Superman #24 - Restoration Potential & Costs?

[QuackerJack-migration]

Hey all. I'm quite taken with the cover to Superman #24, and I'm interested in picking up a relatively inexpensive copy to frame and display in my apartment. I'm thinking the cheapest way to do that will be to get a low-grade copy and get some resto work done on it, but I'm quite inexperienced with that sort of thing.

 

Could I get some advice on the following copy:

 

Superman #24 Resto Candidate

 

Basically, I'm wondering four things at this point:

 

1) Is it possible to restore this copy to display quality?

 

2) If so, how much should I expect that restoration work to cost?

 

3) Would it generally be considered appropriate, from a collector's perspective, to have resto work done on this issue given its current grade, or would that be considered "ruining" an original comic that's in acceptable grade as it is?

 

4) When all is said and done, would I be better off looking for a more expensive but prettier raw copy than this one?

 

Thanks in advance for your advice/opinions!

 

- QJ

[FFB]

Rough guesstimate is that it'll cost you between $700 and $1000 to get it restored, depending on what needs to be done and what you want to be done.

 

Display quality? Sure. Just have the cover restored and it'll keep the costs down.

 

As for whether restoration is acceptable, it's your book and you can do with it what you want. Just make sure you have a professional do it, because amateur work ruins books. Restored books don't sell for as much as unrestored books in the same condition, but a restored high- or even mid-grade book will often sell for a bit more than an unrestored low grade book.

 

As for your last question, it all depends on what this copy ends up costing you, but this book probably isn't worth getting restored. It looks to be around a GD 2.0, so you can expect to pay around $200-300 for it. Add $1,000 in restoration costs to the book, and you're looking at the approximate current value of an unrestored Fine+ 6.5 copy (which is on the low end of the apparent grade you may wind up with after the restoration work is done). If you just pay a few hundred dollars more, you can get an unrestored VF copy for $2,000. That's what I'd do.

 

All of this is rough estimation because a restoration professional who has the book in hand would probably be able to give you much more specific information. But based on the rough estimates, I think you're better off spending the money on an unrestored mid-grade copy and displaying that. Most of the defects probably won't be that noticeable from 10+ feet away anyway.

 

Hey all. I'm quite taken with the cover to Superman #24, and I'm interested in picking up a relatively inexpensive copy to frame and display in my apartment. I'm thinking the cheapest way to do that will be to get a low-grade copy and get some resto work done on it, but I'm quite inexperienced with that sort of thing.

 

Could I get some advice on the following copy:

 

Superman #24 Resto Candidate

 

Basically, I'm wondering four things at this point:

 

1) Is it possible to restore this copy to display quality?

 

2) If so, how much should I expect that restoration work to cost?

 

3) Would it generally be considered appropriate, from a collector's perspective, to have resto work done on this issue given its current grade, or would that be considered "ruining" an original comic that's in acceptable grade as it is?

 

4) When all is said and done, would I be better off looking for a more expensive but prettier raw copy than this one?

 

Thanks in advance for your advice/opinions!

 

- QJ

[thedarkknight]

Metropolis Comics has a FN (6.0) for $775.00 with scans. They also do time payments if you need to.

 

Here's a link:

http://www.metropoliscomics.com/bookSear...&search.y=0

[thedude]

you have great taste in covers my friend, I love that one as well,

 

if you keep searching, you may find a much better deal on this book, (eBay, etc.), if your wanting it for display purposes mostly, I would try to find a copy where the front cover looks nice, but the back cover has pieces missing or no back cover at all , or a copy that has a few missing pages, that way you will have a sharp looking "display" copy, without the high price tag. I've seen some nice looking incomplete copies go for around $200-$300 or so.. hope this helps.

 

the money you would spend on any restoration would be better spent on a better "unrestored" or "slightly restored" copy.

[SuperBird]

I would wait and get a copy with better cover colors- that one looks faded. Definitely NOT resto worthy, IMO. Too much cost, not enough benefit.