Do printer creases affect the grade of the book?


I’m not grading expert, but I belive they do. It’s kind of like when Topps or Upper Deck cuts a card and it isn’t perfectly centered. The card gets dinged in grade. It’s no fault of the Owner’s at all. It wasn’t mishandled or abused but it also isn’t a “perfect specimen”.

My copy looks like that as well.

I believe Miracleman #1 is known for this crease, but no clue how the grading companies view it.

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I think there has been a bit of historical inconsistency around this with the grading companies. My last experience, a couple of years ago, was that an otherwise pristine Far Sector #1 came back as a 9.4. The printer’s crease is the only item in the grading notes, so I assume that’s what dropped it. Prior to that I had understood it as a manufacturing defect that did not impact grade.

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Just a thought…post your question on the CGC forum. There are people on there who have tons of experience and can give you some reliable insights.

I was always under the impression it doesn’t affect the grade when it’s a widely known occurrence as well, as if the majority of the comics out there have the defect.

Good to know…so now I need everyone to bend the lower right corner on the cover to their Hulk 181 please… :wink:

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I don’t use the CGC forum and appreciate folks educating us here tho, so I’m glad we are discussing this!

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Agreed.
When one enters those CGC forums, just saying it’s a pleasant day outside draws in vile, sarcastic, scathing responses.

Not to mention one or more of those dopey CGC emojis

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Interesting concept. So books, lets say prior to 1970 are known for brittle paper, old staples and misuse due to being read, those are known widely known occurrences, right? :slight_smile:

I still find it odd that books from different time periods and production methods are graded differently against the scale. If there is a production error, like a crease, then it is a crease. It will never be a 9.8, but you might have an 8.5 as the highest grade you can get that book or maybe there are books out there that didn’t have it. Amaz Spider-man 361 and that horrible offset comes to mind…it is terrible that those could be allowable 9.8s.

I just keep my books free and floppy. They’re all perfect 12.0’s even with their flaws… :wink:

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Yep, got a bunch o’ them 12.0s as well!

It not a majority. It has to occur on all books, in that it’s not considered a “defect” anymore.

Just because 9.8/10.0 copies are rare doesn’t mean they start grading on a curve.

Printer creases should always count against the grade of a book. Exceptions shouldn’t be made in grading because a portion of the books have the same flaw. Just like older books should be graded the same way as any new books.

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Unfortunately, CGC owns the hobby when it comes to topics like this.
I hate that they have taken that from the hobbyists, but we created the monster.
We have fed the monster. And the monster is larger and more powerful ($$$) than ever.

They revel in the mystery of grading, defect, book age, and mfg. errors; and we are the audience who tries to understand their mystery. We comment. We have opinions. We try to make heads and tails of how they come to their conclusions. Subjectivity and mystery is a wonderfully enticing business model.

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https://recalledcomics.com/Miracleman1GoldBlue.php

There is also evidence to suggest that these early copies all had a printing crease on the cover, just to the right of Miracleman’s head.

Any signatures on the inside of the book?