When grading gets to fine, you start operating on a point system. It is the first independent and impartial third party grading service for comic books the company was launched in early 2000 and has since gone on to become a notable part of the comic book collecting community. One of our goals for the new website is to offer an easier online experience for our customers. Therefore being able to correctly determine the grade of a comic is an important skill for buyers and sellers alike. A comic must be relatively complete to be successfully restored. Cover shows significant wear, and may be loose or even detached at one staple. Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading standards.
Its only been within the last 15 years or so that the problem of bias in comic grading was amended, and it took the form of commercial grading. In this installment we will take a look at comic book certification services cbcs. However, we also desired to offer comic books lovers, collectors, buyers and sellers lower cost options to just hard shell grading. However, grading is an inherently subjective process and there.
Sometimes i see people argue over if a piece of the cover missing would get a comic a 0. Furthermore, what a comic book is stored in does not have any bearing on the grade of that comic book. Cgc comic book grading understand the labels comic burst. Nostomania comic book values, collection management, and. Comic book grading is the process of determining the grade or condition of a comic book, which directly influences its value. This is an exceptional example of a given book the best ever seen. My lists manage your collection, wantlist, or for sale list. 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. Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it.
Pgx also offers a comparable service and directly competes with cgc in the comic book grading market. How to grade your comics comic book grading labels. Midwest comic grading mcg came into existence as the grading unit of midwest comic books mcb. Chuck rozanskis grading standards mile high comics. Cgc is an independent member of the certified collectibles group of companies. 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. A spine split of up to 23 the length of the book, a. Last week i received my overstreet guide to grading comics 2015 edition from amazon.
Cash paid for your original comc art, comics, and toys. Cgc census detailed report of the comics, magazines and lobby cards graded by cgc, with the total number of cgccertified examples in each grade. Join cgc to get direct submission privileges, 247 order tracking and more. Comic book grading part 2 certified guaranty company.
You then hand the book over to them, and it gets sent off to be graded. Dealers and graders may often disagree with some grading classifications. The same as tan to offwhite, but the center of the pages are darker. 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. One area we focused on is the way you submit comics and access your account information. Comic grading company has a simple and affordable pricing structure without any clubs to join. Comic grading professional comic book grading eliminates concerns about grade misrepresentations by providing a professional assessment of condition and quality. The best way to understand why a specific comic book received a check mark designation is to refer to the graders notes. In these rare cases, a check mark will be placed on the label by the numerical grade. Some comic book stores even have authorized vendors who can send your books in for you. Grading your comic books guide revel in the detail. A fr copy will have virtually no eye appeal and will display major damage. I feel the companies that offer only that form of encapsulation do a good job but many people own newer, highergrade comics that may want to get them graded.
When grading a comic book, the first thing youll see is the cover. The real freakin comic book men greg eide has been selling comic books as his livelihood for over 42 years. By requesting prescreen and specifying a minimum grade on your invoice, you will be charged grading fees only for comic books that. It is the definite grading guide so if something has changed it is worth taking into account for future submissions. 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. Advice for those who dont know how to grade comics. Once restored, a comic s value depends upon several factors. Pgx was created to meet the growing demand for professional, thirdparty comic book grading.
We are currently migrating data to our new system and conducting tests, and we are really excited for you to try it out. The term grade is used to describe what condition a comic book is in. A high grade, like an a or mint, is good, while a low grade. We need to emphasize, however, that not more than two of the above mentioned flaws can appear in the same comic. We are proud to provide certification and grading services for collectors and hobbyist in the comic book industry. The most difficult, contentious and eternally frustrating aspect of comic collecting is grading. There is a numeric system which corresponds to a titled grading system.
While a casual collector might not need to bother, its vitally important to have your comics graded if you ever plan to sell them, because the value of a comic varies widely depending on the grade it receives. For instance, take a look at a recently featured comic book, action comics 1. 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. A lightly restored book will be valued higher than a book with heavy restoration in the same apparent grade. Comic book submission cbgc provides the only easy to use, online comic submission form. The newest and second most popular comic book grading company. The best grade a comic book can achieve with this page quality is 7. 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 two main methods of describing an overall grade are numerical, and symbol.
Grading of comics can be subjective, although there are basic agreed upon standards within the industry. As longtime users of nostomania know, the value of a comic depends strongly on grade. Take a close look, ideally with a magnifying glass, and make careful notes of any apparent damage, including. 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. Grading is the second investigation a comic goes through, this time to evaluate the condition of the comic cover and pages.
This collectibles shop page has the standard 10 point grading scale and definitions, as used in the overstreet guide. Research the 100 most valuable comic books, the nosto top 100 comics. All professional graders, whether grading coins, currency, or comics are charged with placing your items under a microscope see logo to determine their condition and therefore value. 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. Who is the most reputable to help get the most value. The professionally graded comic books often referred to as slabbed books for sale on this site have been graded by the comic guarantee corporation cgc or one of the other. Vault grading provides grading, pressing, encapsulation, valuation, and screening services to comic book collectors. By requesting prescreen and specifying a minimum grade on your invoice, you will be charged grading fees only for comic books that meet or exceed your specified minimum grade. And in some instances even a second flaw can drop a. Last time the numeric grading system was introduced as a way to assess the condition of a comic. Grading comic books, while not rocket science, is important in that the value of a comic book, like any collectible, can be dramatically impacted by its condition. Useful for when you are unsure of the grade of a book or do not wish to grade the comic. We grade fairly and accurately and in accordance with widely accepted comic grading standards.
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. Comic book grades are given to a book reflecting the quality of printing, storage, and upkeep of a particular book. Gp analysis lists us as a cgc the comic book grading authority online auction firm. These records are from an impartial 3rd party source gp analysis. A grader must comb over a book in very minute detail, looking for myriad imperfections like wear, tears, rounded corners, marks, page color e. The company was founded by alec born and steve borock, the latter earning a reputation in the community while working many years at. A couple of minor flaws might be allowable, but no more.
Both of these requirements were lacking for much of comic book history, and in the absence of a reliable method of achieving this, access to the culture was stifled and progress was delayed. In recent years, grading criteria have become even tighter, especially in silver and bronze age books, due to their higher survival rate. This book may range anywhere from poor to near mint and there is no obligation to clarify its condition. What matters is the condition of the comic before it was stored. Dark colored pages that exhibit a uniform tint from edges to middle. We will go into depth with the overstreet grading system.
Therefore, mcg is acting both as a grading unit for mcb and trying to fill a void in both affordability and availability in the world of comic book grading. For books that have a signature witness, they are sealed with a special label. Egs european grading service halo certification pgx professional grading experts vault 60 day comic grading mcg midwest comic grading. 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. Similar to light tan to offwhite pages, but the edges of the pages are darker.
The best possible existing condition of that comic book. The online form will allow you to easily submit any number of comics, and then you can print a copy of the form to be included in your shipment. Comic book grading has made a major impact on the market since 1997. The grade or condition of a comic book is the most important determination of value outside of the actual title and issue number. Cgc uses a 10point grading scale to evaluate comics. Safely package your comics for secure shipment to cgc. Mint we do not offer to sell comics in mint condition.
Comic book grading is the process of determining the grade or condition of a book, which directly influences its value. In general, the more restoration has been performed, the less the comic is worth compared to its apparent grade value. Choose a tier based on comic value and turnaround time. You can think of the grade of a comic book like a grade on a report card. Buying original comic art, vintage comics, cgc graded comics and entire comic book collections, and star wars toys. In rare cases, a comic book will look much better than the given grade. 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.
Below are cgcs grading standards for each numeric grade as well as the restoration 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. Comic book certification service cbcs was started by professional comic book hobbyists and provides certification and grading services for collectors and. This issue of comic update will define each individual grade followed with an analysis of that grade category. Certified guaranty company, also known as cgc, is a sarasota, florida comic book grading service. Visitors to the cgc website can access these valuable research tools. We closely monitor and calibrate our staff to maintain adherence to our established standards. Our company has sat well over 600 world record prices selling vintage comic books at auction. The grade can literally mean a gain or loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a particular issue. Discoloration, fading, foxing, and even minor to moderate soiling is allowed. 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. Preventative restoration, widely used and accepted by collectors, consists of nonadditive restoration on a book with one or two major defects.
Types of damage that place a comic in fr range include. Comic book grading company the affordable and reliable. This is an attempt to show the inexperienced collector a rough idea of what constitutes good, fine, near mint etc using 90s amazing spiderman comics as a. A guide to grading the comic book price guide for great. Grading is the term used for the assessment of the condition of a particular comic book. Discuss topics of interest with other users on the forums. I just want to get the most out of what is probably my best comic. Verify cgc certification a database of every comic book certified by cgc with grade and label description.