As grading is very much a subjective exercise, it is all too easy for the novice and indeed experienced collector to allow wishful thinking and optimism to influence the appearance of a comic and make it better than it really is. Other descriptors used in conjunction with the above grading scale. Comic book supplies auctionstore venues third party grading. Special thanks to our comic grading advisor steve borock, president of cbsc comic book certification service, former heritage auctions consignment director and former cgc presidentprimary grader. The comic book price guide for great britain a guide to grading. While there is some small degree of variation on the following grading scheme within the community, the following is a representative of the general. The price guide, currently in its 37th release, features information on the ten point comic book grading scale, as well as approximate values of thousands of american comic books with different. Grading is an inherently subjective process and there will always be small differences in opinion. In each video, we move up the grading scale, first examining the cgc graded comic, and then we look at two different. Overall an above average copy and still very collectible. If, for example, a comic had a small tear and two very small but noticable corner folds.
The market value of comic books is partly determined by a grading process. Newly updated, the overstreet guide to grading comics includes the 10point grading system, as well as exhaustive descriptions of primary and split grades, examples of each grade with more than 200 fullcolor images in all, articles on storage, preservation, and restoration, a look at the independent, thirdparty grading companies, and much more. For instance, take a look at a recently featured comic book, action comics 1. What matters is the condition of the comic before it was stored. A nice comic with a piece up to the size of a standard postage stamp torn from one corner. Use these, make a cheat sheet, print out note cards, whatever works for you. And if you do radialbutton selections for all the categories, itll produce a grade. Pgx also offers a comparable service and directly competes with cgc in the comic book grading market. In recent years, grading criteria have become even tighter, especially in silver and bronze age books, due to their higher survival rate. Introducing the collectors condition comic book raw grading labeling system. Comics listed for sale on johns comics and stuff are listed with the basic grading scale. These grades allow for some more defects than higher grades. These include the later 10 cent issues and all 12 cent issues, which ended in mid1969. This is intended to be a basic guide so that you have a general idea of the grade of your books for pricing purposes.
An exceptional example of a given book the best ever seen. Grading a book s condition accurately helps increase book sales and is a necessity for booksellers. A copy usually in poor to fair condition that includes all text presented in a legible fashion. Thanks for the response batman007, if i understand you, you are saying spine roll is a function of use as in reader wear and tear and not a manufacturing issue. Useful for when you are unsure of the grade of a book or do not wish to grade the. Useful for when you are unsure of the grade of a book or do not wish to grade the comic. Collectors will be typically less inclined to part with a rare book easily.
Even professional grading services like cgc, cbcs, and pgx acknowledge that the same book may not always receive the same grade if it is submitted for grading more than once. Comic book grading is the process of determining the grade or. Removal of the tape improves the value and appearance of the book. The higher the grade of a comic book the higher the value.
We closely monitor and calibrate our staff to maintain adherence to our established standards. The newest and second most popular comic book grading company. You can easily identify a slabbed comic because the grades will include the. This collectibles shop page has the standard 10 point grading scale and definitions, as used in the overstreet guide. The learn to grade comic books course is the most comprehensive course of its kind. Complete descriptions sell more books grading book condition alibris. Furthermore, what a comic book is stored in does not have any bearing on the grade of that comic book. Grading standards are based on the standards laid out in the overstreet grading guide with additional experience gained from our years in the comic industry.
But the rawhide kid book just has spine stress and no pulling. Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it. The real freakin comic book men greg eide has been selling comic books as his livelihood for over 42 years. Find out about the book grading system and terminology at alibris. I just want to get the most out of what is probably my best comic. Comic book grading examples grading comic books is both an art and a science.
A comic book in fr condition may have nonstory elements such as coupons, ad pages, or marvel value stamps cut or torn out of the book. Aaron albert, a collector of and an expert on comic books, has studied, taught, and written about the comic book genre for more than 20 years. A nice comic with a piece up to the size of a standard postage stamp torn. This condition can easily lead to detached staples. You can easily identify a slabbed comic because the grades will include the name of the grading service, such as cgc 9. The ultimate authority delivers the right grade every time grading comic books is the key to successful comic book collecting, and now the leading expert on comic books, robert m. Even professional grading services like cgc, cbcs, and pgx acknowledge that the same book may not always receive the same grade if it is. These grading services assign grades on the same tenpoint grading scale used by mycomicshop. The process is cheap and quick, and nothing is added to the comic, such as japan paper or color touch see the glossary for definitions. The comic book grading companies will offer witnesses, so a representative from the grading company will stand with you as you get a book signed.
A grader must comb over a book in very minute detail, looking for myriad imperfections like wear, tears, rounded corners, marks, page color e. A guide to grading the comic book price guide for great. When you have completed this course and practiced, you will be able to pick up and grade any comic, whether its one in your collection or that grail book you finally found at a con. The 2 reputable thirdparty professional grading services both begin with c use the same scale, but not exactly the same criteria, but overstreet has collaborated with them for their newest grading guide. Comic book grading is a precise procedure that can make it easy to sell or buy comics for what theyre worth. This grading process details the exact condition and completeness of a comic, allowing the seller to get an idea of how much it is worth. But only when the book is otherwise quite beautiful, and the tape does not in any way mar the appearance of the book. Note that any defects such as missing pages, loose pages. He opened his first brick and mortar store in march of 1972. Comic book grading labels collectors condition comic. Complete descriptions sell more books grading book. Ebigs examples based grading system scroll down and youll see interior page color images.
The primary reason to grade a comic is that there is a direct correlation between the condition of the comic and the value of the book. A comic must be relatively complete to be successfully restored. Here, collectors could easily compare and discuss grading with dealers. Jut know the basics and the value of your own collection will benefit as well as your ability to determine the value of a comic you might be seeking to purchase. Still a high grade book but a big difference between a 9. Comic book grading has evolved over the past several decades from a much looser interpretation of standards in the beginning to the very tight professional scrutiny in use by the market today. Aug 27, 2012 if you have a low grade book, lets say 3. Below are cgcs grading standards for each numeric grade as well as the restoration grading scale. Take a close look, ideally with a magnifying glass, and make careful notes of any apparent damage, including.
These comic grading services will grade a comic and then seal the comic in a hard plastic case that displays the assigned grade. A high grade, like an a or mint, is good, while a low grade, like an f or poor, is bad. Cgc uses a 10point grading scale to evaluate comics. But as a rule of thumb, as im deciding which comics to submit for grading i always estimate the true cost of. In it, i walk you step by step through 27 comics at every grade level from 0. Once you have that information, it will be a lot easier to get them appraised. Egs european grading service halo certification pgx professional grading experts vault 60 day comic grading mcg midwest comic grading. Bowed a condition of the covers or boards of a hard cover book. Jan 14, 2003 the ultimate authority delivers the right grade every time grading comic books is the key to successful comic book collecting, and now the leading expert on comic books, robert m. A high grade, like an a or mint, is good, while a low grade. I would be interested in scans of any cgced books that have page colorgrade combinations not found on the chart for future inclusion.
It is very easy to separate the cover from a staple if it is almost there already. Another way is on a tenpoint grading scale from 10. Several events have impacted grading over the years. Who is the most reputable to help get the most value. Chuck rozanskis grading standards mile high comics. Our staff of friendly and dedicated employees offer over 250 years of experience in the comic book market place, and look forward to assisting you. Blumberg, has set the standard for grading the condition of comic books.
The numeric grading system based on the books condition ranges from. Grading comics accurately is essential to their figuring out their proper value and price. Additionally, some comics are slabbed by cgc, cbcs, or pgx. The basic letter grade scale for comic books can be defined in simplified terms as follows. Aug 12, 2014 some comic book stores even have authorized vendors who can send your books in for you. This comic book grading scale has been used for several decades, during which time the scale has been expanded to more accurately describe a books condition. The grade or condition of a comic book is the most important determination of value outside of the actual title and issue number. The term grade is used to describe what condition a comic book is in.
But i can teach you to quickly assess about what your comic book grades at, and. Question about writting on cover comic book grading and. This can include abrasions, tears, creases, bent corners, spine splits, chips, tape, glue, as well as a multitude of other types of wear we will cover in the grades noted below. Buyers now have a very good idea as to what the condition of a comic book is. Grading is the second investigation a comic goes through, this time to evaluate the condition of the comic cover and pages. Advice for those who dont know how to grade comics. Here is a photo gallery of comic books graded cgc 2.
The ultimate upside to getting your comics cgc graded is that it greatly enhances the value of your comics if they are in really good condition. The biggest and most popular third party grading company. If you reall are concerned, its kind of tough to flatten out the roll once the comic suffers from it, but for minor case all you have to do is stack a bunch of heavy book on top of the comic for a few days and leave it be. Beginning with a diminutive 3point scale in 1970, the comic book grading scale eventually expanded to seven points, split grades, and eventually the 25point scale we currently use. Comic book grading part 1 certified guaranty company. There are grades in between these basic grades such as finevery fine, but we want this to be a general easy tofollow comic grading guide for the novice. When grading a comic book, the first thing youll see is the cover. All sellers listing items on this site are required to use this grading system for a standard method understood by all. Comic book grading basics what you need to know by admin on thursday, october 15th, 2009 4 comments the grade or condition of a comic book is the most important determination of value outside of the actual title and issue number.
A very fine comic book appears to have been read a few times and has been handled with care. Cbcs comic book certification service the newest and second most popular comic book grading company. There are grades in between these basic grades such as finevery fine, but we want this to be a general easytofollow comic grading guide for the novice. Preventative restoration, widely used and accepted by collectors, consists of nonadditive restoration on a book with one or two major defects. Though comic book grading has been around for decades, it wasnt until 2000 that a new thirdparty grading service, cgc, burst onto the scene and revolutionized the comic book collecting industry. It is always worth reevaluating your own grading criteria from time to time in order to become the more expert.
The grade can literally mean a gain or loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a particular issue. The overstreet guide to grading comics 2016 edition. Some of the above defects along with a fold or crease in the cover that breaks color. These grading services assign grades on the tenpoint grading scale. This book may range anywhere from poor to near mint and there is no obligation to clarify its condition. Comic book grading labels collectors condition comic book. Were sorry but doesnt work properly without javascript enabled. Cgc page quality chart here is a chart of the various cgc page colors ive come across in the wild. If you were to receive a grade on a book you purchased from us, after. Here is the standard grading system used for all books available on.
You can now take pride in showingoff your comic book collection to your friends at home, dealers, at trade shows or in the shop. Hello, im kevin volo, and id like to thank you for checking out my learn to grade comic books course. Any amount of wear to the cover of the book must be factored into the condition and grading of the comic. One way comic books are graded is on the basic grading scale, which runs from mint the highest, through near mint, very fine, fine, very good, good, fair, and poor the lowest. Though at times controversial, its proven grading system has become a gold standard for those looking to have their collection appraised. Therefore being able to correctly determine the grade of a comic is an important skill for buyers and sellers alike. Again, grading comics can be very subjective and have a company like cgc give their opinion can make comic books go for much more than their cover price, especially those with high grades. In addition, it can be a lot of fun to get your comics graded and watch them increase in value. There has been a recent rise in the value of cgc graded comic books. First, is the use of a forward slash to denote a book as being between grades. The comic book can have rounded corners and creases in the cover. Cgc grading scale cgc uses a 10point grading scale to evaluate comics. Some collectors consider this the lowest collectible grade because comic books in.
Because restoration and grading are inextricably linked, their evolutionary paths run parallel. The cover can be detached and have moderate amounts of tape. Types of damage that place a comic in fr range include. For example, a couple of pieces of tape were used to hold on the cover, a dab of dads wood glue was used. May 19, 2016 third party graders have established a standard numeric grading system that most of todays collectors rely upon. Dec 24, 20 the real freakin comic book men greg eide has been selling comic books as his livelihood for over 42 years. We are proud to provide certification and grading services for collectors and hobbyist in the comic book industry. Although the actual process of grading a comic isnt really that difficult, it can be a bit intimidating for beginners. You can think of the grade of a comic book like a grade on a report card. For example, fine very fine or abbreviated fnvf denotes that book is. A spine split of up to 23 the length of the book, a missing back cover provided the front cover is still attached, severe water damage or residue damage. At mycomicshop, we use the basic grading scale for most of our comics priced up to.