Giant Size X-Men #1 Just Graded 9.9. It Begins..... 7 7

[Gator Guru]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:57 PM, trademarkcomics said:

I'm going to play devil's advocate for a moment, here. Is this a change in grading standards across the board? Or is it simply a change in grading standards for books of a certain age? We all know higher grade Silver Age books get a bump in grade simply for being older...could it be that bronze and copper age books are beginning to get a similar bump? I see 90's and even 2000's books browning on the edges in some collections. They are old. Could graders consciously(or sub-consciously) be giving books pre-1985 a "pass" for minor imperfections that would have been noticed before? And with the influx of so many books from this era, isn't it in CGC's best interest to give a slight bump to these books? I'm saying they may not even be aware they are giving the books a bump, but human beings often alter their beliefs if it's in their best interest to do so. 

If older books are getting a bump, newer books are not. When you look at the original run of Incredible Hulk #181, there is one solitary 9.9. But while that seems realistic, considering the printing issues with that particular book, is it really realistic to say that of the 1100+ facsimile editions that were graded 9.8, not one was better than 9.8? I sure don't see much of anything wrong with the 9.8s I've seen of the facsimile. Obviously, they have been capped out at 9.8 since they are so new. 

 

Yes its in their best interest to do so. No downside really to give out highwr grades for bronze, copper or modern. People only wanT to chase high grade so cgc gives them what the want. The $$$ continues to flow just like spice.

[Blastaar]

Is there a 0.5 on census yet? I’d be down to break that glass ceiling.  

[Poutine]

On 5/30/2024 at 6:36 PM, Blastaar said:

Is there a 0.5 on census yet? I’d be down to break that glass ceiling.  

I have one, but scared to submit it because CGC will damage it

[PopKulture]

On 5/30/2024 at 3:13 PM, Poutine said:

It was confirmed, and its "huckle bearer"

No idea what you're on about

Yes, the guy that uttered the line got it wrong, but the internet got it right.

Also, that annoying thing called a movie script got it wrong, but hey…

[LordRahl]

On 5/30/2024 at 3:30 PM, Gator Guru said:

This right here. The grading standards have changed so whatever books you have that are not silver or golden age then expect them to be “at risk” of now being less desirable. This of course is more likely for the popular books as the more subs the more 9.9 and 10s will pop. I will say its possible that while the standards have changed CGC was doing it wrong ll along so now they mag actually be grading better/more accurately by giving out 9.9s. Giving out 10s? No way

Personally if im one of those newstand guys then I am the most nervous. Would you rather have a 9.9 (that can be tracked on the census) or a 9.8 comic with a freakin barcode on it? Give me the 9.9. So for me on the sidelines with money this may workout. For those that blew their wad on the perceived scarce newstands (with no actual census data to prove they are scarce) then good luck and good night.

First off... relying on the census is... well... let's just go with not ideal. The census is, ummm, "inaccurate". By now there are so many ghosts on the census that I'd be surprised if it's not off by 20/30% at the high grades. Second, newsstand scarcity is not perceived. At the uber high end, it's a demonstrable fact. Give me any 80's or 90's book in 9.8, and I guarantee you can find 10 directs for 1 newsstand. This does not apply at lower grades but then there isn't a premium being paid at lower grades so the market seems to realize this even if individuals don't. Third, what happens when eventually CGC decides to put newsstands in the census? It will happen, just a matter of time.

[LordRahl]

On 5/30/2024 at 3:30 PM, Gator Guru said:

This right here. The grading standards have changed so whatever books you have that are not silver or golden age then expect them to be “at risk” of now being less desirable. This of course is more likely for the popular books as the more subs the more 9.9 and 10s will pop. I will say its possible that while the standards have changed CGC was doing it wrong ll along so now they mag actually be grading better/more accurately by giving out 9.9s. Giving out 10s? No way

Personally if im one of those newstand guys then I am the most nervous. Would you rather have a 9.9 (that can be tracked on the census) or a 9.8 comic with a freakin barcode on it? Give me the 9.9. So for me on the sidelines with money this may workout. For those that blew their wad on the perceived scarce newstands (with no actual census data to prove they are scarce) then good luck and good night.

I'm also curious to know, for those of you that subscribe to the above theory, why are you excluding Silver Age but including Bronze? Sure the likelihood is lower of a 9.9 or 10 from the 60's then the 70's but it's not THAT much lower, yet the stakes are much higher. There is ONE bronze age book that sells for 6 figures, there are dozens of silver age books that sell for 6 figures. And in general there is far more money to be lost at the upper end of the spectrum in Silver Age than there is in Bronze. Yet somehow, SA is immune from this new 9.9/10 grading standard you believe exists?

[AJD]

On 5/30/2024 at 7:55 PM, Poutine said:

Huckle bearer

Handholds on the sides of caskets are called huckles

Not according to the Oxford dictionary. The only noun entry for 'huckle' is "The hip or haunch." But 'huckleberry' is "The fruit and plant of species of Gaylussacia (N.O. Vacciniaceæ), low berry-bearing shrubs, common in North America."

[factory sealed]

On 5/29/2024 at 2:54 PM, october said:

From the dawn of CGC until a month ago: 28 total CGC 9.9 Wolverine 1 minis out of 28,000 subs. So basically 1/1000. 

Last month to this month: 10 newly slabbed 9.9 Wolverine 1 minis. 

That's esentially statistically impossible without a change in grading standards and a conscious push to move the effective top of the scale from 9.8 to 9.9. 

 

Good luck to the guys collecting top census common books.

Will be interesting to see how many 9.9 wolvies this recent auction will draw out now. 

[factory sealed]

Nearly twenty years ago, neatstuff sold me two of these 10.0 slabs for definitely well under $1K each. These TM covers have come quite along way now. 

(I added a couple other X-Men as well as it seems 9.9s are falling from the sky these days.)

[Poutine]

Its well known that I like berries

Photoshop is awesome hey

[Gator Guru]

On 5/30/2024 at 7:34 PM, LordRahl said:

First off... relying on the census is... well... let's just go with not ideal. The census is, ummm, "inaccurate". By now there are so many ghosts on the census that I'd be surprised if it's not off by 20/30% at the high grades. Second, newsstand scarcity is not perceived. At the uber high end, it's a demonstrable fact. Give me any 80's or 90's book in 9.8, and I guarantee you can find 10 directs for 1 newsstand. This does not apply at lower grades but then there isn't a premium being paid at lower grades so the market seems to realize this even if individuals don't. Third, what happens when eventually CGC decides to put newsstands in the census? It will happen, just a matter of time.

Won’t happen as they do not keep stats on them and have said so themselves. Obviously you are one of the barcode boys so I know this hurts you dearly but its not too late to unload your precious barcode books.

9.9s are coming and from the looks of things there will be plenty. Better get onboard with 9.9 collecting as its the new 9.8 newstand.

[Gator Guru]

On 5/30/2024 at 8:48 PM, factory sealed said:

Nearly twenty years ago, neatstuff sold me two of these 10.0 slabs for definitely well under $1K each. These TM covers have come quite along way now. 

(I added a couple other X-Men as well as it seems 9.9s are falling from the sky these days.)

For non-signed books, CGC just created a huge market now for high-end 90s slabs. Id be on the sidelines for a bit but this is going to really takeoff and add a lot of interest back into the market as it was slowly dying.

Your 10s are safe as they would be fools to suddenly dish out tons of new 10 grades. Amazing purchases you made 20 years ago!

[LordRahl]

On 5/31/2024 at 6:59 AM, Gator Guru said:

Won’t happen as they do not keep stats on them and have said so themselves. Obviously you are one of the barcode boys so I know this hurts you dearly but its not too late to unload your precious barcode books.

9.9s are coming and from the looks of things there will be plenty. Better get onboard with 9.9 collecting as its the new 9.8 newstand.

Barcode boys? Sure, whatever. I don't chase them but if I happen to slab one and it fits my collection, I keep it. So if it lets you sleep at night, you may feel free to think that "it hurts me deeply", however I assure you, I have zero f's to give. Whether or not I'm a "barcode boy" I am not blind. If you look at high grade books regularly, you can't help but notice that newsstand 9.8s are far less available than direct. 

And as far as "won't happen, they don't keep stats on them"... it won't happen much like CGC will never do signature authentication, right? Because for years that was the CGC line, we'll never do sig authentication. How's that working out for you?

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 5/31/2024 at 6:59 AM, Gator Guru said:

Obviously you are one of the barcode boys so I know this hurts you dearly but its not too late to unload your precious barcode books.

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 5/31/2024 at 6:59 AM, Gator Guru said:

9.9s are coming and from the looks of things there will be plenty

[Vince G]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:57 PM, trademarkcomics said:

I'm going to play devil's advocate for a moment, here. Is this a change in grading standards across the board? Or is it simply a change in grading standards for books of a certain age? We all know higher grade Silver Age books get a bump in grade simply for being older...could it be that bronze and copper age books are beginning to get a similar bump? I see 90's and even 2000's books browning on the edges in some collections. They are old. Could graders consciously(or sub-consciously) be giving books pre-1985 a "pass" for minor imperfections that would have been noticed before? And with the influx of so many books from this era, isn't it in CGC's best interest to give a slight bump to these books? I'm saying they may not even be aware they are giving the books a bump, but human beings often alter their beliefs if it's in their best interest to do so. 

If older books are getting a bump, newer books are not. When you look at the original run of Incredible Hulk #181, there is one solitary 9.9. But while that seems realistic, considering the printing issues with that particular book, is it really realistic to say that of the 1100+ facsimile editions that were graded 9.8, not one was better than 9.8? I sure don't see much of anything wrong with the 9.8s I've seen of the facsimile. Obviously, they have been capped out at 9.8 since they are so new. 

 

As a test, I recently submitted seven books.  The GAs came back as expected, without seeing any real bump.  Granted, these books were in that 4.0-5.0 range but I would have been surprised if they graded higher.  The remainder of the books were mid grade and upper mid grade silver/bronze.  These graded 3, and in one case 4 grading points higher than expected.  The worst offender here was a bronze book with four 1/4 inch color breaking creases on the spine and some noticeable color lift/rub on the right center of the cover.  I had it at a 6.5/7 at best and that came back 8.5.  8.5?????  Considering CGC is the standard, I can't see anything good coming from changing standards.  They no longer even seem to be following the grading guide, and that was published not that long ago.

[trademarkcomics]

On 5/31/2024 at 9:30 AM, Vince G said:

As a test, I recently submitted seven books.  The GAs came back as expected, without seeing any real bump.  Granted, these books were in that 4.0-5.0 range but I would have been surprised if they graded higher.  The remainder of the books were mid grade and upper mid grade silver/bronze.  These graded 3, and in one case 4 grading points higher than expected.  The worst offender here was a bronze book with four 1/4 inch color breaking creases on the spine and some noticeable color lift/rub on the right center of the cover.  I had it at a 6.5/7 at best and that came back 8.5.  8.5?????  Considering CGC is the standard, I can't see anything good coming from changing standards.  They no longer even seem to be following the grading guide, and that was published not that long ago.

[valiantman]

CGC 10 and CGC 9.9 in 2024 versus all the years prior...

[mattn792]

On 5/31/2024 at 2:43 PM, valiantman said:

CGC 10 and CGC 9.9 in 2024 versus all the years prior...

And we have six more months of 2024 still to come…

[Sigur Ros]

On 5/31/2024 at 3:43 PM, valiantman said:

CGC 10 and CGC 9.9 in 2024 versus all the years prior...

2023:

Avg of 536 9.9s per month.

 

9.9s so far in 2024:

January - 695

February - 995

March - 1124

April - 1445

May - 1270

 

Per cgcdata.com