Keep Keys with Runs or Separate? 2 2

[Krydel4]

I picked up my old collection from when I was a kid from my parents as I'm helping them clear out their 60+ years of stuff. It's mostly complete runs of books I collected from the late 80s thru 2006. I haven't looked at some of these books in 25+ years. I know some of the books have become keys in my New Mutants 1-100 run (87, 98) and my ASM run of 256- 400 (300, 360) and many other series. So I will be fresh bagging and boarding + new short boxes with the comic art. So asking those who have done it do you separate your keys out and store them in a key box or keep them with their runs?

[Lord Gemini]

On 9/1/2022 at 12:56 AM, Krydel4 said:

I picked up my old collection from when I was a kid from my parents as I'm helping them clear out their 60+ years of stuff. It's mostly complete runs of books I collected from the late 80s thru 2006. I haven't looked at some of these books in 25+ years. I know some of the books have become keys in my New Mutants 1-100 run (87, 98) and my ASM run of 256- 400 (300, 360) and many other series. So I will be fresh bagging and boarding + new short boxes with the comic art. So asking those who have done it do you separate your keys out and store them in a key box or keep them with their runs?

I keep them with my runs unless I plan on sending them in to get slabbed. Those go in their own box.

[sevans1979]

For me I do both. If it’s a “bigger” key like hulk 180, House of secrets 92, uncanny X-men 266 etc I put them in a “key box”. If it’s a smaller key, say under $30 or so I just put them with the runs. 

[Dave2739]

On 9/1/2022 at 7:36 AM, Lord Gemini said:

I keep them with my runs unless I plan on sending them in to get slabbed. Those go in their own box.

Same here. 

[F For Fake]

On 9/1/2022 at 8:24 AM, sevans1979 said:

For me I do both. If it’s a “bigger” key like hulk 180, House of secrets 92, uncanny X-men 266 etc I put them in a “key box”. If it’s a smaller key, say under $30 or so I just put them with the runs. 

Same. I keep "the good stuff" in a set of acid-free fliptop boxes, stored a little more securely, whereas everything else goes in traditional short boxes in alpha order. I try to take care of everything, but the good books are separated out in case I ever had to "grab and go". I can carry four fliptop boxes a lot easier than I could a couple dozen shorties.

[Galen130]

Keep in the runs…

[Dr. Balls]

I always kept my ungraded keys with the run - if I was worried about a key getting bent or whatever in the box, I'd just double-board it or put it in a bigger bag with a couple bigger boards.

[shadroch]

It used to be anything over $50 I would pull from the run. Then it got to $100.  Eventually, I had as many boxes of $100 books as I had boxes of runs.  Have not been into runs for almost a decade. I have a few books from titles that I buy a bunch of and don't worry about runs anymore.  

I make it very easy for thieves.  I keep a few boxes marked- Super Prime Show Stock $100 and up  on my shelves, filled with low grade SA books and the good stuff is marked as something else.

 

[Axelrod]

Hey, I did this three years ago!  

Everything is all together.  I didn't pull out the "best" books and put them somewhere else (I just put those ones in higher quality mylar bags as opposed to the poly bags for most of it).  

Now that I have a (very few) graded books, those are on a wall.  But no special "key" box for me.  

[universal soldier]

Sounds way too confusing to separate out with that level of granularity. Runs with only graded books separated into other boxes.

I get more wishy washy over straight alpha sorting or alpha and publisher. My DC is separated out from Marvel but I've been mixing in my Image with Marvel and keeping the alpha sort. This makes me a bit 

[ExNihilo]

My major keys are separated in an emergency box of sorts so I can easily grab it if the need arises.  I have another box of ungraded books that are like $200+.

[Stefan_W]

I usually keep the runs together. The exception is for keys where the value depends a lot on the grade, and where a spine ticks could mean a difference of hundreds of dollars or more. For those books I either have them graded or I put them in top loaders. Since top loaders don't easily fit into my regular PC short boxes they end up in a BCW hard plastic bin. 

Edited September 1, 2022 by Stefan_W

[Gonzimodo]

I separate out my more expensive books into separate boxes as a grab-and-go in case of emergency.  Of course, that will make it easier for thieves if they know where to look...

[comicginger1789]

On 9/1/2022 at 1:56 AM, Krydel4 said:

I picked up my old collection from when I was a kid from my parents as I'm helping them clear out their 60+ years of stuff. It's mostly complete runs of books I collected from the late 80s thru 2006. I haven't looked at some of these books in 25+ years. I know some of the books have become keys in my New Mutants 1-100 run (87, 98) and my ASM run of 256- 400 (300, 360) and many other series. So I will be fresh bagging and boarding + new short boxes with the comic art. So asking those who have done it do you separate your keys out and store them in a key box or keep them with their runs?

I keep my keys in with my runs....for example, my Iron First run has 14 right in amongst the rest.

Over time, my plan is to eventually slab the most valuable stuff I have so it will one day be graded but right now I like keeping things in with each other. 

[The lips]

I don’t own slabs so everything is in its run 

[Gonzimodo]

On 9/1/2022 at 3:00 PM, comicginger1789 said:

I keep my keys in with my runs....for example, my Iron First run has 14 right in amongst the rest.

Over time, my plan is to eventually slab the most valuable stuff I have so it will one day be graded but right now I like keeping things in with each other. 

Whenever possible, I buy the cheap reprints (facsimile editions, True Believers, etc.) and put them in with the runs to replace the originals that are in my "premium" boxes.

[Krismusic]

On 9/1/2022 at 3:46 PM, Gonzimodo said:

Whenever possible, I buy the cheap reprints (facsimile editions, True Believers, etc.) and put them in with the runs to replace the originals that are in my "premium" boxes.

That’s interesting I like that… might have to do that as well

[ExNihilo]

On 9/1/2022 at 4:20 PM, Krismusic said:

That’s interesting I like that… might have to do that as well

There's so many these days, I'm starting to file facsimile's/reprints in their own box.  Same with sketch covers.

[Dr Zen]

Like a couple of others in this thread, I have a short box of my most cherished books. 

It's based on value, age, books signed by creators that are no longer with it and perhaps some sentimental value. I have already accepted that if the house catches on fire I'm grabbing that box and the rest will just have to go up in flames.

[ThaFlowerCosmic]

I constantly go back and forth on this. The retailer in me feels like the "right" answer is to keep runs together so there's just one process for finding comics and less to remember. But the collector in me just loves to flip through my keys and see them all in one place. I love seeing all the books I wanted but couldn't afford as a kid in one place but then when I have to sell a book I'm much more likely to look in the wrong place.