"Tape Pull" on back cover - What's it going to do to grade?

[jjreason-migration]

Hey all, Im singing the first post blues here, so bear with me. I have a nice copy of X-Men #1 (yep, that one) that was sold to me in 1996 under the auspice of being a "low very fine" copy, graded 75 by the store owner (an Overstreet advisor of some repute up here in Canada).

 

The book is very square, very complete, no tearing, no writing, tight staples with a very faint sun shadow on the bottom of the back cover and inside page. It has a little rub on the spine, and one very minor white crease on the cover about an inch long. I'd like to have it slabbed just for protective purposes, as Im scared the mylar/board route just won't keep it safe forever.

 

But wait, there's a dinger: the genius who owned it before me must have snagged the back cover on a piece of scotch tape: there's a spot of what Im calling "colour missing" (not a hole, just a spot where the top layer of cover paper has been flecked off by the tape). The spot is not quite the size of a pencil eraser.

 

All things being equal, could someone assess what the book would get without that damage, and then with?

 

If the description is too vague (I know pictures are better, but I can't scan the book. I just can't do it), could someone speculate on what a perfect book with only the tape pull might get?

 

Anyone submitted a book with this type of flaw? It would break my heart to get it back less than 6.5. Thanks for any input.

 

[supapimp]

first off, welcome to the forums! secondly, we're going to need a scan, but by your description, it sounds like the book will grade a FN 6.0. but that's grading a book blindly, a scan is needed.

[jjreason-migration]

I'm paranoid, but I can try if someone will walk me through "what not to do". I'd guess that scanning it in the mylar would NOT be fine? How can I do it safely without having the book affected by the light? (or would the light even affect the book at all?)

[supapimp]

dude you sound HELLA paranoid! remove all tape first, second remove the book with the backing board. the scanner light does not affect the book at all for it has no UV rays. now scan the book so i can properly grade it. relax! breathe in breathe out....take deep breath's now.

[jjreason-migration]

It's going to take me some time to get this done.....I have to hook my scanner back up. I'll have to post here again if I can't get the images the right size, or if I encounter any other problems - hella paranoid, that's me to a "T" when it comes to my nice books......

[jjreason-migration]

Okay, scanner help req'd. I can "prescan" and get an image, but when I "scan", the program crashes. Any help out there?

[supapimp]

what kind of scanner is it? can you goto their website and DL software for reinstallation?

[jjreason-migration]

Bahhhhh, I don't know....... I can try. I just hate it when simple things become difficult.

 

The prescan worked like a charm, I did it with the bag on, and got a fairly good image of the book, which I was hoping to attach to this post. However, the "prescanned" image is useless - I couldn't do anything with it (incl. drop and drag, etc). Trying to scan led to the lightbar moving about 1/2 an inch then stopping, going back, and doing the same thing again.

 

It's an "Artec" (top of the line, no doubt). I adjusted the settings so that the prescanned image was coming out within the size limit, but the scan won't work. I then powered it on and off, and tried to scan w/o the prescan - no dice.

 

I'll keep working at it, the good news is the book is still looking pretty tight to me (hadn't seen it up close for awhile).

[jjreason-migration]

Bear with me, I'm learning.... please see attachment for bottom of back cover, including the "tape pull" and sun shadow, next post I'll put on the top half of the back cover.

[jjreason-migration]

Okay that worked, though we can't see the page edges for whatever reason. They are sharp, and not trimmed (the do form a peak when the book is closed) without chips of any kind on either cover.

 

Here's the top.....

[greggy]

[greggy]

[jjreason-migration]

Thanks very much, Greggy, for making those show up in the thread. Wicked.

 

I don't think the book looks as brown in "real life" as it does on the scans, and the shadow doesn't look that pronounced either - makes me think I should read these things with the lights on once in a while......

 

Here's the front.

[deathlok]

[jjreason-migration]

And thanks very much to you, Deathlok sir. Any chance of a relaunched series for you following the iminent success of the new Surfer book?

 

Hard to tell from the scan of the front, but you can see a little more of the spine "in real life". The book is wrapped a little front to back, no doubt, but it's not as bad as this scan lets on (I can actually see the entire "X" in X-Men looking at it dead on, and the "M" in Magneto as well).

 

Thanks for your help, and any input.

[ninanina]

Ok, based on what I see, i'll put this a F/VF. Without the damage on the back cover - VF-. How's that?

[jjreason-migration]

That would be just fine! I was hoping it would get 6.5 and dreaming of 7.0. I know now that the book was overgraded (at least by CGC standards) when I bought it - but I was young and impetuous back then (and I'd always dreamed of having the book and I'd never even seen real copy before this one, and, and, and.....). Anyhow, I'm still happy with it. Getting a 6.5 or 7 would cement my decision on this book as good, less than 6 and I'd have to call it a bad deal.

 

Thanks for looking.