tedkord Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 I assume this is at the bottom of the grading scale but I thought I'd ask what people thought. I bought like thirty years ago, it's such a cool book I wish it was in better shape. Should I sell it as is or send it in for grading? I hate even handling it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzutak Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 4/23/2024 at 2:43 PM, tedkord said: Should I sell it as is or send it in for grading? I hate even handling it. I wouldn't worry about handling it. The paper looks plenty supple. Yeah, the cover is missing some pretty large chunks, but those pieces did not come off as a result of brittle chipping/splitting. If you do decide to send it to CGC for certification, make certain to first take clear photos of the inside covers, the centerfold, both sides of the leaf with the missing coupon, etc. Those pics will allow potential bidders/buyers to better assess what's "hidden" within the CGC holder. timfinz and Point Five 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedkord Posted April 24 Author Share Posted April 24 Thanks for the advice! The book itself is pretty sturdy. It's the edges of the cover that would be easy to snag on the bag. Are detached covers always .5? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzutak Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 On 4/23/2024 at 7:56 PM, tedkord said: Are detached covers always .5? Nope. In the company's early years, a detached cover on an otherwise pristine book could be awarded a CGC Universal (Blue Label) Grade as high as 4.0. When the demand for CGC certification exploded, the company began to add more (and often less experienced graders). As a result, there began to be more certifications/encapsulations that deviated from the company's original grading standards. I've actually seen books with fully detached covers graded as high as CGC 6.5. However, I'm inclined to think of these anomalies as errors (or misapplications of CGC's grading standards that were not caught by Quality Control before going out). Unfortunately, your book's cover is not just detached -- it's detached and completely split along the spine, with large chunks out of both the front cover (3% MIA), the back cover (15% MIA), and the spine. It also has an interior cut-out (the missing coupon). On the plus side, the cover inks are still bright and the paper is still fresh, with no oxidation-related tanning. Are all 12 interior wraps still present (24 two-sided interior leaves or 48 interior pages)? If so, I'd guess there's a 75% chance the book gets certified as a CGC 0.5 PR and a 25% chance it gets certified as a CGC 1.0 FR (CGC has been known to sometimes be a bit more lenient with very valuable Golden Age mega-keys). timfinz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedkord Posted April 24 Author Share Posted April 24 That's good info. I remember saving up $50 to buy this book when I was twelve years old, a big purchase. If I was going to keep it I'd definitely send it in just to keep it intact, but since I'm in the position of needing to sell some of my old stuff it's a bit harder to decide. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scburdet Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 I agree this is a 0.5/1.0 tweener. Maybe gets a slight boost to the higher end by being a very important book. A nice ROI on $50. Seems like that was a really good price even then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...