Expert: Chris Brown - 2/15/2009

Question
the classic illustrated i found was in a attic,the information i have is from the comic price guide.it tells me that the number ten Robinson Crusoe is a original,but their is no date or numbers on the bottom of the front page. my other comics all do.can you tell me any thing about them or the treasure chest

Answer

Hi Janine

Sorry I have had a lot going on at work and haven't checked my email in several days.  The Classics series was originally called "Classic Comics."  If your copy of issue #10 is titled "Classics Illustrated," then it is a later edition.  Either on the back cover or the inside back cover, there should be an in-house advertisement telling you what other issues of Classics can be purchased.  Collectors use this ad to distinguish between different editions.  The number of the last issue being offered for sale in the ad, called the HRN (highest reprint number), would let a collector tell you what edition it was and when it was and approximately when it was published.  You are welcome to email me back with the HRN for more info.  However, later editions probably won't be worth more than a few dollars unless in like-new condition.

Treasure Chest was a long-running comic published by the Catholic Guild with the intention of being educational and inoffensive.  Most issues have limited collector interest.  The most collectible these days are some issues published in the early to mid-60s that featured stories about communism, some of which have the heading "This Godless Communism."

Let me know if you have other questions.

Chris