Expert: Brian G. Philbin - 11/8/2010

Question
i have a 1977 35 cent number 1 starwars comic,only 400 are suppose to be left,whats it worth and where can i sell it,ive found it for selling for all kinds of differant prices

Answer
Hi, Dennis - thanks for your question!

I've just returned from an unexpected stay at the hospital and hadn't gotten around to new E-mail until just now, so my apologies for the delay.

Okay, so this is a situation where you really have to do your homework to find the answer for *your* specific book.

Telling you it's one thing, sight-unseen, and finding out later it's something entirely different happens far too often to those of us helping out, here.

My best suggestion for getting a solid understanding of the Star Wars is to look at photo examples of the ones that are of value and the ones that aren't.  You can get a good idea by clicking on the "View" buttons here:

http://www.comicspriceguide.com/p-issues.aspx?ghZmGB1dLjDZJ%2b6ylavsShEJ4%2b1zGk...

You'll see there are 7 (seven) different versions of Star Wars #1 (not including the Treasury Edition Reprint - about the size of an old Tabloid) - the original #1 and #1A (first variant) through #1F (last variant) - and their values in Mint Condition range from $20.00 to $3,000.00.

You have to look at the differences to know what you've got.

If the "35¢" in the upper left hand corner is in a Diamond and not a Square, it's 1E (click on View to see what I mean by "Diamond").

If the "35¢" is in a Square/Box, to the left of another Square/Box that has "1" and "July" in it, you've got the more valuable of the 7 versions (1A) (Click on "View" to see what yours should look like).

That said, condition is still key, and I recommend you look at the following tool to help you determine it's condition on your own:

http://www.e-bigs.net/freetool.php

You can also visit my site (below) for advice on how to go about understanding grading, value, selling, etc.

Hope that's helpful!

Pax, harmonia,

Brian G. Philbin
http://metropolisplus.com/COMICSBASICS.htm