For all you folks who paid THOUSANDS for HG Hulk 181... 2 2

[fantastic_four]

I believe the Gold keys were listed over $1000 in the first Overstreet guide back in 1970, so they've been highly desirable for more than a decade.

 

I figure there's got to be a close parallel to comics out there that have been bandied about for more than just the 20th century; tulip bulbs, Internet stocks, or land sound too different from comics to be a good comparison. They're not entertainment-related cultural items.

 

Art comes to mind, but since it's only the originals that sell for much, they're not a good direct comparison since comics have multiple copies. Stamps, and possibly first-edition novels, might be a good comparison. Wonder how much first editions from the literary greats from previous centuries sell today...I think I should spend some time browsing the Christie's and Sotheby's auction results. Maybe old Civil War-era statuettes of Robert E. Lee or Jefferson Davis exist out there and are highly prized by some people out there. E-Bay is probably a good place to do this kind of research on how much people are still willing to pay for useless [!@#%^&^] from centuries past.

 

There must be cultural items from the past that commanded a premium during their time that have been forgotten by most people today...but since they've been mostly forgotten...probably none of us know what those items were! Wonder who you could ask that would remember something like that.

[Bronty]

supa, that's nothing dude. A coverless copy sold for over $70 a while back

[vic6string]

Remember that the 40 dollar book that drops to a buck is every bit as huge as the 1000 to 40 drop you all talk about because speculators might have bought 30 or 40 copies at $25 to $30 bucks apiece and held on to them. Another thing to look at when talking about this scenario is that there is the "guide" price and the "real" price. Take sportscards. Alot of these modern issues, especially the ridiculous super limited 1 of 1 autographed in the players own blood plutonium cards might show up in Beckett at 500 bucks but you can get them for much much less in real life. I don't know a dealer that doesn't use half of Becket or less as his standard pricing for all but the hottest cards. There are tons of cards that Beckett says are 10 bucks that he sells in 5 for a dollar lots regularly. I don't ever look at the flat price when thinking about a topic like this, I look at percentages. A ten dollar card selling for 40 cents is every bit as bad as a 1000 dollar comic selling for 40 bucks because the same ratio is hit. Sure I only lost nine dollar instead of 9000, but if I was a big time player, I might have taken 100 of those 9 dollar losses.

[lou_fine]

FF;

 

All of the Gold keys were listed for well below $1,000 in the first OPG back in 1970. The following were the four most valuable GA books:

 

1) Action Comics #1 - $300.00

2) Detective Comics #1 - $275.00

3) Marvel Mystery #1 - $250.00

4) Superman Comics #1 - $250.00

 

With respect to your other question regarding pending drops in Golden-Age books. I don't believe we will be seeing any significant drops in the GA keys due simply to the limited number of books out there. There could be drops in the mid-run mid-grade non-key GA books due to a lack of interest over time (but nothing comparable to a 96% drop in value).

 

Personally, I believe that the chance of a drop in value should be even higher for the newer books due simply to the higher number of books out there. Especially when you factor in the number of high-grade copies out there. This would even apply to key books such as Hulk #181. In fact, hearing figures of $50,000 for a 9.9 copy of Hulk #181 seems more ridiculous and provides more room for downside risk than an unrestored 9.4 copy of Action Comics #1 at $1,000,000.

[fantastic_four]

Ah, you're probably right, the earliest Overstreet I have is #3 and it shows Action 1 at $1000 so it makes sense they were lower in #1 and #2. That's quite a big jump over a year or two though...from $300 to $1000 in two years. Either the hobby was changing at an extremely rapid pace then, or he underestimated their value in the first guide.

[Bronty]

Jamie,

 

If you have the old overstreet monthlies in your collection, look for the overstreet-published CBM #3 (or was it fan #3? - it has a dinosaur cover at any rate). It has a mini version of the 1970 guide included along with some of the original prices. Very cool, and a handy reference on the prices of 1970 keys for those of us without a copy of the 1970 guide.

 

Dan

[awe4one]

It was FAN magazine....and I can find my copy.....

 

 

Jim

[Bronty]

you mean "can't?"

[Aman619]

Ah, you're probably right, the earliest Overstreet I have is #3 and it shows Action 1 at $1000 so it makes sense they were lower in #1 and #2. That's quite a big jump over a year or two though...from $300 to $1000 in two years. Either the hobby was changing at an extremely rapid pace then, or he underestimated their value in the first guide.

 

Aside from the rapid solidification of comics collecting in the early 70s aided greatly by the Overstreet Guide leading to higher prices....there was a famous media-event in 1972 (I think) that goosed Action#1. A copy was sold to a young guy who paid the then "fabulously ridiculous price of $1200 for a copy! (forget the details...his story was well-known and hopefully someone else will remember the details...)

 

Wonder how much he sold it for...and where he is now...and if it was a pedigree copy, or not??

[500Club]

Aside from the rapid solidification of comics collecting in the early 70s aided greatly by the Overstreet Guide leading to higher prices....there was a famous media-event in 1972 (I think) that goosed Action#1. A copy was sold to a young guy who paid the then "fabulously ridiculous price of $1200 for a copy! (forget the details...his story was well-known and hopefully someone else will remember the details...)

 

Wonder how much he sold it for...and where he is now...and if it was a pedigree copy, or not??

 

After people verbally lambasted him for overpaying, and pointed out that the value of comics certainly couldn't go any higher, and that the hobby was in the throes of declining sales and interest, he put the book in his garage, where it remains to this day, dusty and forgotten....

[aardvark88]

Back in 1972 or 73 when that Action #1 sold for a record price, there were no deemed pedigrees yet.

I don't think any of Howard Rogofsky's "tape is not resto" early golden age would be considered a pedigree. He was 1 of the earliest mail order dealers advertising in Marvel comics.

[Aman619]

ahhhhh....good ol' Rogofsky!

[Smokinghawk]

ahhhhh....good ol' Rogofsky!

 

Say, was he the guy that got chased by a knife-wielding customer at a Con once? Or am I thinking of someone else?

 

[ninanina]

ahhhhh....good ol' Rogofsky!

 

Say, was he the guy that got chased by a knife-wielding customer at a Con once? Or am I thinking of someone else?

 

 

If there's a story here, I'd sure like to hear it.

[jbud73]

hmmmm, 19,000 in 20 years? I wonder could someone have a real, real nice raw copy. Nah couldnt be. Im just jealous

[Terry JSA]

On 6/27/2003 at 5:37 PM, ninanina said:

9.4 will be a $19,000.00 book in 19 years, 6 months. http://boards.collectors-society.com/images//graemlins/grin.gif

I’m from the future, and I’m here to tell you that you’re absolutely correct. 

[ninanina]

Hey Terry, thanks for bringing this thread back from 19 years and 6 months ago. Completely forgot about it. 

I got lucky on this one.

 

 

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

4 hours ago, Terry_JSA said:

On 6/27/2003 at 4:37 PM, ninanina said:

9.4 will be a $19,000.00 book in 19 years, 6 months. http://boards.collectors-society.com/images//graemlins/grin.gif

I’m from the future, and I’m here to tell you that you’re absolutely correct. 

[Jeffro.]

On 6/26/2003 at 3:32 PM, Elvis said:

This is a real shame. What I cant believe is that people STILL pay so much for high grade CGC Hulk 181's. Please take a look at the census on this BEFORE you bid so much. There are SOOOO many of them in high grade. IT IS INSANITY TO PAY MORE THAN $1k for this book.

 

http://www.cgccomics.com/poplookup/grades_standard.asp?title=Incredible+Hulk+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++&publisher=Marvel+Comics++++++++++++&issue=181++++&year=1974

 

[piper]

Thanks for bumping this thread.