What’s the lowest numerical number you would consider high grade? 1 1

[goldust40]

G/S/B - 8.5.

[Robot Man]

8.0 for GA. Back in the day anything graded 8.0 today would be considered NM-M by most. 

[october]

8.5, for all ages. 

A VF+ is (almost) always a really nice looking comic with only minor flaws. 

[rjpb]

On 7/1/2023 at 2:50 PM, MattTheDuck said:

There are 24 possible "grades" that CGC provides (not including "NG" or "Page").  Seven of these (29 percent) are 9.0 and above.  At 8.5 and above, you have 1/3 of possible grades.  That seems to me a reasonable dividing line - however, I suspect you have an outsized percentage of all grades in 8.5 and above so the sample size may be skewed.

Yeah, but 6 of those grades are crammed into the top decile of the scale for a reason. When you get into the NM grades people care enough about small differences that they parse the grades more closely, and CGC has encouraged this further by creating grades that really weren't considered in the raw era. People may have thrown around terms like NM+ or "Gem Mint" to sell the quality of a given book, but realistically above "NM" there were flawless copies (Mint) and copies that the seller considered on the bubble between NM and Mint (either NM/M or NM+). I suppose the nature of the CGC grading scale (which has been pretty much universally adopted) argues that the "high grade" should be reserved for grades that are measured in .2  increments (or 1 point at the top) rather than .5 increments if one is looking for a non-era specific general definition. 

For those of us who cut our collecting teeth when raw books were the only option, books VF and above were considered attractive acceptable copies suitable for one's collection for all but the pickiest collectors. You had "mint chasers" back then, and an appreciation for stunning copies of older books that one rarely saw in better than FN, but if you planned on completing a "high grade" SA run in any reasonable amount of time, let alone a GA one, then you were probably settling for VF copies now and then.

 

 

[rjpb]

On 7/2/2023 at 7:21 AM, Robot Man said:

8.0 for GA. Back in the day anything graded 8.0 today would be considered NM-M by most. 

Of course back in the day, we used to write the selling price directly on the book, even the "NM" ones. 

[Mmehdy]

8.5

[EastEnd1]

It's pretty simple for me... VF 8.0... regardless of age.

[Sauce Dog]

8.0 / VF or better is high grade, regardless of era (obviously for newer eras like Bronze/Copper/Modern I find it's just as easy to find a 9.4 copy unless budget is a big issue, so you can be more picky)

5.0 / VG/FN to 7.5 VF- is mid grade, and anything 4.5 VG+ or less is low grade for me.

[Axe Elf]

On 7/2/2023 at 2:14 PM, Sauce Dog said:

8.0 / VF or better is high grade, regardless of era (obviously for newer eras like Bronze/Copper/Modern I find it's just as easy to find a 9.4 copy unless budget is a big issue, so you can be more picky)

5.0 / VG/FN to 7.5 VF- is mid grade, and anything 4.5 VG+ or less is low grade for me.

I could live with that.

[N e r V]

Anything after bronze 9.6-up

Bronze 1975-1985 9.4-up

Bronze 1970-1974 9.2-up

Silver 1964-1969 9.0-up

Silver 1956-1963 8.5-up

Gold 1950-1955 8.0-up

Gold 1943-1949 7.5-up

Gold 1933-1942 7.0-up

Exceptions in Gold would be scarce keys like Action #1, Detective #27, Marvel #1, etc…

6.5-up based on usual numbers likely to exist favor lower numbers.

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by N e r V
Edit mistake

[jimbo_7071]

8.0 regardless of the era.

[sfcityduck]

The lowest numerical number for the best extant example of that comic is the bottom line for my "high grade." For example, if the best existing copy of a comic is 5.0, then that's high grade.

 

 

 

[Cat-Man_America]

8.5 is where I tend to draw the line, but lower grades can be reevaluated. Note: I've always said an 8.5 is just a 9.0 in training.

On 7/8/2023 at 9:18 PM, sfcityduck said:

The lowest numerical number for the best extant example of that comic is the bottom line for my "high grade." For example, if the best existing copy of a comic is 5.0, then that's high grade.

 

 

 

While I'll agree that a 5.0 can be the highest grade, technically it's still a mid-grade book. No amount of lipstick will transform an average book into a beauty queen, not that there aren't "beauty shoppes" offering makeover bumps! Besides, the unearthing of a much higher grade copy would upend the applecart for a mid-grade book, and that's more likely to happen in the case of a 5.0 than say an 8.0 or higher. That doesn't take anything away from the appeal of mid-grade books though.

For instance, to my knowledge, the book below is a highest grade, but it's a high mid-grade book. There are three of these in the CGC census totaling 29 (24 Universal; 5 restored). While I'm passionate about collecting higher grades I'm also a realist and fully prepared that one of the other copies may be resubmitted and bumped to high grade at some point. I'm perfectly content with my copy remaining on the cusp of high grade without rolling the dice on having it bumped, but who knows, if the PQ also ticked up a notch perhaps I could be persuaded. 

Spoiler

Edited July 10, 2023 by Cat-Man_America
More ale!

[Filter81]

For me it depends on the book.  If the highest graded copy on the census is a 4.0, then 4.0 is high grade.

But on average, I'd consider 8.0+ to be high grade for most Golden Age books.  

[Bird]

year it was published is irrelevant...you shouldn't have to decode what year a book was published to decide if it is high grade. You are overthinking it. Looking at the book is when you decide the grade, not after consulting a publishing checklist, i.e. to see if it is SA or BA.("Oh, I thought this was published in 1958 but it is 1948, so it is in much better condition that I decided when actually looking at the book. If it had been published in 1938 this book would be minty mint")

Look at the book, VF or better is high grade.

 

[circumstances]

i've only been interested in golden age for a long time.

i consider anything above 6.5 high grade. once you get into the 7.0's and above, that's the sweetness.

even some 6.5's can put me on the fence.

[sfcityduck]

On 7/11/2023 at 3:51 AM, circumstances said:

i've only been interested in golden age for a long time.

i consider anything above 6.5 high grade. once you get into the 7.0's and above, that's the sweetness.

even some 6.5's can put me on the fence.

Most of my buying is GA and as a general proposition I believe books 7.5 and above look “high grade” but I am ok drawing that look line between anywhere between 7.0 to 8.5 because grading is still and always be a bit inconsistent.

For moderns, given the paper stock and immediate care given to the books , I have trouble viewing even a 9.0 as high grade.  

[Badger]

Too many its that "ooo" feeling you get when you hold high grade books that you just don't get with a lessor grade. An 8.0 Golden Age book can blow your socks off. An 8.0 modern? Drek.  High grade is subjective and more than just the letter or number grade. We've all seen 5.5 books that look much much higher hence the phrase, "Looks high-grade!" It comes down to the drool factor and what makes you drool may not wet another persons lips. 

 

Gold 8.0 and up is high grade.

Silver 8.5 and up

bronze 9.4 and up

copper and modern 9.8