Fantastic Four #1

[Comcasthawk]

Here's my copy I recently won on Ebay a few weeks back. The grade is "Apparent Fine(-) 5.5(A) "small amount of color touch on cover". The serial number is 0106368001.

 

The color touch is on the roof of the car where the Thing's hand is laying and there was some "Black ink" added to the out line of the monster's right hand(the part that meets the spine). Both color touches bleed through the cover, but not that bad.

 

The book is really nice, with some glass, no chips or tears and great pages. There is some stress at the top staple and the staples are solid at the centerfold. All in all, a great book.

 

 

My question is this: Why would this book only get a grade of Fine(-) and how do I get the "grader's notes" on this book.. ]

 

[evilsly]

the only way to get grader notes is to phone CGC, and they will be happy to give them to you.

 

it's a very nice looking 5.5 that's for sure, but there could be some unseen fault dragging it down

[-cryptkeeper-]

sweet book congrats

[Comcasthawk]

Since I am more than happy with this book, I have to ask your opinions on a few things.

 

First, would you rather have a "key" book with very minor color touch or one with chips, creases or tears..?? Me, I would rather have the "color touched" book as long as it is presentable.

 

Second, how much amatuer "restoreation", or professional restoration, is acceptable to you before you are "turned off" by a book...

 

Third, since I got this off ebay, would it be a "sin" to tell you how much the winning bid was....??

[Mr. Zipper]

My question is this: Why would this book only get a grade of Fine(-) and how do I get the "grader's notes" on this book.. ]

 

Also check for CT in the black area of the lower right corner.

 

My guess is that it's a 5.5 due primarily to edgewear and general cover wear. The bottom edge has a bit of wear, multiple spine bends... and looking at the text on the back cover and the black line along the spine, you can see light smudges that generally indicate cover wear. (By old standards this would be an easy FINE or slightly better, but it does appear to be consistant with what CGC calls a 5.5 these days.)

 

It is very consistant with my copy which I would also call a 5.5.

[Comcasthawk]

I agree.......that this book should be an easy "Fine" maybe Fine+.

 

Compared to other books I have seen CGC'ed, this one took a big hit for some reason.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love this book and it's a pleasure to finally have one.

 

What's your thought on books with CT...?? Do you feel a little "bad" if you were to own one..

[Aces]

5.5 Spine wear and strong wear on the back (left/center) puts this in the lower Fine range.

 

Nice book.

[Comcasthawk]

Thanks for the response and clarification on Fine(-).

[Aces]

And I would take this copy with slight restro over a ratty 2.5 for the same price.

 

You gonna tell everyone what you paid for it?

I'll die if it was well under $1500.00.

[Comcasthawk]

And I would take this copy with slight restro over a ratty 2.5 for the same price.

 

You gonna tell everyone what you paid for it?

I'll die if it was well under $1500.00.

 

You'll live, my friend........................................$1625.00.

[Aces]

And I would take this copy with slight restro over a ratty 2.5 for the same price.

 

You gonna tell everyone what you paid for it?

I'll die if it was well under $1500.00.

 

You'll live, my friend........................................$1625.00.

Nice price.

A weak 3.0 goes for about that.

[Mr. Zipper]

And I would take this copy with slight restro over a ratty 2.5 for the same price.

 

You gonna tell everyone what you paid for it?

I'll die if it was well under $1500.00.

 

I picked up my FF 1 on ebay 3 years ago. About the same condition with the same type of resto... a few black marker hits with slight bleedthrough.

 

 

$807 won it.

 

The resto was undisclosed, but I decided to keep it anyway. For a price like that, I can live with a handful of pinhead-sized color hits. It's still 99.5% original parts.

 

Congrats on your book and welcome to the FF 1 club!

[Mr. Zipper]

What's your thought on books with CT...?? Do you feel a little "bad" if you were to own one..

 

See my post above about my thoughts on CT.

 

I don't feel bad about having a restored book. I will admit there have been times when the resto haters have made me feel a little "bad" (self-conscious) about having a book with restoration. But I'm passed that now and won't let anyone else control how I feel about my collection. More often than not, those that bash restored books are wildly misinformed about restoration and think every restored book is a cobbled together "Frankenbook." Not true.

 

Sure I'd rather have an unrestored book in the same condition, but I can live with SLIGHT resto if it means that a book will be in realm of affordability vs. too expensive. For the same money, I'd rather have slightly restored book with good eye appeal than an unrestored but unappealing beater with creases, chips and a whatnot. The way I look at it, an unrestored FF 1 similar to mine or yours would cost at least $3,000. Mine cost a fraction of that and the actual difference between an unrestored copy and mine is so miniscule it's laughable. You can't tell the book has any color touches by looking at the cover... the slight bleedthrough on the inside is the only tip-off.

 

I do draw the line at SLIGHT restoration. I can live with CT, small tear seals, reinforcement and small piece replacements. In general, I'd stay away from any book that had more extensive work done.

 

[-cryptkeeper-]

What's your thought on books with CT...?? Do you feel a little "bad" if you were to own one..

 

See my post above about my thoughts on CT.

 

I don't feel bad about having a restored book. I will admit there have been times when the resto haters have made me feel a little "bad" (self-conscious) about having a book with restoration. But I'm passed that now and won't let anyone else control how I feel about my collection. More often than not, those that bash restored books are wildly misinformed about restoration and think every restored book is a cobbled together "Frankenbook." Not true.

 

Sure I'd rather have an unrestored book in the same condition, but I can live with SLIGHT resto if it means that a book will be in realm of affordability vs. too expensive. For the same money, I'd rather have slightly restored book with good eye appeal than an unrestored but unappealing beater with creases, chips and a whatnot. The way I look at it, an unrestored FF 1 similar to mine or yours would cost at least $3,000. Mine cost a fraction of that and the actual difference between an unrestored copy and mine is so miniscule it's laughable. You can't tell the book has any color touches by looking at the cover... the slight bleedthrough on the inside is the only tip-off.

 

I do draw the line at SLIGHT restoration. I can live with CT, small tear seals, reinforcement and small piece replacements. In general, I'd stay away from any book that had more extensive work done.

 

 

i'm agree with Zipper68, my copy is restored too, i can't say if it could be considered as slight or moderate : CT , staples reinforcement, pressed and tear sealed .i must improve my knowledge about restoration to be more accurate .

Restored is not a problem for me for expensive books, like Zipper68 says, 2 or 3 times more expensive for unrestored is , but only for such books, i don't want restored books as FF 90 or 100 , restored or not it's FF 1 and it's part of history for me .

[uclapeterg]

And I would take this copy with slight restro over a ratty 2.5 for the same price.

 

You gonna tell everyone what you paid for it?

I'll die if it was well under $1500.00.

 

You'll live, my friend........................................$1625.00.

 

Just for reference I boiught my 5.0 for $3500, so I think you got a deal on it.

[Comcasthawk]

Actually, I had about $3000.00 to spend and told a few dealers that I was looking for a copy in that price range.

 

My thinking was that I did not want to haggle over price for an FF1. I just wanted a copy in a condition that would make me happy for $3000.00.

 

..........then I saw this ebay auction(item #250007191630) for an FF1 that had 2 two things that I noticed.

 

The first thing was it had the "purple label", but, after reading the item description, it was apparent to me that the color touch was minute, at best, and the book had no marvel chipping or creases to it!! I knew this book could be mine because, even though it was an FF1, the "bidding pool" would be decreased because of the purple label.

 

The second thing I noticed was the fact that the auction ended on the last day of the San Diego ComicCon(Sunday night). That told me that the most of the serious buyers and bidders that would want this book would be busy in San Diego, when the book would end its auction.

 

Well, come Sunday, I notice no movement in price on the auction, except from MarvelSeller and JimKiick21. Now I have bought from MarvelSeller a few times, and I know he bids on these books, but he has a set "high price" he will bid that I noticed from other auctions and, JimKiick21, I thought, was just hoping to get a low price, around $1500 to $1600, on the book.

 

So I decided to put in a high bid of $1700 and figured, if I won the auction, I would either get the book at $1650 or lose it over my high bid of $1700. To my surprise, I won at $1625, even though I got trigger happy and placed my bid 3 minutes before the auctions end!! I was sure MarvelSeller was going to bid higher, but he didn't, and I won the book.

 

It took over 30 years, but I finally have a copy. Now I need copies of 4 and 5(in VG+) and I will have my 1-200 complete........

[Comcasthawk]

 

i'm agree with Zipper68, my copy is restored too, i can't say if it could be considered as slight or moderate : CT , staples reinforcement, pressed and tear sealed .i must improve my knowledge about restoration to be more accurate .

Restored is not a problem for me for expensive books, like Zipper68 says, 2 or 3 times more expensive for unrestored is , but only for such books, i don't want restored books as FF 90 or 100 , restored or not it's FF 1 and it's part of history for me .

 

I feel there is a difference between a book considered "restored" that has tear seals and pieces added and a book that is "restored" by "color touch"

 

If the CT is minor, I can live with it.

 

I would rather have a book with minor CT than a book that has chipping and penmarks and creases and tears.

[burntboy]

Actually, I had about $3000.00 to spend and told a few dealers that I was looking for a copy in that price range.

 

My thinking was that I did not want to haggle over price for an FF1. I just wanted a copy in a condition that would make me happy for $3000.00.

 

..........then I saw this ebay auction(item #250007191630) for an FF1 that had 2 two things that I noticed.

 

The first thing was it had the "purple label", but, after reading the item description, it was apparent to me that the color touch was minute, at best, and the book had no marvel chipping or creases to it!! I knew this book could be mine because, even though it was an FF1, the "bidding pool" would be decreased because of the purple label.

 

The second thing I noticed was the fact that the auction ended on the last day of the San Diego ComicCon(Sunday night). That told me that the most of the serious buyers and bidders that would want this book would be busy in San Diego, when the book would end its auction.

 

Well, come Sunday, I notice no movement in price on the auction, except from MarvelSeller and JimKiick21. Now I have bought from MarvelSeller a few times, and I know he bids on these books, but he has a set "high price" he will bid that I noticed from other auctions and, JimKiick21, I thought, was just hoping to get a low price, around $1500 to $1600, on the book.

 

So I decided to put in a high bid of $1700 and figured, if I won the auction, I would either get the book at $1650 or lose it over my high bid of $1700. To my surprise, I won at $1625, even though I got trigger happy and placed my bid 3 minutes before the auctions end!! I was sure MarvelSeller was going to bid higher, but he didn't, and I won the book.

 

It took over 30 years, but I finally have a copy. Now I need copies of 4 and 5(in VG+) and I will have my 1-200 complete........

 

nice book and very nice run..............

[Comcasthawk]

Actually, I had about $3000.00 to spend and told a few dealers that I was looking for a copy in that price range.

 

My thinking was that I did not want to haggle over price for an FF1. I just wanted a copy in a condition that would make me happy for $3000.00.

 

..........then I saw this ebay auction(item #250007191630) for an FF1 that had 2 two things that I noticed.

 

The first thing was it had the "purple label", but, after reading the item description, it was apparent to me that the color touch was minute, at best, and the book had no marvel chipping or creases to it!! I knew this book could be mine because, even though it was an FF1, the "bidding pool" would be decreased because of the purple label.

 

The second thing I noticed was the fact that the auction ended on the last day of the San Diego ComicCon(Sunday night). That told me that the most of the serious buyers and bidders that would want this book would be busy in San Diego, when the book would end its auction.

 

Well, come Sunday, I notice no movement in price on the auction, except from MarvelSeller and JimKiick21. Now I have bought from MarvelSeller a few times, and I know he bids on these books, but he has a set "high price" he will bid that I noticed from other auctions and, JimKiick21, I thought, was just hoping to get a low price, around $1500 to $1600, on the book.

 

So I decided to put in a high bid of $1700 and figured, if I won the auction, I would either get the book at $1650 or lose it over my high bid of $1700. To my surprise, I won at $1625, even though I got trigger happy and placed my bid 3 minutes before the auctions end!! I was sure MarvelSeller was going to bid higher, but he didn't, and I won the book.

 

It took over 30 years, but I finally have a copy. Now I need copies of 4 and 5(in VG+) and I will have my 1-200 complete........

 

nice book and very nice run..............

 

Thanks......now sell my an FF4 and 5 please...!!!!

[Aces]

Actually, I had about $3000.00 to spend and told a few dealers that I was looking for a copy in that price range.

 

My thinking was that I did not want to haggle over price for an FF1. I just wanted a copy in a condition that would make me happy for $3000.00.

 

..........then I saw this ebay auction(item #250007191630) for an FF1 that had 2 two things that I noticed.

 

The first thing was it had the "purple label", but, after reading the item description, it was apparent to me that the color touch was minute, at best, and the book had no marvel chipping or creases to it!! I knew this book could be mine because, even though it was an FF1, the "bidding pool" would be decreased because of the purple label.

 

The second thing I noticed was the fact that the auction ended on the last day of the San Diego ComicCon(Sunday night). That told me that the most of the serious buyers and bidders that would want this book would be busy in San Diego, when the book would end its auction.

 

Well, come Sunday, I notice no movement in price on the auction, except from MarvelSeller and JimKiick21. Now I have bought from MarvelSeller a few times, and I know he bids on these books, but he has a set "high price" he will bid that I noticed from other auctions and, JimKiick21, I thought, was just hoping to get a low price, around $1500 to $1600, on the book.

 

So I decided to put in a high bid of $1700 and figured, if I won the auction, I would either get the book at $1650 or lose it over my high bid of $1700. To my surprise, I won at $1625, even though I got trigger happy and placed my bid 3 minutes before the auctions end!! I was sure MarvelSeller was going to bid higher, but he didn't, and I won the book.

 

It took over 30 years, but I finally have a copy. Now I need copies of 4 and 5(in VG+) and I will have my 1-200 complete........

 

nice book and very nice run..............

 

Thanks......now sell my an FF4 and 5 please...!!!!

 

His FF 5 is(was?) for sale at Bob Storms High Grade Comics site.