2023 CGC Grading Contest Summer Edition (#7) Round 4 10 10

[Electron]

 

On 8/6/2023 at 11:04 AM, JollyComics said:

I did not do well on the last round like last contest.

According to the grader note for Avenger #7

Please confirm me if this is a tear on Iron Man's leg and boot and crease to the cover (I think two of them).

Right there with you..I completely missed the tear and crease on the Avengers 7 and blew it by 4 grades... close on the other four with one bullseye, but the Avengers destroyed my score this round.

Thanks again to Mike and CGC for a great time! Always enjoy these contests. 

 

Side note: You'd have to threaten me with a horrific death to agree with 3.0 on the masking taped Horrific. Can't see it at all. The spine could be 100% split under that awful looking tape job. I thought 2.0 was generous...

[JollyComics]

On 8/6/2023 at 4:50 PM, Electron said:

 

Right there with you..I completely missed the tear and crease on the Avengers 7 and blew it by 4 grades... close on the other four with one bullseye, but the Avengers destroyed my score this round.

Thanks again to Mike and CGC for a great time! Always enjoy these contests. 

 

Side note: You'd have to threaten me with a horrific death to agree with 3.0 on the masking taped Horrific. Can't see it at all. The spine could be 100% split under that awful looking tape job. I thought 2.0 was generous...

Since the rule is to NOT allowed to discuss the book at all, I was torn between 1.5 to 3.0 for Horrific #3 and that tape obstructed all defects. Three extra staples made me think of the spine is split by half or more so I gambled 1.5 on this book. I knew 50/50 chance of blowing it or getting a pure luck. It's a terrible choice of that book for this last round.

[Electron]

On 8/6/2023 at 4:58 PM, JollyComics said:

Since the rule is to NOT allowed to discuss the book at all, I was torn between 1.5 to 3.0 for Horrific #3 and that tape obstructed all defects. Three extra staples made me think of the spine is split by half or more so I gambled 1.5 on this book. I knew 50/50 chance of blowing it or getting a pure luck. It's a terrible choice of that book for this last round.

Agreed. The only way to get an accurate grade on a book like that, other than pure luck, is to have it in hand and examine the spine for splitting. Obviously the grade would vary for all of us depending on whether the spine was completely split compared to no splitting at all. The tape made that assessment impossible. Not a very good choice for a scan grading contest imho, but what the heck do I know...

[grendelbo]

So I actually got a bullseye on that Horrific 3. I'll chalk it mostly up to luck but I did have my reasons for the grade.

All these books I looked at for no more than a minute each. I figured the Horrific did not have a split and detached cover, even with the added staples. This would've been a hidden flaw Mike would've noted.

The tape along the spine, front and back cover reader's crease and the added staples all would put the book in the 3.5-4.0 range, IMO. Since it has all three major defects I figured it would be a 2.5/3.0. I gave it a bump for a classic PCH cover.

[Electron]

Very nice bullseye! Sound reasoning for your grade as well.

[CJ Design]

On 8/6/2023 at 6:05 PM, grendelbo said:

So I actually got a bullseye on that Horrific 3. I'll chalk it mostly up to luck but I did have my reasons for the grade.

All these books I looked at for no more than a minute each. I figured the Horrific did not have a split and detached cover, even with the added staples. This would've been a hidden flaw Mike would've noted.

The tape along the spine, front and back cover reader's crease and the added staples all would put the book in the 3.5-4.0 range, IMO. Since it has all three major defects I figured it would be a 2.5/3.0. I gave it a bump for a classic PCH cover.

Maybe I may have missed it along the line in the past, but I wasn't sure if Mike would mention a split spine or not. I just figured (in my stupidity) that is it had full tape and extra staples...a split was present

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 8/6/2023 at 6:05 PM, grendelbo said:

So I actually got a bullseye on that Horrific 3. I'll chalk it mostly up to luck but I did have my reasons for the grade.

All these books I looked at for no more than a minute each. I figured the Horrific did not have a split and detached cover, even with the added staples. This would've been a hidden flaw Mike would've noted.

The tape along the spine, front and back cover reader's crease and the added staples all would put the book in the 3.5-4.0 range, IMO. Since it has all three major defects I figured it would be a 2.5/3.0. I gave it a bump for a classic PCH cover.

Idk why but I have a book/slab with added staples that is a 1.8, so that's what I gave it. I remember doing research as I didn't buy it knowingly with extra staples (was a blurry ebay picture), but wondered why the grade, sure enough all the ones I saw years ago WERE 1.8. I just assumed it was the defect.

 

[CGC Mike]

I hope to have the results around 9:30 tonight.  

[Ride the Tiger]

On 8/6/2023 at 6:44 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

Idk why but I have a book/slab with added staples that is a 1.8, so that's what I gave it. I remember doing research as I didn't buy it knowingly with extra staples (was a blurry ebay picture), but wondered why the grade, sure enough all the ones I saw years ago WERE 1.8. I just assumed it was the defect.

 

You know what to do. Add 1 staple. Cover spine with masking tape. Re-submit.

[zzutak]

Your reasoning is sound, Bo (and appreciated).    Now here's mine: 

Remember that Mike does not grade these books, so he can only flag what's reported on the grader notes (and those notes are often very incomplete).  Now, check out these two images.  The red line on the second image is where the bottom staple is located on all copies of this issue I've seen.  I'm seeing two things:

1. No "green" around the lower staple (which suggests the front cover paper is missing in this area).
2. Two diagonal tears: one long tear upward from the upper leg/prong of the staple, and one short tear downward from the lower leg/prong of the staple.

My working theory was that the cover pulled off the staples, and that the spine paper was so damaged that any new staples would not hold.  So tape was placed along the entire spine to reinforce the cover paper and enable the added staples to hold.  Obviously, according to CGC, my theory does not hold water. 

Edited August 7, 2023 by zzutak

[Electron]

On 8/6/2023 at 6:42 PM, CJ Design said:

Maybe I may have missed it along the line in the past, but I wasn't sure if Mike would mention a split spine or not. I just figured (in my stupidity) that is it had full tape and extra staples...a split was present

I’d argue you used logic and experience here, not stupidity. How many times have you seen a raw book with a fully taped spine that had no spine splitting? It’s rare in my experience. The tape is usually there to repair a split spine and added staples to reattach the cover. 

[Quake1028]

I gave that Horrific book a 1.5. A 3.0 honestly kind of blows my mind.

[paqart]

On 8/6/2023 at 8:43 PM, Quake1028 said:

I gave that Horrific book a 1.5. A 3.0 honestly kind of blows my mind.

I gave it a 1.8, right between my other two choices, 1.5 and 2.0. I saw several 2.0's that looked slightly better, and a few 1.5's that were worse, so I left it at 1.8. If I was buying it, I'd insist on a 1.8 price or no deal.

[Point Five]

Another data point: here's a book of mine that CGC graded a 3.0 less than two months ago.   I mean... 

[paqart]

On 8/6/2023 at 9:09 PM, Point Five said:

Another data point: here's a book of mine that CGC graded a 3.0 less than two months ago.   I mean... 

Looks a lot better than H3, especially the back.

[CJ Design]

On 8/6/2023 at 8:09 PM, Point Five said:

Another data point: here's a book of mine that CGC graded a 3.0 less than two months ago.   I mean... 

More tape=3.5

[JollyComics]

On 8/6/2023 at 7:43 PM, Quake1028 said:

I gave that Horrific book a 1.5. A 3.0 honestly kind of blows my mind.

THAT!

[CGC Mike]

I'm working on the results thread now.

[Point Five]

On 8/6/2023 at 9:39 PM, CJ Design said:

More tape=3.5

I'm going to take one for the team, completely cover the Lovelorn #53 in masking tape and resubmit to see what happens. The woman at the table will just have a little non-taped window to peek out of.

 

[Withering Wind]

On 8/6/2023 at 6:48 PM, CGC Mike said:

I'm working on the results thread now.

Oh goodie, I get to see how far I dropped.