Expert: Chris Brown - 1/28/2009

Question
QUESTION: I found an answer you sent to someone in May '08 about a Star Wars #1 book.  You mentioned the 35 cent edition was the first comic with a UPC.  I have several of the 30 cent editions all of which have a UPC in the lower left corner.  In regard the the 35 cent edition, I understand that it's not only the price and UPC which make it valuable but also the limited press run.  Do you know how many of the more expensive editions were printed and how many there might be in circulation (?) right now?
My thanks to you,
Bill Walkup

ANSWER: Hi Bill

You are correct that the .30 cent edition of Star Wars #1 also has a UPC.  There was a time that the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, one of the most well-known reference books on comics, stated that the .35 cent edition was the first to have a UPC code.  It no longer states that.  Both the .30 cent and .35 cent original newsstand editions of Star Wars #1 did have barcodes.

The .35 cent edition of Star Wars #1 was only distributed in six cities.  It was meant to determine whether raising the price of comics from .30 to .35 cents would decrease sales.  The general wisdom is that about 1,500 copies of the .35 cent issue were printed and distributed.  One website I am familiar with estimates that about 400 copies still survive today.

http://www.bipcomics.com/showcase/StarWars/Marvel/StarWars/info.html

It is unusual in comics for a cover variation to command such a high premium, rare though the variant might be.  In this case, a high-grade copy of the .35 cent edition is listed as being worth about twenty times more than the .30 cent edition.  That's a lot of extra value for a comic whose only significant difference is having a "5" instead of a "0" on its cover!

Chris

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your information.  I have seen a lot of information about the price of the 30 cent edition.  Do you think that this means that the 35 cent would be worth several hundred dollars depending on the condition.  One website I saw the other day suggested that a copy in fine condition would be worth in excess of $4000.

Answer
Hi Bill

The .35 cent edition could certainly be worth several hundred, but $4000 for a fine condition copy sounds pretty unreasonable.  A VG/F copy with minor restoration sold for $200 a couple years ago at Heritage.  I would expect an unrestored fine to sell for several hundred, but probably less than a thousand.  But who knows?  It's all what someone is willing to pay.

As to rarity, CGC has graded 80 copies.  56 are in Fine or better, with the highest graded being NM.  Lots of old comic issues are rarer, but for a 70s Marvel comic, this is very rare.