Comic book grading scales

A grader must comb over a book in very minute detail, looking for myriad imperfections like wear, tears, rounded corners, marks, page. 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. The book is then forwarded to the encapsulation department for sealing. Well be taking a look at their grading scale for the. Like a coin, once a grade has been assigned the comic book is sealed to preserve and protect it. Books in this grade are almost always creased, scuffed, abraded and soiled, but readable. Grading is the second investigation a comic goes through, this time to evaluate the condition of the comic cover and pages. I just want to get the most out of what is probably my best comic. The premier online comics price guide free comic book values. Were sorry but doesnt work properly without javascript enabled. This is a fairly common trait in the very good category. In general, the more restoration has been performed, the less the comic is worth compared to its apparent grade value.

A lightly restored book will be valued higher than a book with heavy restoration in the same apparent grade. If we dont, add it to your want list and well notify you when its in stock. Overstreet comic book grading guide first edition 1992 the confident collector 5. 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.

That way, anyone can compare their raw or slabbed books to consistent grading standards. The comic book price guide for great britain a guide to grading. During this evaluation, if your comic is deemed to be too fragile to safely undergo pressing, it will be rejected at this point at no cost to you. In this installment we will take a look at comic book certification services cbcs.

Comic book grades are given to a book reflecting the quality of printing, storage, and upkeep of a particular book. Books with brittle pages cannot grade higher than 3. A nice comic with a piece up to the size of a standard postage stamp torn from one corner. Comic book grading company the affordable and reliable. 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 larger amount of tape is also allowed in this grade.

The advantages of the collectors condition comic book raw grading labeling system is. 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. There are different systems used by different price guides and grading companies. It is very rare, especially in older vintage comic books, to discover a comic in these grades as they are virtually nonexistent. The market value of comic books is partly determined by a grading process. This plastic case forever seals your comic, unless you destroy the case to extract the comic. You can think of the grade of a comic book like a grade on a report card. 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.

Its a complicated process, and if you want to know more about it you can read how it works for yourself here. Pages and inside covers could be brownish but not brittle. The tenpoint grading scale assigns grades ranging from 10. Comic grading professional comic book grading eliminates concerns about grade misrepresentations by providing a professional assessment of condition and quality. The higher the grade of a comic book the higher the value. We offer modern, bronze age, silver age, and golden age comics. Pgx also offers a comparable service and directly competes with cgc in the comic book grading market. As longtime users of nostomania know, the value of a comic depends strongly on grade. 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.

Before a comic books value is determined, the comic book needs to have an accurate grade assigned to it. Comic book grading our grading standards are based on the standards laid out in the overstreet grading guide. We are proud to provide certification and grading services for collectors and hobbyist in the comic book industry. The two basic systems consist of a number scale from one to ten such as the cgc uses and the other one uses terms such as follows.

Most collectors will accept any page quality except for books with slightly brittle or brittle pages in a collectible comic. With new expanded information, it remains the definitive reference for industrystandard comic book grading. Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading. Most comics graded using the tenpoint grading scale have cover scans, so when youre considering purchasing a comic you can see the front and sometimes back cover scans of the exact comic being offered. The standard comic book grading system that is widely used today is the one developed in the official overstreet comic book grading guide. If youre looking for a hard to find back issue, we probably have it. In 2017 cbcs redesigned their labels, and this article will only be covering the new ones. Only very minute printing and bindery defects or the most barely noticeable handling defects present. 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.

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. To grade a comic, you need to take in to consideration a number of factors before being able to assess the correct grade. Aug 12, 2014 some comic book stores even have authorized vendors who can send your books in for you. Preventative restoration, widely used and accepted by collectors, consists of nonadditive restoration on a book with one or two major defects. Comic book value packs comic book value packs are a great way to pick up a lot of comics cheaply. Who is the most reputable to help get the most value. But only when the book is otherwise quite beautiful, and the tape does not in any way mar the appearance of the book. Graded blue the blue label for cbcs covers any comic that is not signed. If you were to receive a grade on a book you purchased from us, after january 1, 2003, that was graded as nm that came in below 8. The term grade is used to describe what condition a comic book is in.

Cgc uses a 10point grading scale to evaluate comics. If there is disagreement among the graders, there will be a discussion with other graders until a final determination is made. These records are from an impartial 3rd party source gp analysis. Once restored, a comic s value depends upon several factors. If all grades are in agreement or are very close, the book will be assigned a final grade. The worlds largest collectibles auctioneer comic books, vintage comics, original. The best possible existing condition of that comic book. Once this is done, a more detailed comparison is made to ensure that their invoice descriptions correspond to. A fr copy will have virtually no eye appeal and will display major damage.

This is intended to be a basic guide so that you have a general idea of the grade of your books for pricing purposes. Also, pressing is a very delicate process, so please be aware that it may add time to the express and next day grading services. A grade represents the condition of a book in a way that collectors can understand. Comic grading is the process of encasing a comic book in a plastic case. I have been a comic book fan, collector, publisher pocket comicsmars attacks 1988 and graphic artist for years necessity is the mother of invention. This 10point comic book grading scale is widely used now and you will often see people grade by simply putting the number value on the book with the classic descriptive grade. 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. We pride ourselves on carefully selecting the right process for every comic book submitted to us. 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. Description universal blue a standard comic book universal blue no grade ng a comic book that is in such poor condition that cgc will not give it a grade, but merely verify that it is an actual original comic book. Comic book wiki comic libraries, news, forums and more. Comic book grading concept comic book grading appears in 46 issues. A comic must be relatively complete to be successfully restored.

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. Cbcs offers impartial grading and certification for comic books. The most difficult, contentious and eternally frustrating aspect of comic collecting is grading. Everything you need to know about submitting comic books. A highly consistent, descriptive and illustrated extensively grading guide on the web which will be a free service to the collecting community. The biggest and most popular third party grading company. Pgx was created to meet the growing demand for professional, thirdparty comic book grading. Our company has sat well over 600 world record prices selling vintage comic books at auction. Tolkien when considering the purchase of a book for your collection, the condition and, if applicable, the dust jacket are the most important factors affecting the value. The oldest and most trusted comic book grading service is provided by certified guaranty company llc, more commonly known as cgc. Comic book grading, certification process cbcs comics. Comic book grading labels collectors condition comic book.

Even professional grading services like cgc, cbcs, and pgx acknowledge that the same book may not always receive the same grade if it is. 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. Some grading companies have actually devised a numeric or scale grading system see table below that ranges from 10. 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. Comic grading company has a simple and affordable pricing structure without any clubs to join. The two main methods of describing an overall grade are numerical, and symbol. Useful for when you are unsure of the grade of a book or do not wish to grade the comic. This collectibles shop page has the standard 10 point grading scale and definitions, as used in the overstreet guide. Remember you are invited to participate in the process. Cgcs restoration grading scale is a transparent system that is much more descriptive and accurate than before.

Is there writing on it, are there tears or discoloration. Cbcs comic book certification service the newest and second most popular comic book grading company. 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. Vault grading provides grading, pressing, encapsulation, valuation, and screening services to comic book collectors. A grader must comb over a book in very minute detail, looking for myriad imperfections like wear, tears, rounded corners, marks, page color e. 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. View grading tutorials for other collectible types. 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. Theoretically, the higher the grade of the book, the more desirable the book will be. You can also connect with others in the comic industry to further and enhance everyones comic experience. The grade of a comic book is based on its physical condition. Comic book grading labels collectors condition comic.

After your comics arrive at cgc, up to three graders will inspect your comic before a final grade is given. Depending on the look of the comic, very small amounts of tape could be acceptable in this grade. Comics listed for auction or buyitnow are listed using the 10 point grading scale. Comic book grading screenshots, images and pictures comic vine. Its a good idea to understand the grading scale used by most comics collectors to help ensure that your expectations are met when you purchase comics. Dallas convention center 650 south griffin street, dallas, tx, 75202, usa. There are eight major grades in the comic book grading scale. The advantages of such a system allow for variation in each grade and even. Comic book realm use our database to track your comic. Grading comics accurately is essential to their figuring out their proper value and price. A fr is the lowest grade a comic book can receive as long as the story and art are complete. Grading is an inherently subjective process and there will always be small differences in opinion.

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. Gp analysis lists us as a cgc the comic book grading authority online auction firm. Therefore being able to correctly determine the grade of a comic is an important skill for buyers and sellers alike. Submit comics to cgc for grading there are four ways for collectors to submit their comics for grading. Books with slightly brittle pages cannot grade higher than 6. In general, cgc is set up the same way as ngc and pcgs as far as the grading process. We have taken every precaution to safely house your comic books. Grading was introduced in part 1 of this series comic book grading understand the options and cbcss system follows a 0. A standard color coded raw grading tool that is exclusively designed for you the comic book collectorinvestor.

Below are cgcs grading standards for each numeric grade as well as the restoration grading scale. Each pack is grouped around a particular character or theme, and there is no duplication within any pack. 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. The learn to grade comic books course is the most comprehensive course of its kind. When you submit a comic book to cgc, it is inspected before grading actually begins. The basic grading scale, also known as letter grades, uses the grades from near mint highest to poor lowest nm near mint. But the rawhide kid book just has spine stress and no pulling. Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading standards. Mail submissions to cgc headquarters paid collectors society members and authorized dealers can complete submission forms online and send collectibles directly to the cgc headquarters. For one, if you have a really valuable book, it offers a form of protection. The grading scale that we are familiar with in the coin market, regardless of the service that a coin has been submitted to, is known as the sheldon scale. The same general ideas apply when dealing with comic books and the cgc grading scale. Comics price guide was the first online price guide for comic books back in 1995.

Learn what is the comic book rating system and how a comic book is graded with cbcs comics grading guidelines. One of the most important factors is first to count the interior pages. Although the actual process of grading a comic isnt really that difficult, it can be a bit intimidating for beginners. All of these things and more need to be taken into consideration when one is trying grading a comic. I got tired of using standard labels, cutting, taping, searching, and wasting time. 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. 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. Collectors condition comic book raw grading labels stickers. This page gives you the basic comic book grading definitions and 10 point scale, and a glossary of grading termslingo. We closely monitor and calibrate our staff to maintain adherence to our established standards. From the moment your books enter into our facility they are handled with the upmost care by our highly trained professional staff.

Comic book values typically depend on a number of factors, including how hard to find a particular issue is and the condition of the comic book. Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it. We have values for any marvel, dc, image, idw, darkhorse, or dell comic book that is in your collection. This book may range anywhere from poor to near mint and there is no obligation to clarify its condition.