*A:M User* Roger Posted November 13, 2013 *A:M User* Share Posted November 13, 2013 So I've been casting about for ways to finance my dream, and turned to the comic book collection. I really doubt I have anything that is worth all that much, seems like only the really old stuff from the 60s and before is worth anything. So I went through and found my copy of Star Wars number 1 which I remembered hearing might be worth something. *googling* Star Wars number 1 from 1977 in mint condition goes from anywhere from $100 to $200 for the 30 cent edition with the much rarelr 35 cent print going for $2500-$5000 and up, depending on the condition. Looks at copy with missing cover (yeah I was torturing myself) Looks at the first page to see if I can find date or pricing info...hmm...1982 reprint, $1.25 So I guess I'm saying I'm happy it was the reprint, I think I'd be sick if it was the 35 cent version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Oh well. :-) I have issues 5 and 6 of the original run, although I can't imagine they are in good enough shape to have value. I believe #4 was the issue on the stands when the movie came out. It sold out quickly, so I'm sure they upped the run for five and six. Of course, making them less valuable. What I really hate is that I gave up on my Star Wars figures when I turned 16. I gave them to my much younger brother and he promptly destroyed every one of them. I had the original figures because when they first released, I gave up a year's allowance so I could get all of them at once. I saw recently that an out of the box original vinyl cape jawa goes for hundreds of dollars. Makes me physically ill to think about. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted November 13, 2013 Hash Fellow Share Posted November 13, 2013 Wanna hear about the loss of an extremely valuable collectible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted November 13, 2013 Author *A:M User* Share Posted November 13, 2013 Oh well. :-) I have issues 5 and 6 of the original run, although I can't imagine they are in good enough shape to have value. I believe #4 was the issue on the stands when the movie came out. It sold out quickly, so I'm sure they upped the run for five and six. Of course, making them less valuable. What I really hate is that I gave up on my Star Wars figures when I turned 16. I gave them to my much younger brother and he promptly destroyed every one of them. I had the original figures because when they first released, I gave up a year's allowance so I could get all of them at once. I saw recently that an out of the box original vinyl cape jawa goes for hundreds of dollars. Makes me physically ill to think about. :-) Oh yeah I totally had a vinyl cape jawa (loose, sans cape) so I feel your pain. I still have a bunch of the original figures, but they are all loose and probably not worth much, if anything. Bought some of the newer stuff and kept it boxed/carded, but doubtful it will appreciate in value. Wanna hear about the loss of an extremely valuable collectible? Sure. It must be bad if you aren't saying what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted November 13, 2013 Hash Fellow Share Posted November 13, 2013 Suppose you had an autograph of Neil Armstrong? A real one would be a rare thing since he generally stopped signing autographs decades ago. It would be even rarer if it were on the same page with six other prominent space exploration figures, like James Van Allen, for whom the Van Allen radiation belts were named. Back in 1972, Armstrong and the others came to my dad's alma mater for a "Space Symposium" to talk and lecture. Over the several days I managed to get all seven autographs on one printed program. My dad took it and filed it away for safe keeping and i saw it several times of the years. I'm sure it was still there 10 years ago when my dad was moving out of his house because he never threw anything away. My sister had promised me she wouldn't throw anything out until i got up there to help go through it, but when i arrived there was already a huge dumpster filled to the top about to be hauled away. "It was just a bunch of old paper and junk that no one wants," she said I told her about the autograph. "Well, just ask 'Norm Neilson' or whatever his name was to sign another one!" was her solution. For me, that was bigger than a Star Wars collectible could ever be, but it's gone. Armstrong with another speaker, Apollo 11 geologist Roald Fryxell (also my cousin): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted November 13, 2013 Author *A:M User* Share Posted November 13, 2013 h Yeah, that is downright tragic. I'm not sure how I would have reacted to that. On another note, you had a cousin that was a Nasa scientist during the Apollo era? I imagine he has some cool stories to tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted November 13, 2013 Hash Fellow Share Posted November 13, 2013 That event was the only time I met him in person. He wasn't involved in the spaceflight side of it, he was part of the team that studied the rocks that came back. He and the other geologists examined these gray moon rocks in great detail and confirmed that they were indeed, gray rocks. There were really no stunning discoveries in the moon rocks that changed much about what we thought or made for exciting layman's discussion. He could talk about geology in PhD terms but not in a sense that was interesting to me as a 12 year old. His father (married to my father's sister) was also a geologist but he could talk about dinosaurs and prehistoric life and I found him much more interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Ouch! Literally thousands of dollars into a landfill. My dad was in the Air Force during the 60s - 80s and worked at command posts in support of all the Apollo missions. I don't think he ever met an astronaut or got an autograph, but I do know that he has all the mission patches. I assume they have some value, but I know they've made many reproductions of them, so I don't know if there's even a market for the originals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 that's why collectibles are valuable, *most* people throw out their old junk. Kids who have been collecting comics for the last 20 years or so are in for a shock when they find out that everyone has every book, sealed in plastic. Even the valuable or important ones will be worth next to nothing. I read an article in Business Week online a couple weeks ago that had numerous examples of books that sold for thousands ten years ago but are now worth a couple hundred or a grand. They don't keep appreciating in an upward line. It depends on what's trendy. I have a bunch of Frank Miller fan art that I tried to sell when his movies were hot, and it was only worth a couple of bucks. Likewise, a full run of "Witzend", which is/was legendary. Mostly worthless because its importance has flagged over the decades. I think the lesson here is, collect what you really love, don't collect as an investment. "Blazing Combat" #1, anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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