Pgx uses a similar grading scale as the prior ones we have discussed, basing theirs on the overstreet comic book grading guide. A high grade, like an a or mint, is good, while a low grade, like an f or poor, is bad. Catalog your inventory or build a wish list of key issues. A book with cream to offwhite fell below the median. These grades describe comics that are in somewhat worse condition than the very good grades. Learning how to properly grade comics and becoming certified. Ive done some searches and i havent been able to come up with anything, so any.
Part of the reason is because its understood that at minimum the cost of grading the comic is added to the raw value of the book. Comic grading is the process of encasing a comic book in a plastic case. 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. The standard comic book grading system that is widely used today is the one developed in the official overstreet comic book grading guide. A comic must be relatively complete to be successfully restored. There are grades in between these basic grades such as finevery fine, but we want this to be a general easytofollow comic grading. A book with offwhite to white pages sold for the highest value.
Grading is the second investigation a comic goes through, this time to evaluate the condition of the comic cover and pages. As longtime users of nostomania know, the value of a comic depends strongly on grade. 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. The company was founded by alec born and steve borock, the latter earning a reputation in the community while working many years at cgc, and was recently purchased by beckett media. The condition generally results from a rapid change in. A highly consistent, descriptive and illustrated extensively grading guide on the web which will be a free service to the collecting community. The best way to understand why a specific comic book received a check mark designation is to refer to the graders notes. Because our location is in the midwest, we feel that offers comic lovers a better choice than other grading, appraisal and brokerage services. Who is the most reputable to help get the most value. Grading comics accurately is essential to their figuring out their proper value and price. Select what condition your comic is by using the cgc and cbcs grading scale. 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. In it, i walk you step by step through 27 comics at every grade level from 0. A fr copy will have virtually no eye appeal and will display major damage.
Comic grading professional comic book grading eliminates concerns about grade misrepresentations by providing a professional assessment of condition and quality. Is there writing on it, are there tears or discoloration. This collectibles shop page has the standard 10 point grading scale and definitions, as used in the overstreet guide. The comic book price guide for great britain a guide to grading. Comics price guide was the first online price guide for comic books back in 1995. Nm near mint vf very fine fn fine vg very good gd good fr fair pr poor the tenpoint grading scale assigns grades ranging from 10. A nice comic with a piece up to the size of a standard postage stamp torn from one corner. The market value of comic books is partly determined by a grading process. A lightly restored book will be valued higher than a book with heavy restoration in the same apparent grade.
The real freakin comic book men greg eide has been selling comic books as his livelihood for over 42 years. The biggest and most popular third party grading company. Pgx was created to meet the growing demand for professional, thirdparty comic book grading. 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. I would be interested in scans of any cgced books that have page colorgrade combinations not found on the chart for future inclusion. 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. Comic grading company has a simple and affordable pricing structure without any clubs to join. For collector and dealer alike, it is essential to grade the condition of a comic fairly and accurately in order to determine its true value and worth. In 2001, marvel comics withdrew from the comics code authority and established its own rating system for its publications. In 1837, we have the first recorded graphic novel with sequential art called the adventures of obadiah oldbuck. In the case of comics in vg or higher grades, the book is already an attractive item. We have values for any marvel, dc, image, idw, darkhorse, or dell comic book that is in your collection. The set of terms below were proposed in 1949 by ab bookmans weekly.
Several events have impacted grading over the years. The two main methods of describing an overall grade are numerical, and symbol. The term grade is used to describe what condition a comic book is in. For books that have a signature witness, they are sealed with a special label. The marvel rating system is a system for rating the content of comic books, with regard to appropriateness for different age groups. Books with brittle pages cannot grade higher than 3. Grading from australia cgc registry cgc comic book. Also, pressing is a very delicate process, so please be aware that it may add time to the express and next day grading services. Were sorry but doesnt work properly without javascript enabled. Learn more about the cgc grading scale and see comparisons. Ive seen a number of books from cbcs that id say are slightly overgraded when compared to cgc.
The basic grading scale, also known as letter grades, uses the grades from near mint highest to poor lowest. Consists of accurate highresolution images of the front and back of the book, shown encapsulated in its cgc holder. Overstreet comic book grading guide first edition 1992 the confident collector 5. Before a comic books value is determined, the comic book needs to have an accurate grade assigned to it. As far as comic book history, comic books have been aroundfor a very long time. For one, if you have a really valuable book, it offers a form of protection. In recent years, grading criteria have become even tighter, especially in silver and bronze age books, due to their higher survival rate. Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading. Here is the standard grading system used for all books available on. 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. A standard color coded raw grading tool that is exclusively designed for you the comic book collectorinvestor. Although the actual process of grading a comic isnt really that difficult, it can be a bit intimidating for beginners. Finally, we gather supportive information about the individual sale including when and where it was sold, how the sale can be identified at the remote venue, the format of the sale auction, fixed price, etc.
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. I tried calling several times, but their phone is disconnected or its been changed. This is a fairly common trait in the very good category. You then hand the book over to them, and it gets sent off to be graded. But only when the book is otherwise quite beautiful, and the tape does not in any way mar the appearance of the book. If we dont, add it to your want list and well notify you when its in stock. Vault grading received my comic in september of 2016. A grader must comb over a book in very minute detail, looking for myriad imperfections like wear, tears, rounded corners, marks, page color e. Here at comic burst we use two scales for assessing comic books we offer for sale. In rare cases, a comic book will look much better than the given grade. In these rare cases, a check mark will be placed on the label by the numerical grade.
High grade books are great candidates, as are keys e. 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. But theres also this social contract that exists which allows buyers to put more faith in a book graded by cgc because of the confidence their reputation brings to the table. A fr is the lowest grade a comic book can receive as long as the story and art are complete. Bowed covers may turn inward toward the leaves or outward away from the leaves. Digital imaging for comic books submitted under any of cgcs grading and service tiers. Comic book realm use our database to track your comic. I just want to get the most out of what is probably my best comic. Everything you need as a collector of valuable comics or highlysought after issues including speculation books is combined into one resource. Comic book grading part 1 certified guaranty company. Books in this grade are almost always creased, scuffed, abraded and soiled, but readable. Comic book grades are given out through a company called the certified guaranty company also known as the cgc. With new expanded information, it remains the definitive reference for industrystandard comic book grading. We offer modern, bronze age, silver age, and golden age comics.
The comic may be brittle and defaced by other materials such as paint and glue. This plastic case forever seals your comic, unless you destroy the case to extract the comic. In this installment we will take a look at comic book certification services cbcs. Remember you are invited to participate in the process. A larger amount of tape is also allowed in this grade. Books that have been encapsulated and certified by an objective thirdparty grading service take the guesswork out of the grading process for both collectors and dealers. Therefore being able to correctly determine the grade of a comic is an important skill for buyers and sellers alike. Bowed a condition of the covers or boards of a hard cover book. Grading is an inherently subjective process and there will always be small differences in opinion.
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. Comics listed for auction or buyitnow are listed using the 10 point grading scale. The ratings displayed are the average ratings for the. As new means that the book is in the state that it should have been in when. Cgc prides itself on being an impartial comic grading service that provides a professional and impartial assessment of your comics quality. Aug 12, 2014 some comic book stores even have authorized vendors who can send your books in for you. As with grading all collectibles, there is a degree of subjectivity as there are many factors to consider and all of them must be weighed to determine an overall grade. Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it. Comic book grading is the process of determining the grade or condition of a book, which directly influences its value. The tenpoint grading scale assigns grades ranging from 10. The premier online comics price guide free comic book values. The 8 ages of comic books by alex grand comic book. We closely monitor and calibrate our staff to maintain adherence to our established standards.
A grade represents the condition of a book in a way that collectors can understand. They were adopted by the bookselling community and are still in use today. In an effort to highlight the most well received comic book trades, weve set up a real time list of the best comic book trades of the past three months. Effective with the 4th edition, published in 2014, the overstreet comic book grading guide has been retitled as the overstreet guide to grading comics, and has been published in a new larger format. If youre looking for a hard to find back issue, we probably have it. Gp analysis lists us as a cgc the comic book grading authority online auction firm. We are proud to provide certification and grading services for collectors and hobbyist in the comic book industry. The learn to grade comic books course is the most comprehensive course of its kind. A guide to grading the comic book price guide for great. The cgc comic shop, we are a buyer and seller of comics, cgc submission center, professional grader and valuer,cgc european agent, comic locating service. Nov 09, 2012 my personal opinion on grading comics. Comic book grading company the affordable and reliable. From our humble beginnings, we have grown to the largest, most complete comic book price guide with well over 1,000,000 comics in our database.
Even though youd think cgc should have comic grading in it it actually stands for certificate guaranty company. Theoretically, the higher the grade of the book, the more desirable the book will be. There are different systems used by different price guides and grading companies. The comic book industry tenpoint grading scale ranges from 10. Once restored, a comic s value depends upon several factors. Comic book supplies auctionstore venues third party grading. Cgcs restoration grading scale is a transparent system that is much more descriptive and accurate than before. There are eight major grades in the comic book grading scale. Please note that we can only ship up to 30 books in one box so you will need to take this into account when submitting larger orders.
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. The overstreet guide to grading comics 2016 edition. Iconic comics grading is based on the overstreet grading guide. 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. Im wondering how to learn to properly grade comics and to become certified by cgc or something along those lines. The cover may have some missing pieces and the book is. Some people will not grade a comic missing its cover, but some give incomplete comics a score between 0. The worlds largest collectibles auctioneer comic books, vintage comics. Cbcs team members all share in the love of our hobby and the medium. It appeared to me that they are more forgiving on the upper end of the scales. As we match the sale we record the comic grading company, holderlabel type and the assigned grade. Our company has sat well over 600 world record prices selling vintage comic books at auction.
Preventative restoration, widely used and accepted by collectors, consists of nonadditive restoration on a book with one or two major defects. These records are from an impartial 3rd party source gp analysis. The two basic systems consist of a number scale from one to ten such as the cgc uses and. The grade of a comic book is based on its physical condition. Here, collectors could easily compare and discuss grading with dealers. The higher the grade of a comic book the higher the value. You can also connect with others in the comic industry to further and enhance everyones comic experience. Cgc page quality chart here is a chart of the various cgc page colors ive come across in the wild. Other descriptors used in conjunction with the above grading scale. Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading standards. Theoretically sequential art goes back to the ancient egyptians, but for the sake of simplicity its good to start somewhere.
The book pretty much summarizes all the checking points in determining the value of a comic book, and provides extensive comic book grading scale and descriptions for each grading level. This is intended to be a basic guide so that you have a general idea of the grade of your books for pricing purposes. Chuck rozanskis grading standards mile high comics. The most difficult, contentious and eternally frustrating aspect of comic collecting is grading. Slabbing a random nonkey book is often not likely to pay off in increased value, nor will slabbing books under 6. Comic book certification service cbcs was started by professional comic book hobbyists with the intent of protecting our fellow hobbyists when buying and selling comic books. You can think of the grade of a comic book like a grade on a report card. Even professional grading services like cgc, cbcs, and pgx acknowledge that the same book may not always receive the same grade if it is. All sellers listing items on this site are required to use this grading system for a standard method understood by all. The advantages of the collectors condition comic book raw grading labeling system is. A book with cream to offwhite sold for the third lowest value, with an offwhite and offwhite to white selling at the two lowest values. The first has to be the arrival of comic book conventions. Cbcs comic book certification service the newest and second most popular comic book grading company.
Cgc set the standard for thirdparty comic book, magazine, lobby card and vintage photograph grading, and its independent affiliate ccs performs expert pressing, restoration and restoration removal services for comic books. Below are cgcs grading standards for each numeric grade as well as the restoration grading scale. In general, the more restoration has been performed, the less the comic is worth compared to its apparent grade value. Every type of restoration found on each book will be individually graded for quantity and quality, with a cumulative score determining the final restoration grade assigned. Comic book grades are given to a book reflecting the quality of printing, storage, and upkeep of a particular book. Key collector comics free mobile app is the worlds first database and price guide to focus exclusively on key issues.
The oldest and most trusted comic book grading service is provided by. Pgx also offers a comparable service and directly competes with cgc in the comic book grading market. To grade a comic, you need to take in to consideration a number of factors before being able to assess the correct grade. Comic book grading labels collectors condition comic book. Cgc uses a 10point grading scale to evaluate comics.
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