Sports Illustrated Collectors:
Welcome to my 7th in a series of Sports Illustrated informational reviews. In this edition, I will answer two of the FAQ’s relating to CGC Graded Sports Illustrated and/or other graded magazines. Why are collectors and investors grading their magazines? What do the grades really mean?
If you have any SI questions, please feel free to send them along to [email protected].
Next time, in Blog #8, I will continue on this subject and address the decision of having your personal collection graded, associated costs, and what should be your expectations.
Thanks and I hope you enjoy!
John
Sports Illustrated Blog 7 9-15-17
Q and A Session Relating to CGC Graded Sports Illustrated and Other Magazines.
Why are so many collectors and investors now grading their magazines, especially Sports Illustrated and TIME?
The answer on this one is simple and twofold. Most collectors have that competitive nature to own the rarest, highest grade condition registry of items known to the industry. He/she wants to go to bed at night with the assurance that their item or collection is recognized by the industry and its measurables as the best, rarest, high grade, etc. The best way to define the “best” is to have a certified grading system that is widely recognized and accepted so there is no debate as to their published results (census) and final grade. CGC currently is that institution.
Second, having a grade separates the many from the few and the very few and the very very few. And of course, the rarer an item, the more a collector will pay to own it and the more bragging rights associated. Did you ever hear someone say “I own a 1952 Topps Mantle Rookie card graded 8.5?” What he is really bragging about is that he owns a card worth X number of dollars which has been established by the industry and the grade. Can’t do that without a grade.
Sports Illustrated is almost universally recognized as the Cadillac of sports publications since 1954. If you are going to grade a magazine, grade the best – SI. If you are interested in pre-1954 magazine grading, the answer is TIME magazine. SI’s owner since its inception, TIME Magazine, is the precursor extension of the SI product and sports some of the most iconic covers in all of pre-1954 sports publications. Mantle, DiMaggio, Williams, Hogan, Musial, J. Robinson, Feller, Ott, Gehrig (the only SI, TIME or Newsweek issue to capture the Iron Man), Hubbell, Hornsby, Mays, Clay, Brown, Stengel and more. These issues, many 70+ years old (really old in magazines years!), complement and in many cases surpass SI in their collector interest. I know an investor who owns both, a CGC 9.8 Williams 1955 SI and a CGC 9.8 Williams 1950 TIME Magazine – an unbeatable combination. He’s a happy camper. Combinations like that haven’t reached an established value yet as there is only one and it has never sold publically. I wish I owned it.
What does a CGC grade really mean?
A CGC grade is a value standard accepted by the industry, which allows collectors to rank their individual items and collections by rarity. CGC publishes a census of all the magazines it has ever graded which allows the collector the assurance of knowing the exact population of every graded magazine, by issue, by grade.
With regard to grades and the challenge to always obtain the CGC 9.8 of each issue, I want to point out that magazine grading is a much different animal than card grading, esp. as we move our collections back in time. Magazine populations (and I mainly speak to SI and TIME), are far less than even the rarest of TOPPS productions plus there are many more opportunities for faults in a magazine over a card. In general, if a magazine has been read, its grade will typically drop under CGC 9.0. There are just so many things that can accumulate to lower the overall grade. The reason I point this out is that there are many graded magazines on the market right now that grade at CGC 8.0, CGC 7.0 and even CGC 6.0 that are the highest grade ever for that issue. Not every issue has a recorded CGC 9.8 and in my opinion, some never will and I recommend that you be one of the few collectors recognizing this fact and be careful to not overlook some of these diamonds in the rough. The grade itself isn’t always the only indicator of value. You should consider the magazine publisher, the age, relative scarcity (census) as it compares to other issues, and printing quality factors which I have covered in earlier blogs, esp the “dark era print” issues.
As more issues are sent for grading, CGC grades will tend to climb higher and higher on most issues – but not all. Some of the scarcer issues currently graded CGC 7.0 or 8.0 may remain the highest ever graded of that issue forever – and they can be purchased now at bargain prices because sellers and buyers are mistakenly valuing issues solely on the grade. So as you embark on your next buying trip, be armed with this knowledge, be diligent in your grade evaluation, and always consider other factors mentioned. You might come home with some real value at below market prices and isn’t that the goal?
Great Luck to you!