Auction has just started and set a new record for Action #1. 7 7

[tth2]

On 3/25/2024 at 10:06 PM, Bronty said:

On 3/20/2024 at 11:46 AM, Vintage_Paper said:

Currently up to $4,200,000.00  ($5,040,000.00 with buyers premium)

I find bidding if that strong that early to be.. curious.   

On the one hand you'd better be pretty darn careful trying to shill something with a 840,000 BP.    On the other hand WTF is anyone thinking bidding 5m two weeks before the auction deadline.    Doesn't seem to be a reserve on the lot.

Curious as to other people's thoughts on that.

I already posted my thoughts on it.  It is no doubt OA-like defensive/price-support bidding by other Action 1 investors.

Edited March 26 by tth2

[Bronty]

On 3/25/2024 at 11:45 PM, szav said:

If it's not at a level well above where anyone expected it could possibly finish then I don't see what the worry is, and I don't think it is yet.  I have occasionally employed the bid close to my actual max method right off the bat during an auction when there's only 1 or 2 items that I'm interested in at all.  And I almost never participate in the live auctions.

My thought has been, and of course I don't know if it works, that doing so might nudge people to go after something else instead.  I've won some books even on HA where this bid was twice the eventual winning bid, and sometimes it's very close to it, and usually I lose.  Don't do it often but could see it pretty easily being the case that you've got two guys here that don't care about money, and don't care about any other books in the auction.

I do wonder how closely the bidding psychology of someone with 100-1000 times more money than I have could still match my own in terms of a bidding on a book at the same relative value to our respective wealth.  Could it be the same just with 2 or 3 zeros added to it all.

Has anyone watched enough of the previous million dollar book sales closely enough to know, does it always come down to two whales duking it out in real time during the live auction, or do proxy bids ever take it?  I'm not sure I could do my bomb bid method over a million even if I had that money....but I dunno, these people live in a different world than I do. 

I didn't say there was a worry.    Just notably aggressive for being this early.

[Bronty]

On 3/26/2024 at 12:03 AM, tth2 said:

I already posted my thoughts on it.  It is no doubt OA-like defensive/price-support bidding by other Action 1 investors.

exactly

[BFA1971]

I wonder if after a record sale, someone other than the seller of this one will dump a 9.2-9.4 on the market that someone has been holding onto for the right time.... Not sure if the market could potentially handle that value in that grade yet.  I guess also it would have to coincide with their life circumstances too IE needed/wanted to sell. The right time to sell is presumably never as the value should keep going up on Action #1. Do you guys think that there is a 9.4 for example out there and "they" are waiting for the market to "mature" enough? Or would they wait until someone sells one of the 9.0's?

Edited March 26 by BFA1971

[sfcityduck]

On 3/26/2024 at 6:19 AM, BFA1971 said:

I wonder if after a record sale, someone other than the seller of this one will dump a 9.2-9.4 on the market that someone has been holding onto for the right time.... Not sure if the market could potentially handle that value in that grade yet.  I guess also it would have to coincide with their life circumstances too IE needed/wanted to sell. The right time to sell is presumably never as the value should keep going up on Action #1. Do you guys think that there is a 9.4 for example out there and "they" are waiting for the market to "mature" enough? Or would they wait until someone sells one of the 9.0's?

As far as anyone knows you are describing one book, the uncertified Mile High Action 1 estimated by Borock and Fishler to be a 9.2-9.4 (few others have seen it), and it appears the owner and his son will never sell.

Edited March 26 by sfcityduck

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

On 3/25/2024 at 11:03 PM, tth2 said:

I already posted my thoughts on it.  It is no doubt OA-like defensive/price-support bidding by other Action 1 investors.

People willing to take the “Oops, I’ve now got 2 Actions 1s” risk

[sfcityduck]

On 3/26/2024 at 9:08 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

People willing to take the “Oops, I’ve now got 2 Actions 1s” risk

While there are some pretty famous stories of owners of large stocks of art by one artist in the fine art world propping up prices at auction, Mugrabi who owned 800 Warhols is imfamous, I don't see the need or motive for anyone to do so with Action 1.  

[BFA1971]

On 3/26/2024 at 2:10 PM, sfcityduck said:

As far as anyone knows you are describing one book, the uncertified Mile High Action 1 estimated by Borock and Fishler to be a 9.2-9.4 9 (few others have seen it), and it appears the owner and his son will never sell.

I must have gotten confused as I thought the Mile High was a 9.0 … sorry for the amateur question…so the Edgar Church copy is the Mile High copy and the current Owner is the “Dentist”? Apologies read this somewhere but think I am mixing things up!

[NoMan]

I overheard the guys at the LCS (who usually are pretty spot on with their comic-book stuff) said this was P-Diddy's copy. Can anyone confirm this?

[Crowzilla]

On 3/26/2024 at 3:11 PM, BFA1971 said:

I must have gotten confused as I thought the Mile High was a 9.0 … sorry for the amateur question…so the Edgar Church copy is the Mile High copy and the current Owner is the “Dentist”? Apologies read this somewhere but think I am mixing things up!

Yes the Church copy = Mile High copy, and is owned by "The Dentist" (at that level, you aren't just a dentist, but THE dentist). The Dentist also owns the nicest known copies of Detective #27, Superman #1, Batman #1, Whiz #1, and Pep #22, along with the next couple of dozen issues of Action Comics from the Church collection, the original 1966 Batmobile (#1 and #2), and a host of other GA/SA and OA treasures. A true collector who loves the books and the hobby, and is unlikely to be motivated to sell anytime soon.

Both 9.0 copies of Action #1 are owned by the same person (Ayman Hariri) who also has a bunch of other really nice books, is in an even better financial position than The Dentist and also unlikely to have a motive to sell for the foreseeable future.

Edited March 26 by Crowzilla
sp

[sfcityduck]

On 3/26/2024 at 12:11 PM, BFA1971 said:

I must have gotten confused as I thought the Mile High was a 9.0 … sorry for the amateur question…so the Edgar Church copy is the Mile High copy and the current Owner is the “Dentist”? Apologies read this somewhere but think I am mixing things up!

Edgar Church was the Original Owner of the group of books bought after his death by Chuck Rozanski of Mile High Comics which were initially called the "Mile High" pedigree but for reasons we don't need to delve into (many pedigree names are not those of the OO) have evolved into being called the Edgar Church/Mile High pedigree.

The "Dentist" or "DA" etc. is the owner of that comic. Steve Borock was the chief grader for CGC & CBCS and Stephen Fischler is part owner of Metropolis Comics/Comic Connect who invented the numeric grading scale, and both have seen the book and offered their 9.2-9.4 views on the grade. Most folks believe the MH is the "best existing" Action 1, but you never know. There have been rumors of other longtime collectors than DA who are sitting on really nice Action 1s. The perception of the number of high grade GA comics generally gets deflated due to the perception that almost all are encapsulated, which is certainly not the case. Action Comic 1s were a lot more available then people think they were back in the early days of comic collecting. They were also a lot more affordable. Mitch Mehdy's Guiness Book of World Records Action 1 cost but a fraction of the cost of a house in 1973 at $1,800 and change, but ten years earlier Action 1 was available in the low hundreds and less. Who knows where those are? Richard Kyle bought his copy off the stand and still had it according to Xero 8 which came out in 1962.

The best collection ever seen on these boards, Bangzoom's, is entirely unencapsulated and I don't think he ever denied owning an Action 1 even though he did not admit. The guy did, however, own the check paid to Siegel or Shuster for work on Action 1 and I just don't think he'd have that if he didn't have an Action 1.  BZ is a guy, after all, who was collecting in the early 60s and dealing nice key GA books (which suggests he had great books before he picked up the key group of OO books in the 1970s that wowed everyone on these boards).

The problem with estimates of the number of Action 1s is that a lot of numbers were thrown out at various times that were based on just local guesses. Mitch Mehdy, who I am not picking on here but he did get a lot of press so what he said entered the zeitgeist, told the press when they covered his purchase that his Action 1 was one of only 9 known copies. That wasn't true then. Wasn't a lie, just that Mitch didn't know the true numbers because he was a Sacramento teen in 1973 and there were collectors all over the country but no internet or reliable sources of information for him to tap. My guess is that there are other high grade copies out there, but one likely to top a 9.2 MH Copy? Unlikely, but not impossible.

The two 9.0s are owned by Hariri and one is the stolen but recovered "Nick Cage copy" and the other was brought to market by Darren Adams after several upgrades in its holder (the book has a spine split but blinding white pages and the 9.0 might be technically generous but seems to have some beauty contest accuracy). The copy Adams sold was owned for many years by an established dealer who kept it in the same cedar blanket box in which he found it. This has added to the perception of the magic power of cedar to preserve comics as the MH comics were, in part, stored in a closet with cedar paneling.

 

 

Edited March 26 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

On 3/26/2024 at 1:14 PM, NoMan said:

I overheard the guys at the LCS (who usually are pretty spot on with their comic-book stuff) said this was P-Diddy's copy. Can anyone confirm this?

Hope not given his legal troubles. I'd hate to see it get tied up in a pre-judgment writ of attachment.

[MrBedrock]

On 3/26/2024 at 3:14 PM, NoMan said:

I overheard the guys at the LCS (who usually are pretty spot on with their comic-book stuff) said this was P-Diddy's copy. Can anyone confirm this?

The P.D. Phile Copy?

Edited March 26 by MrBedrock

[tth2]

On 3/27/2024 at 12:08 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

On 3/26/2024 at 12:03 PM, tth2 said:

I already posted my thoughts on it.  It is no doubt OA-like defensive/price-support bidding by other Action 1 investors.

People willing to take the “Oops, I’ve now got 2 Actions 1s” risk

They're investors, not collectors.  Acquiring another Action 1 for purposes of controlling the market is perfectly fine.

[sfcityduck]

On 3/26/2024 at 2:02 PM, Crowzilla said:

Yes the Church copy = Mile High copy, and is owned by "The Dentist" (at that level, you aren't just a dentist, but THE dentist). The Dentist also owns the nicest known copies of Detective #27, Superman #1, Batman #1, Whiz #1, and Pep #22,

and Archie 1 and Captain Marvel 1 (in fact I assumed he owned the top 2 because his son was selling the second best copy on his eBay site for a while).

[Vintage_Paper]

On 3/26/2024 at 5:16 PM, sfcityduck said:

Edgar Church was the Original Owner of the group of books bought after his death by Chuck Rozanski of Mile High Comics which were initially called the "Mile High" pedigree but for reasons we don't need to delve into (many pedigree names are not those of the OO) have evolved into being called the Edgar Church/Mile High pedigree.

The "Dentist" or "DA" etc. is the owner of that comic. Steve Borock was the chief grader for CGC & CBCS and Stephen Fischler is part owner of Metropolis Comics/Comic Connect who invented the numeric grading scale, and both have seen the book and offered their 9.2-9.4 views on the grade. Most folks believe the MH is the "best existing" Action 1, but you never know. There have been rumors of other longtime collectors than DA who are sitting on really nice Action 1s. The perception of the number of high grade GA comics generally gets deflated due to the perception that almost all are encapsulated, which is certainly not the case. Action Comic 1s were a lot more available then people think they were back in the early days of comic collecting. They were also a lot more affordable. Mitch Mehdy's Guiness Book of World Records Action 1 cost but a fraction of the cost of a house in 1973 at $1,800 and change, but ten years earlier Action 1 was available in the low hundreds and less. Who knows where those are? Richard Kyle bought his copy off the stand and still had it according to Xero 8 which came out in 1962.

The best collection ever seen on these boards, Bangzoom's, is entirely unencapsulated and I don't think he ever denied owning an Action 1 even though he did not admit. The guy did, however, own the check paid to Siegel or Shuster for work on Action 1 and I just don't think he'd have that if he didn't have an Action 1.  BZ is a guy, after all, who was collecting in the early 60s and dealing nice key GA books (which suggests he had great books before he picked up the key group of OO books in the 1970s that wowed everyone on these boards).

The problem with estimates of the number of Action 1s is that a lot of numbers were thrown out at various times that were based on just local guesses. Mitch Mehdy, who I am not picking on here but he did get a lot of press so what he said entered the zeitgeist, told the press when they covered his purchase that his Action 1 was one of only 9 known copies. That wasn't true then. Wasn't a lie, just that Mitch didn't know the true numbers because he was a Sacramento teen in 1973 and there were collectors all over the country but no internet or reliable sources of information for him to tap. My guess is that there are other high grade copies out there, but one likely to top a 9.2 MH Copy? Unlikely, but not impossible.

The two 9.0s are owned by Hariri and one is the stolen but recovered "Nick Cage copy" and the other was brought to market by Darren Adams after several upgrades in its holder (the book has a spine split but blinding white pages and the 9.0 might be technically generous but seems to have some beauty contest accuracy). The copy Adams sold was owned for many years by an established dealer who kept it in the same cedar blanket box in which he found it. This has added to the perception of the magic power of cedar to preserve comics as the MH comics were, in part, stored in a closet with cedar paneling.

 

 

FYI: The cedar chest was just another part of the fictional story Darren Adams was using to hype up the sale.

[BFA1971]

On 3/26/2024 at 9:02 PM, Crowzilla said:

Yes the Church copy = Mile High copy, and is owned by "The Dentist" (at that level, you aren't just a dentist, but THE dentist). The Dentist also owns the nicest known copies of Detective #27, Superman #1, Batman #1, Whiz #1, and Pep #22, along with the next couple of dozen issues of Action Comics from the Church collection, the original 1966 Batmobile (#1 and #2), and a host of other GA/SA and OA treasures. A true collector who loves the books and the hobby, and is unlikely to be motivated to sell anytime soon.

Both 9.0 copies of Action #1 are owned by the same person (Ayman Hariri) who also has a bunch of other really nice books, is in an even better financial position than The Dentist and also unlikely to have a motive to sell for the foreseeable future.

Wow super informative thank you for sharing

[BFA1971]

On 3/26/2024 at 9:16 PM, sfcityduck said:

Edgar Church was the Original Owner of the group of books bought after his death by Chuck Rozanski of Mile High Comics which were initially called the "Mile High" pedigree but for reasons we don't need to delve into (many pedigree names are not those of the OO) have evolved into being called the Edgar Church/Mile High pedigree.

The "Dentist" or "DA" etc. is the owner of that comic. Steve Borock was the chief grader for CGC & CBCS and Stephen Fischler is part owner of Metropolis Comics/Comic Connect who invented the numeric grading scale, and both have seen the book and offered their 9.2-9.4 views on the grade. Most folks believe the MH is the "best existing" Action 1, but you never know. There have been rumors of other longtime collectors than DA who are sitting on really nice Action 1s. The perception of the number of high grade GA comics generally gets deflated due to the perception that almost all are encapsulated, which is certainly not the case. Action Comic 1s were a lot more available then people think they were back in the early days of comic collecting. They were also a lot more affordable. Mitch Mehdy's Guiness Book of World Records Action 1 cost but a fraction of the cost of a house in 1973 at $1,800 and change, but ten years earlier Action 1 was available in the low hundreds and less. Who knows where those are? Richard Kyle bought his copy off the stand and still had it according to Xero 8 which came out in 1962.

The best collection ever seen on these boards, Bangzoom's, is entirely unencapsulated and I don't think he ever denied owning an Action 1 even though he did not admit. The guy did, however, own the check paid to Siegel or Shuster for work on Action 1 and I just don't think he'd have that if he didn't have an Action 1.  BZ is a guy, after all, who was collecting in the early 60s and dealing nice key GA books (which suggests he had great books before he picked up the key group of OO books in the 1970s that wowed everyone on these boards).

The problem with estimates of the number of Action 1s is that a lot of numbers were thrown out at various times that were based on just local guesses. Mitch Mehdy, who I am not picking on here but he did get a lot of press so what he said entered the zeitgeist, told the press when they covered his purchase that his Action 1 was one of only 9 known copies. That wasn't true then. Wasn't a lie, just that Mitch didn't know the true numbers because he was a Sacramento teen in 1973 and there were collectors all over the country but no internet or reliable sources of information for him to tap. My guess is that there are other high grade copies out there, but one likely to top a 9.2 MH Copy? Unlikely, but not impossible.

The two 9.0s are owned by Hariri and one is the stolen but recovered "Nick Cage copy" and the other was brought to market by Darren Adams after several upgrades in its holder (the book has a spine split but blinding white pages and the 9.0 might be technically generous but seems to have some beauty contest accuracy). The copy Adams sold was owned for many years by an established dealer who kept it in the same cedar blanket box in which he found it. This has added to the perception of the magic power of cedar to preserve comics as the MH comics were, in part, stored in a closet with cedar paneling.

 

 

Amazing institutional knowledge you have sfcityduck. I really appreciate as I am sure other boardies do your post and taking your time to write this up. The history of comic books and the people involved is so interesting and I really enjoyed reading about it. Thank you so much.

[NoMan]

On 3/26/2024 at 4:21 PM, MrBedrock said:

The P.D. Phile Copy?

MR. BEDROCK!  

I miss coming to your stores. My mom passed away so I don't get to Houston anymore much. Is Stacey (I think that was her name) still at the Missouri City store? She was always so nice as were all your employees!

 

 

[MrBedrock]

On 3/27/2024 at 10:30 AM, NoMan said:

MR. BEDROCK!  

I miss coming to your stores. My mom passed away so I don't get to Houston anymore much. Is Stacey (I think that was her name) still at the Missouri City store? She was always so nice as were all your employees!

 

 

Do you mean Leann?