1	$1,292.00
42	Flash 106	42	Richie Rich 1	$1,250.00
43	Brave and the Bold 25	43	Action Comics 242	$1,136.00
44	Amazing Spider-Man 4	44	Amazing Spider-Man 15	$1,100.00
44	Avengers 4	45	Justice League of America 1	$1,083.00
44	Flash 123	46	Tales to Astonish 35	$1,080.00
47	Strange Tales 89	47	Fantastic Four 49	$1,050.00
48	Journey into Mystery 84	48	Amazing Spider-Man 9	$1,025.00
49	Journey into Mystery 85	49	Amazing Spider-Man 50	$1,025.00
50	Incredible Hulk 3	50	X-Men 2	$1,025.00
		51	Amazing Spider-Man 13	$1,000.00
		51	Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane 1	$1,000.00
		51	Incredible Hulk 3	$1,000.00
		51	Tales of Suspense 1	$1,000.00

 

This ranking is just a snapshot (today) of a slice of the graded pie (3.0), but I found it very interesting overall. 

Highlights:  

*         Showcase 4 rises from 4th to 3rd and gets on the medal podium, right after Hulk 1, who remains 2nd. AF15 chillin' at the top. 

*         Fantastic Four 1 slid just one spot, from 3rd to 4th.  We’ll see if that holds once FF joins MCU.

*         X-Men moves up to 6th (from 8th), tied with JIM83, which, curiously, remained at 6th.   

*         Avengers 1 goes from 12th to 10th and so cracks the top 10, while BB28 (from 5th to 21st) and Showcase 22 (from 10th to 12th) drop out of the top 10.   

*         FF5 goes from 19th to 9th and also cracks the top 10. 

*        12 Spidey’s (including AF15 and ASM Annual 1) made this top 50.

*         Hulk 2 just missed the top 10, coming in 11th.    

*         ASM 13 just missed the top 50 (still impressive), at $1000 for a 3.0 nowadays, tied with Hulk 3, Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane 1, and Tales of Suspense 1 (also impressive). 

*         Newcomers (compared to Overstreet) are in bold and include ASM 5, 6, 9, 14, 15, 50; ASM Annual #1;  FF 6, 48, 49;  Hulk 4, and X-Men 2, 4. 

*         Books bumped from Overstreet's top 50: Flash 106, 123; Green Lantern 1; Showcase 9, 6, 13, 14, 17; Hulk 3; Our Army at War 81; Superman's Girl Friend LL 1.   

*         Ritchie Rich 1 slid only one spot, from 41st to 42nd!   You go, boy!   

 

$1,025 is the cutoff.  I'm sure I missed some SA books fetching at least that in 3.0 nowadays, so kindly let me know!     

Hopefully the ranking gives us something to chew on.  Were you surprised (or not) at the results of this ranking?  Other thoughts?   

Edited March 1, 2022 by Pantodude

[innocuous]

Thanks for compiling the list. Interesting that Flash 123 didn't make the cut.

And, it's just Amazing how Spidey is taking over. 

[Pantodude]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:54 AM, innocuous said:

Thanks for compiling the list. Interesting that Flash 123 didn't make the cut.

And, it's just Amazing how Spidey is taking over. 

Amazing Spideys, quietly already a quarter of the list.  Hulk 3 has been doing well.  Hulk 3, for example, slid only one spot, from 50 to 51, despite there being 14 hot newcomers.  All the early Hulks have been doing well tbh.  And Flash 123, while softer at 3.0, is still strong with all grades green, including 3.0.  

 

Edited March 8, 2022 by Pantodude

[namisgr]

Thanks for compiling this information.  But it's also a difficult task.  Some of the books have few sales data, making the determination of fair market value a bit wobbly.  An example would be Hulk #2 - a CGC 3.0 copy sold just two weeks ago for under $2,300, far below the assigned FMV of $3,995.  But the comparative data that are available are still cool, and sure to provoke interesting discussion.

Edited March 1, 2022 by namisgr

[Pantodude]

On 3/1/2022 at 7:37 AM, namisgr said:

Thanks for compiling this information.  But it's also a difficult task.  Some of the books have few sales data, making the determination of fair market value a bit wobbly.  An example would be Hulk #2 - a CGC 3.0 copy sold just two weeks ago for under $2,300, far below the assigned FMV of $3,995.  But the comparative data that are available are still cool, and sure to provoke interesting discussion.

Right.  The data is much more limited at the NM- 9.2 grade used by Overstreet, so 3.0 seemed the way to go.  I was wondering about the Hulk 2, but that most recent sale at $3995 on 2/25 appeared to be supported by the out-sized $6750 for 4.5 on 2/18, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt.  Using $2750 instead for Hulk 2, it would be around 20th.  Still impressive.   

[MusterMark]

On 3/1/2022 at 7:39 AM, Pantodude said:

On 3/1/2022 at 4:37 AM, namisgr said:

Thanks for compiling this information.  But it's also a difficult task.  Some of the books have few sales data, making the determination of fair market value a bit wobbly.  An example would be Hulk #2 - a CGC 3.0 copy sold just two weeks ago for under $2,300, far below the assigned FMV of $3,995.  But the comparative data that are available are still cool, and sure to provoke interesting discussion.

Right.  The data is much more limited at the NM- 9.2 grade used by Overstreet, so 3.0 seemed the way to go.  I was wondering about the Hulk 2, but that most recent sale at $3995 on 2/25 appeared to be supported by the out-sized $6750 for 4.5 on 2/18, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt.  Using $2750 instead for Hulk 2, it would be around 20th.  Still impressive. 

I have highlighted the sentence in which you contrast data availabaility of 9.2 with that of 3.0.  Yes, the data is much more limited at 9.2, but going to almost the extreme opposite end might be a bit of overkill.  You could, for example, have chosen 6.0 or 5.0, instead of 3.0 - in which case, your rankings on at least some books would probably shift appreciably from where they are currently in your 3.0 data rankings.

[MusterMark]

On 2/27/2022 at 1:41 PM, Pantodude said:

a ranking using higher grades could not only include more DC keys, but also rank them higher.    

Ah, you have already mentioned that, I see.

But don't you think a 5.0 or 6.0 comparision might provide a "happy medium"?

[Pantodude]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:18 PM, MusterMark said:

Ah, you have already mentioned that, I see.

But don't you think a 5.0 or 6.0 comparision might provide a "happy medium"?

It could.  I might be curious enough to do another one...if you at least "like" my chart!     Anyway, I chose 3.0 b/c Overstreet already catered to the really deep pockets and I might as well do the other end fo the spectrum for a change!  See how expensive these books are even in 3.0?  But I am curious to see if 6.0 results are closer to Overstreet's 9.2 ranking or my 3.0 ranking.     

[shadroch]

Great work.  That is a fantastic list.  

[Pantodude]

Ok.  My curiosity piqued, here it is including 6.0 info (newcomers relative to Overstreet's list are in bold):

Rank	using Overstreet 2019-2020 for NM- 9.2	Rank	using FMV 6.0 as of 3/1/22		Rank	using FMV 3.0 as of 2/27/22
1	Amazing Fantasy 15	1	Amazing Fantasy 15	Edit: $150-175K as of 3/1?	1	Amazing Fantasy 15	$48,000.00
2	Incredible Hulk 1	2	Incredible Hulk 1	$63,000.00	2	Incredible Hulk 1	$25,000.00
3	Fantastic Four 1	2	Fantastic Four 1	$63,000.00	3	Showcase 4	$23,750.00
4	Showcase 4	4	Showcase 4	$54,000.00	4	Fantastic Four 1	$19,000.00
5	Brave and the Bold 28	5	X-Men 1	$34,000.00	5	Amazing Spider-Man 1	$14,400.00
6	Journey into Mystery 83	6	Journey into Mystery 83	$33,000.00	6	Journey into Mystery 83	$13,000.00
7	Amazing Spider-Man 1	6	Amazing Spider-Man 1	$31,000.00	6	X-Men 1	$13,000.00
8	X-Men 1	8	Fantastic Four 5	$22,000.00	8	Tales of Suspense 39	$12,500.00
9	Tales of Suspense 39	9	Tales of Suspense 39	$21,000.00	9	Fantastic Four 5	$11,000.00
10	Showcase 22	10	Avengers 1	$13,000.00	10	Avengers 1	$4,400.00
11	Tales to Astonish 27	11	Strange Tales 110	$9,500.00	11	Incredible Hulk 2	$3,995.00
12	Avengers 1	12	Tales to Astonish 27	$8,750.00	12	Showcase 22	$3,600.00
13	Flash 105	13	Showcase 22	$8,500.00	13	Amazing Spider-Man 2	$3,500.00
14	Adventure Comics 247	13	Adventure Comics 247	$8,500.00	14	Tales to Astonish 27	$3,425.00
15	Justice League of America 1	13	Fantastic Four 4	$8,500.00	15	Daredevil 1	$3,400.00
16	Action Comics 242	16	Brave and the Bold 28	$8,000.00	16	Amazing Spider-Man 3	$3,178.00
16	Action Comics 252	17	Daredevil 1	$7,750.00	17	Fantastic Four 4	$3,007.00
18	Our Army at War 83	17	Amazing Spider-Man 3	$7,750.00	18	Tales to Astonish 13	$2,863.00
19	Fantastic Four 5	19	Journey into Mystery 85	$7,500.00	19	Strange Tales 110	$2,800.00
20	Showcase 8	20	Tales to Astonish 13	$7,250.00	20	Amazing Spider-Man 14	$2,760.00
21	Strange Tales 110	21	Action Comics 242	$6,250.00	21	Brave and the Bold 28	$2,750.00
22	Green Lantern 1	21	Fantastic Four 2	$6,250.00	22	Journey into Mystery 85	$2,750.00
23	Fantastic Four 2	23	Fantastic Four 3	$6,000.00	23	Adventure Comics 247	$2,533.00
23	Fantastic Four 4	24	Amazing Spider-Man 2	$5,750.00	24	Fantastic Four 2	$2,500.00
25	Fantastic Four 3	24	Incredible Hulk 2	$5,750.00	25	Fantastic Four 3	$2,300.00
26	Amazing Spider-Man 2	26	Showcase 17	$5,250.00	26	Fantastic Four 48	$2,000.00
28	Showcase 9	27	Strange Tales 89	$4,900.00	27	Our Army at War 83	$2,000.00
28	Fantastic Four 12	28	Amazing Spider-Man 4	$4,800.00	28	Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1	$1,999.00
28	Incredible Hulk 2	28	Amazing Spider-Man 14	$4,800.00	29	Strange Tales 89	$1,995.00
28	Sgt. Fury 1	30	Tales to Astonish 35	$4,700.00	30	Batman 121  Amazing Spider-Man 4	$1,800.00
32	Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane 1	31	Our Army at War 83	$4,500.00	31	Fantastic Four 12	$1,750.00
32	Daredevil 1	31	Showcase 8	$4,500.00	32	Showcase 8	$1,700.00
32	Tales to Astonish 35	31	Journey into Mystery 84	$4,500.00	33	Action Comics 252	$1,699.00
34	Amazing Spider-Man 3	34	Action Comics 252	$4,200.00	34	Avengers 4	$1,620.00
35	Showcase 6	35	Sgt. Fury 1	$4,000.00	35	X-Men 4	$1,600.00
35	Showcase 13	36	Flash 105 Wonder Woman 98	$3,800.00	36	Flash 105	$1,585.00
35	Showcase 14	37	Fantastic Four 6	$3,650.00	37	Journey into Mystery 84	$1,530.00
35	Showcase 17	38	Avengers 4 Batman 121	$3,600.00	38	Fantastic Four 6	$1,475.00
35	Tales to Astonish 13	38	Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1	$3,600.00	39	Amazing Spider-Man 6	$1,430.00
40	Our Army at War 81	40	Tales of Suspense 1	$3,600.00	39	Amazing Spider-Man 5	$1,351.00
41	Richie Rich 1	41	Fantastic Four 48	$3,500.00	41	Sgt. Fury 1	$1,292.00
42	Flash 106	41	Tales to Astonish 1	$3,500.00	42	Richie Rich 1	$1,250.00
43	Brave and the Bold 25	43	Fantastic Four 12	$3,400.00	43	Action Comics 242	$1,136.00
44	Amazing Spider-Man 4	44	Incredible Hulk 3	$3,300.00	44	Amazing Spider-Man 15	$1,100.00
44	Avengers 4	45	Green Lantern 1	$2,900.00	45	Justice League of America 1	$1,083.00
44	Flash 123	46	Amazing Spider-Man 15	$2,850.00	46	Tales to Astonish 35	$1,080.00
47	Strange Tales 89	47	Justice League of America 1	$2,800.00	47	Fantastic Four 49	$1,050.00
48	Journey into Mystery 84	48	Amazing Spider-Man 6	$2,799.00	48	Amazing Spider-Man 9	$1,025.00
49	Journey into Mystery 85	49	Amazing Spider-Man 9	$2,750.00	49	Amazing Spider-Man 50	$1,025.00
50	Incredible Hulk 3	50	Brave and the Bold 25	$2,600.00	50	X-Men 2 Wonder Woman 98	$1,025.00
			Showcase 6	$2,450.00		Amazing Spider-Man 13	$1,000.00
			Amazing Spider-Man 5	$2,280.00		Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane 1	$1,000.00
			Amazing Spider-Man 13	$2,200.00		Incredible Hulk 3	$1,000.00
			Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane 1	$2,100.00		Tales of Suspense 1	$1,000.00
			Showcase 14	$2,100.00		Green Lantern 1 Tales to Astonish 1	$950.00
			Amazing Spider-Man 50	$2,100.00		Incredible Hulk 6	$900.00
			Fantastic Four 49	$2,100.00		Fantastic Four 52	$840.00
			Richie Rich 1	$2,000.00		Flash 106	$840.00

HIGHLIGHTS from adding 6.0 data (w/o repeating highlights above for just 3.0 data):  

*   I added a few more rows to see where Richie Rich 1 ended up!  He fell out off the 6.0 list  (compared to Overstreet), but kids being resilient, slipped only one spot in the 3.0 list!  

*   Top 7 for Overstreet 9.2 list and my 6.0 list are same except at 5th spot:  Overstreet has BB28 while my 6.0 list has X-Men 1.  

*   9 newcomers in the 6.0 list and 12 newcomers in the 3.0 list compared to Overstreet's list (9.2 grade)

*   As I expected, the 6.0 list included more DC titles than the 3.0 list, including Showcase 8 and 17 and Green Lantern 1, and Showcase 6 just missed the cut. 

*   AdvCom247, AC242, and BB28 had their highest ranks in Overstreet list, and higher in 6.0 list than 3.0 list.  Ranks of AC252 and SC22 didn't change much in 3.0 and 6.0 lists.  

*   ASM 50, Fantastic Four 49, X-Men 2, and X-Men 4 made the top 50 in the 3.0 list but not the 6.0 list.  Will that change?

*   Tales of Suspense 1 and Tales to Astonish 1 made the top 50 in the 6.0 list but not the 3.0 list (both barely missed out).

*   Newcomer Fantastic Four 5 went from 9th on the 3.0 list to 8th on the 6.0 list.  

*   Hulk 2's 24th spot on 6.0 list suggests that it's more likely at 20th spot (instead of 11th) on the 3.0 list, i.e., that recent 3.0 sale could be an outlier.  Still a hot book.  

*   In the 6.0 list, Action Comics 247 jumped one spot to 13th compared to 14th on Overstreet list. 

*   Showcase 4 is 3rd on 3.0 list and 4th on 6.0 list, as in Overstreet's. 

*   Edit 3/6: Batman 121 is also a newcomer, appearing on both the 6.0 list (at 35th) and the 3.0 list (at 30th).  Wonder Woman 98, too, appearing on the 6.0 list at 35th, or even 34th if I'm mistaken about the softness since 2019, and just making the last spot on the 3.0 list.

So there you have it.  

Edited March 6, 2022 by Pantodude

[Ant-Man]

I can’t remember what year the correction was finally made in Overstreet, but I think Batman 121 will find a home in both of your columns. Another recent add (I think) is Wonder Woman 98. Great lists!

[Bluemedgroup]

Fantastic list.  No wonder silver age ASM is considered the blue chip books.  

Only thing that I can see might be more helpful is perhaps putting a column with #of spots moved up or down compared to overstreet rank.  

 

[MattTheDuck]

Great information.  The "premium" paid for a 6.0 over a 3.0 where the books are listed in both grades runs from 550 percent for Action 242 down to 165 percent for ASM 2.

[Hudson]

Interesting read.

Great work.

Thanks to OP.