Is restoration common among GA books?

[BuckeyeChaos]

I don't collect or even know much about GA books but I was hoping that those of you who do would tell me something.

 

I see these books often come with restoration. Is that a common occurance? How does it impact value?

 

Thanks

 

Craig

[action1kid]

Its as common as a sunrise.

[action1kid]

Death and taxes

franks and beans

politics and corruption

golden age and restoration.

[Aman619]

you gotta define "common." Retsotation is more common on Golden Age books than Silver or Bronze, certainly, if thats what you mean. But Im pretty sure there are "way more" unrestored Golden Age books than restored copies.

[MCMiles]

you gotta define "common." Retsotation is more common on Golden Age books than Silver or Bronze, certainly, if thats what you mean. But Im pretty sure there are "way more" unrestored Golden Age books than restored copies.

 

Just not for sale.

[PovertyRow]

Now pay attention because restoration IS something I do know about.

 

Yes, it is common in GA books. As Aman said, there are a lot more GA without restoration than with. but I would agree that in percentage comparison to Sa and BA, there is a higher percentage of restoration (of any type) in GA than in SA or BA.

 

There are actually a couple of practical reasons for this.

 

You older types remember then great Silver Age boom back in the 80's? Befroe that only a small percentage of SA books would have been worth restoring, mainly because nice condition books were common and relatively inexpensive. In those days GA was king. And even lesser issues would command more than, say, a Spiderman 37 or a TTA 54 (just pulling issues out of the air - no real relevance). Restoration had been around for some years before the SA boom, and the prime target was GA. Hell, in the early Sotheby auctions restiration was noted with pride when it could be attributed to a first class restorer. Sure, the SA keys would also be subject to restoration (like AAF 15, ASM 1, FF 1 etc) but the bulk of SA just wasn't worth the rpice of pro restoration. And the amateur was often so easy to spot it isn't worth mentioning.

 

As far as the effect on value? That depends on 2 main factors:

1) and most important: the buyers' (note possesive plural) perception of what is acceptable restoration. What I mean by this is that the price of a book that has been subject to some form(s) of restoration that are "acceptable" to several buyers may reach a surprising percentage of the unrestored "value". This type of restoration would include things like pressing (yes, it IS restoration, detectable or not. It is an attempt to revert the book to a previous state), dry cleaning, staple replacement and spine roll removal (apart from simple pressing). With the exception of staple replacement, none of these processes ADDS to the book. And a common misperception of restoration is that it must ADD something foreign to the book. So a lot of buyers are going to perceive such a gently restored book as having considerable value as opposed to...

 

2) "Frankenbooks" - meaning books that have had major restoration including inpainting or extensive color touch, pieces replaced, lots of tear seals etc etc. Things that are much more immediately noticeable, no matter how well they are done. Such restoration will usually result in a 50% or more reduction in the unrestored price.

 

Now, as far as non-pro restoration goes? There is a good chance that more SA books have been subject to this. The popularity and high prices even unimportant HG SA books can bring, combined with some really canny things like micro-trimming and unassembled pressing, is creating a gold mine for the unscrupulous.

 

So as far as pro resto? I still think more GA than SA. As far as slimy underbelly resto? SA may well be a contender.

[showcase4]

you gotta define "common." Retsotation is more common on Golden Age books than Silver or Bronze, certainly, if thats what you mean. But Im pretty sure there are "way more" unrestored Golden Age books than restored copies.

 

I am not sure that "way more" unrestored books is likely. There is no way to know for sure, but all you have to do is look on Ebay or a Heritage Auction, and you can on any given day see as many as 1/3 to 1/2 of the GA books with some level of restoration performed. Unfortunately, "restoration" wasn't always a dirty word, and there have been A LOT of books worked on in the 70'a and 80's, and even 90's.

[action1kid]

If you want to know where the really High percentage of restored golden age books are,Its in the Key books!....That is a very high percentage by any standard!

and its what contributes to the astronomical prices of unrestored golden age keys[and they are rare unrestored!]

[action1kid]

Interseting that on the cgc census Action Comics #1 HAS THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF UNRESTORED BOOKS of any of the top ten golden age books.

There are actually more unrestored than restored on the census..

[action1kid]

i

[PovertyRow]

i

 

j

[thedude]

i

 

j

 

k

[Durden08]

i

 

j

 

k

 

m

[Aman619]

If you want to know where the really High percentage of restored golden age books are,Its in the Key books!....That is a very high percentage by any standard!

and its what contributes to the astronomical prices of unrestored golden age keys[and they are rare unrestored!]

 

thanx.. I was just about to answer with that point! If you look at ALL the GA books, the % with resto goes way down from half!! But, its the keys that get all th eattention and sales and publicity..... and resto!

[action1kid]

Yep!

[showcase4]

How does it impact value?

 

Thanks

 

Craig

 

There are many variables as to the value impact of a restored book i.e. amateur, professional, slight, extensive, number of restored vs.unrestored books available for a particular issue, etc etc.The type of work performed can also effect value..was the only work performed a cleaned staple, or were there large pieces added.

 

There is also a varying attitiude towards restored book that can effect their value---some collectors would never buy a restored book (like yours truly), and many others are OK with restoration, as long as they are getting the book they like, and it is attractive to them.... nice eye appeal.

 

As an overall summary, you could expect a restored book to be worth about 25% ( not an exact science ) of the value of the same book in the same grade if it were unrestored.....with an even bigger value difference on a high end key .....

Detective 27 VF+ resotred vs. Detective 27 VF+ unrestored

[lou_fine]

you gotta define "common." Retsotation is more common on Golden Age books than Silver or Bronze, certainly, if thats what you mean. But Im pretty sure there are "way more" unrestored Golden Age books than restored copies.

 

I am not sure that "way more" unrestored books is likely. There is no way to know for sure, but all you have to do is look on Ebay or a Heritage Auction, and you can on any given day see as many as 1/3 to 1/2 of the GA books with some level of restoration performed. Unfortunately, "restoration" wasn't always a dirty word, and there have been A LOT of books worked on in the 70'a and 80's, and even 90's.

 

Showcase;

 

Using either eBay or Heritage sales is probably not an accurate reflection of the total population for this situation.

 

After all, collectors are more prone to dispose of their restored books and hold onto their unrestored books. As a result, viewing auction results would be a skewed reflection of what is actually out there in the hobby place when it comes to restored versus unrestored books.

[showcase4]

you gotta define "common." Retsotation is more common on Golden Age books than Silver or Bronze, certainly, if thats what you mean. But Im pretty sure there are "way more" unrestored Golden Age books than restored copies.

 

I am not sure that "way more" unrestored books is likely. There is no way to know for sure, but all you have to do is look on Ebay or a Heritage Auction, and you can on any given day see as many as 1/3 to 1/2 of the GA books with some level of restoration performed. Unfortunately, "restoration" wasn't always a dirty word, and there have been A LOT of books worked on in the 70'a and 80's, and even 90's.

 

Showcase;

 

Using either eBay or Heritage sales is probably not an accurate reflection of the total population for this situation.

 

After all, collectors are more prone to dispose of their restored books and hold onto their unrestored books. As a result, viewing auction results would be a skewed reflection of what is actually out there in the hobby place when it comes to restored versus unrestored books.

 

This is a good point ...I think I hate restored books so much, I see them everywhere...like when you see a spider and imagine many more are crawling all over you

[thedarkknight]

This hatred of restoration is getting really silly. Yes, it was overdone during the 80s and 90s. But, there are several books that were restored to keep from deteriorating. There are only so many copies of Action 1 & Detective 27 as well many other early golden age books.

 

Would you rather these books disappear forever or be restored?

[october]

I think I hate restored books so much, I see them everywhere...like when you see a spider and imagine many more are crawling all over you

 

That sounds rational.