NoMan Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 Asking for a friend. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Furious Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 Not Mark Jewelry but Mark Jeweler. They were one of the early variants. They targeted military personnel with low-cost Jewelry and twice-monthly payment plans to coincide with their military paychecks. The inserts were primarily put into books that were distributed on military bases. Meaning that their survival rates were low, and their history was intriguing. grendelbo and Juno Beach 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroch Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 They are a small percentage of the total print run, and a generation ago were mysterious and scarce in many parts of the world. HouseofComics.Com 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysterymachine Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 I seem to remember reading in one of the Overstreet guides (way back when I was still a teenager) that collectors liked them because the inserts supported the book and kept them in better shape. I know that when I was buying them, they were not displayed in comic racks but rather on magazine racks. So, they usually wouldn't have that top staple crease that the comic racks gave them. Somehow the focus shifted to rarity. I don't get the interest myself. NoMan and aardvark88 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizards2 Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 They are heavier. Silver Surfer and BigLeagueCHEW 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoMan Posted August 16, 2023 Author Share Posted August 16, 2023 On 8/15/2023 at 8:56 PM, Nick Furious said: Not Mark Jewelry but Mark Jeweler. They were one of the early variants. They targeted military personnel with low-cost Jewelry and twice-monthly payment plans to coincide with their military paychecks. The inserts were primarily put into books that were distributed on military bases. Meaning that their survival rates were low, and their history was intriguing. Ok, cool. I get it. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toro Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 DR.X 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gonzimodo Posted August 16, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted August 16, 2023 I was initially annoyed by them when I was in the military and buying them. "What are these stupid inserts? Are these reprints or something?" Now I think they're really cool, because those specific comics are essentially souvenirs of that time of my life. The idea that they now may have more market value than their "civilian" counterparts is just the icing on the cake. I just wish I hadn't sold my Uncanny X-Men 266 Mark Jeweler variant years ago because it had a small corner bump and I wanted to upgrade. It didn't even cross my mind at the time that MJ variants were special in any way, so hopefully the buyer realized what it is and was happily surprised when he received it. ttfitz, toro, Point Five and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollyComics Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 On 8/16/2023 at 12:12 AM, lizards2 said: They are heavier. Teabags. RockMyAmadeus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigLeagueCHEW Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 On 8/15/2023 at 8:51 PM, NoMan said: Asking for a friend. Thanks. It's the same question that is asked for Newsstand copies and Whitmans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattTheDuck Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 On 8/15/2023 at 10:12 PM, lizards2 said: They are heavier. Also thicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAR1979 Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 On 8/15/2023 at 11:51 PM, NoMan said: Asking for a friend. Thanks. Uh-huh, sure you are... waynemel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cman429 Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 I don't get it either. But I guess some people just like collecting whatever odd variations of common comics they can find. I watch a lot of IG streams and you always see people asking for Mark Jewelers or Pence copies or CPVs or any other slight little deviation that makes a regular ordinary - often easily found - book into a "rare variation." B2D327 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzimodo Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 On 8/16/2023 at 3:40 PM, Cman429 said: I don't get it either. But I guess some people just like collecting whatever odd variations of common comics they can find. I watch a lot of IG streams and you always see people asking for Mark Jewelers or Pence copies or CPVs or any other slight little deviation that makes a regular ordinary - often easily found - book into a "rare variation." I've come to appreciate the ones I have as souvenirs of my time in the Army, but I have no desire to seek out and collect any more of them. Some people are just wired to collect things like that. I'm not. In modern parlance, I'm generally a "Cover A" kind of guy. Dave2739, mysterymachine and BlowUpTheMoon 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicginger1789 Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 (edited) I’ll be “that guy” and add in the fact that before Mark Jewellers there were National Diamond inserts. Essentially the same thing just with a different name (and women’s lingerie) also added alongside the ring adverts in the middle of the book. I forget off the top of my head by these ran for about a year I believe in 1971 or 1972… After that they were Mark Jewellers inserts and those can be found in books all the way to the early 90s Edited August 17, 2023 by comicginger1789 Gonzimodo, grendelbo, icp004 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post valiantman Posted August 17, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted August 17, 2023 (edited) I believe these would be a "bigger deal" if it was possible to identify them simply by looking at the front cover. It would be a fun thing to search for on Ebay, etc. The math is also fun... if the majority of people never care at all about Mark Jeweler or high grade Newsstand or Pence Editions or Canadian Prices, that doesn't mean that those books won't become special because it only takes 10.1% demand for something with 10% supply to beat supply with demand. If Mark Jewelers turn out to be in 2% of the market, it only takes 2.1% demand for demand to beat supply. When 100 people want something that only 95 can own... it doesn't matter if 4,900 don't care. If a few more people start to notice and join in, then it doesn't hurt the majority to go from 4,900 not caring to 4,800 not caring, but look at demand going from 100 to 200 for something only 95 can own. Insane possibility, while always being "unimportant" to the vast majority of collectors. People who "don't care" don't matter if the supply is low. Overall demand doesn't have to be high, it just has to be higher than supply. Edited August 17, 2023 by valiantman RockMyAmadeus, ttfitz, B2D327 and 4 others 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyromaniac Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 I'm hunting a raw xmen 266 mj if anyone has any leads. Besides ebay. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the blob Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 On 8/16/2023 at 3:40 PM, Cman429 said: I don't get it either. But I guess some people just like collecting whatever odd variations of common comics they can find. I watch a lot of IG streams and you always see people asking for Mark Jewelers or Pence copies or CPVs or any other slight little deviation that makes a regular ordinary - often easily found - book into a "rare variation." It's cool to run into them unless maybe you were near a military base and see tons of them. I have like 10,000+ bronze age books (ok, that's just a guess) and I don't think I have more than 20 of these. I know they're not that rare, but I dunno, it's cool, like finding a silver quarter or dime in your change. Ken Aldred and ttfitz 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcjames Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 On 4/16/2024 at 9:41 AM, Pyromaniac said: I'm hunting a raw xmen 266 mj if anyone has any leads. Besides ebay. Thanks! 8 months to the date qualifies for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange Trip Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 I grew up in about 20 min from Grissom Air Force Base in Kokomo Indiana. I never bought comics on the base, but in local shops in surrounding towns. I have a very modest collection, but a lot of the news stand issues I have from my childhood are Mark Jeweler; except my ASM 300 and NM 98 of course! They were not a thing back then, but it makes me wonder how many MJs I brushed by flipping through long boxes in grade school and Jr High. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
