The younger a comic, the less likely the book will increase in value significantly from restoration. The university of florida has a rich comic book program, with a large interest in comics studies on campus. The comic book price guide for great britain a guide to grading. In 2005, the founding of paper money guaranty pmg established a new standard of integrity in the notegrading industry. Expert grading service egs is a small startup comic book grading, signature authentication. 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. To grade a comic, you need to take in to consideration a number of factors before being able to assess the correct grade. 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. Not with most grading services though, perfect means perfect.
Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the most experienced and. Superworld comics buying and selling comic books, free. Scroll below to see the cgc grading services available to ngc uk members. Who is the most reputable to help get the most value. Jul 16, 2014 a few weeks ago, i attended a local comic convention here in vancouver and i heard about the new company comic book certification service. 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.
Grading from australia cgc registry cgc comic book. Then the book is graded by the cbcs team grades range from 0. Ditch fahrenheits virtual comic collector universe archive only excellence in content. Located in florida, cgc, which claims to grade over 100,000 comic books annually, is unique among grading services because it doesnt allow its employees to. Grading your comic books guide revel in the detail comics. Our company has sat well over 600 world record prices selling vintage comic books at auction. We are proud to provide certification and grading services for collectors and hobbyist in the comic book industry. Comic book certification service cbcs was started by professional comic book hobbyists and provides certification and grading services for collectors and. Certified guaranty company cgc is a third party comic book grading service located in sarasota, florida. The two main methods of describing an overall grade are numerical, and symbol.
Comic book grading is a precise procedure that can make it easy to sell or buy comics for what theyre worth. Only the slightest bindery or printing defects are allowed. Your slab isnt as thick as the other slabs what gives. 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. You can think of the grade of a comic book like a grade on a report card.
For simplicity purposes and to be consistent with these online sources, we rely on the overstreet grading scale. It is the first independent and impartial third party grading service for comic books. Certified guaranty company cgc is a leading thirdparty grading service for comic books, magazines and other collectibles. Comic book certification, pressing faq cbcs comics. Fine comics in fine are priced significantly less than those in very fine and for good reason. We are always interested in buying comic book collections and original comic book art. You can now take pride in showingoff your comic book collection to your friends at home, dealers, at trade shows or in the shop. Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading standards.
The most difficult, contentious and eternally frustrating aspect of comic collecting is grading. Certification is the process of confirming that an item is authentic and meets a certain required level of quality. Comics, toys, books, cosplay, anime, video games, star wars, original artwork, trading cards, comic creators and celebrity guests. 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. Viewing results for florida comics cards and stuff fort myers, florida 2399390878. Books that have been encapsulated and certified by an objective. Tampa bay comic con comic creators celebrity guests. Vault grading provides grading, pressing, encapsulation, valuation, and screening services to comic book collectors.
How to grade your comics comic book grading labels. Superworld comics is home to many rare and valuable comics for fun and investment. The higher the grade of a comic book the higher the value. A high grade, like an a or mint, is good, while a low grade. Grading is an inherently subjective process and there will always be small differences in opinion. A few weeks ago, i attended a local comic convention here in vancouver and i heard about the new company comic book certification service. Pgx was established in 2002 to meet the growing demand for impartial, thirdparty grading and continues to be the fastest, most affordable grading service in the industry. An exceptional example of a given book the best ever seen. The term grade is used to describe what condition a comic book is in. 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. Pgx was created to meet the growing demand for professional, thirdparty comic book grading. Introducing the collectors condition comic book raw grading labeling system.
Even professional grading services like cgc, cbcs, and pgx acknowledge that the same book may not always receive the same grade if it is. Display your books and compete with other collectors for best sets. Comic book grades are given to a book reflecting the quality of printing, storage, and upkeep of a particular book. The university hosts an annual conference on comics, publishes the imagetext journal, and offers several courses employing comics and graphic novels as learning tools. Comic grading company has a simple and affordable pricing structure without any clubs to join. In addition, it can be a lot of fun to get your comics graded and watch them increase in value. 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.
We can help you find the fair value of your comics. Based on the accepted industrywide standard 10 point condition, numerical grading scale. We know comic book grading can be somewhat subjective and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but there is generally a consensus on how to grade comics. Gp analysis lists us as a cgc the comic book grading authority online auction firm. The market value of comic books is partly determined by a grading process. 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 cover of a comic is what typically takes the most abuse.
Comic book grading labels collectors condition comic book. Comics that are submitted to cgc are graded by professional graders on a 10 point scale and then sealed inside a hard plastic cotainer to prevent tampering. When initially looking at a comic book the first thing one will notice is the cover of the book. The cgc signature series label yellow is applied to comic books that have. In recent years, grading criteria have become even tighter, especially in silver and bronze age books, due to their higher survival rate. Submit your books pgx comics pgx comic grading services. 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. Comic book grading ri consignment a different way to. Grading will only preserve and protect the value of an alreadyvaluable book. The company was founded by alec born and steve borock, the latter earning a reputation in the community while working many years at. This company was started by steve borock, the former president of cgc so he definitely has some clout in the industry. Because our location is in the midwest, we feel that offers comic lovers a better choice than other grading, appraisal and brokerage services.
How to submit for cgc grading, submission center uk professional. I just want to get the most out of what is probably my best comic. Visit us in ma, or we are happy to do comic book appraisals on location. Therefore being able to correctly determine the grade of a comic is an important skill for buyers and sellers alike. In these rare cases, a check mark will be placed on the label by the numerical grade. The best possible existing condition of that comic book. In this installment we will take a look at comic book certification services cbcs. Ditch fahrenheits grading game archive only contestant threads. In most cases, this means that the book is ineligible for grading because its missing pages or otherwise incomplete. As longtime users of nostomania know, the value of a comic depends strongly on grade. Cgc is an independent member of the certified collectibles group of companies.
Our graders enter over 25 comic grading details into the system, and the system uses a grading formula to calculate the grade. Professional comic book grading eliminates concerns about grade misrepresentations by providing a professional assessment of. This applies mainly to silver age comics, as noted earlier. 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. In rare cases, a comic book will look much better than the given grade.
We dont take the humanaspect out of grading, we just use our system to ensure that the grading is consistent and accurate. Any amount of wear to the cover of the book must be factored into the condition and grading of the comic. The highest grade any book can receive is a 10, which is labeled gem mint, or simply mint. With comic books, once a book is deemed authentic by the cbcs, it is inspected for restoration and conservation by our restoration detection experts. 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. The best way to understand why a specific comic book received a check mark designation is to refer to the graders notes.
Since then, pmg has been dedicated to upholding the highest standards of consistent and accurate grading. The numeric grading system based on the books condition ranges from. Certified guaranty company, also known as cgc, is a sarasota, florida comic book grading service. The overstreet guide to grading comics 2016 edition. May 19, 2016 third party graders have established a standard numeric grading system that most of todays collectors rely upon. The bcw cgc graded comic book box is made of sturdy white cardboard, features double thickness handles and bottom and holds about 35 40 graded comics. 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. Comic collectors have established standard grades to describe the. Comic book grading screenshots, images and pictures comic vine. Comic book grading company the affordable and reliable. We closely monitor and calibrate our staff to maintain adherence to our established standards. Comic grading professional comic book grading eliminates concerns about grade misrepresentations by providing a professional assessment of condition and quality. Armed with this knowledge and a good understanding of the market, you should be able to make an informed decision about restoration. Grading, particularly by a reputable source is often used to gauge the value of a particular book, and grading by certain companies that authenticate and certify comics books for condition and.