Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

This is not the end, no, not even the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.  Sorry I can’t take credit for that one (Winston Churchill on the defeating of the German Luftwaffe by the Royal Air Force).  But it perfectly sums up the current evolution of our hobby. 

In recent times, we’ve started to see the beginning of the maturing of the graded magazine hobby.   We now have several thousand graded examples of SI, TIME, Sport, etc, magazines and things have started to settle in like dinosaurs in a tar pit.

A cursory review of these findings leads me to the following opinions.  Focusing on pre-1980 mags, if you have an SI cover that is a 9.4 or higher, there is a high statistical probability that grade will remain the highest into perpetuity.   I believe this to be true (and it is important that investors and collectors alike know this is not just a marketing claim but an opinion based on years of data) because I have observed millions of wannabees thru my countless internet searches, collection appraisals, and blog connections.  Barring the outer edges of the curve, pristine covers are just not out there.  OK – there are still the infrequent entries (outside 3 sigma) that grade high, but no major cover graded 9.4 or above, has been exceeded in over two years.  And that is a statistic to which we should be paying attention.

The reason all this is important is that many buyers are speculating on future results but, 

The more accurately we can predict future results, the less risk we have in our investments.

There are also variables which should be considered when attempting to predict future high grades.  For ex., SI covers between 7-1-56 and 12-31-70 have not held up particularly well under the stresses of time.  Therefore, a high grade from this era is likely to be scarcer than issues outside this era. 

If by chance you were to find the new highest grade of the 56 Mantle, 63 Clay, 77 Bird, 59 Unitas, 60 Brown, 83 Jordan and maybe 5-10 others, you can quit your day job.  Find one of these and you will set the entire hobby abuzz.  Make sure you get it accurately/appropriately appraised before you sell – if you sell.

So we are entering a new era of graded mag collecting.  Perhaps the biggest change is the number of interested parties.  In the past year, I have seen the buyer categories – investor, serious collector, casual collector, gift buyer – each appreciate in size and breadth much faster than early expectations. 

Investors now have competition and serious collectors have come to realize they may not be able to own the top grade and are having no problem buying up lower grades.  The casual collector and the gift giver love the encapsulation but care little about the grade.  Everybody, whether it be collector or gift giver, all seem to want their favorite player, event, or memory in graded encapsulation.

What great time it is to be an SI collector!

Next time we’ll take on the diamonds of the mid-grades.  There’s plenty of opportunity.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit 

www.sportsillustrated98.com

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

Nothing is more satisfying than verification that our prized collection might eventually support our retirement or undeserving child’s endowment.  To think that we might have made a profitable investment is a testosterone thing.

On this subject, I have been cautioned by a few hobby participants that it’s not all about increasing value.  My contention is that eventually it’s always about increasing value.  One thing is for sure, if you’re not looking to make a great investment, you won’t.

One way to legitimize your efforts is to compare your purchases against existing sold lists.  Problem for us magazine guys, there hasn’t been a whole lot of price comparison available.  Lucky for my readers, your author is the #1, foremost, ultimate source for graded magazine pricing evolution, both private and public.  I have graded, sold, and own more graded SI’s than all other sellers combined.  I only make this admonition because I want to establish the creditability behind the numbers I’m publishing.

In an effort to update current values, I went back to the Price Values Guide I established two years ago in my Blog #19.  Interestingly, I found the original guide, for the most part, was still quite accurate regarding current sales realized.  The major difference always seems to be at the top end of the spectrum.  No surprise, if you own one of a kind stuff, you dictate the price.  What may surprise you is the sell prices of those items.  But you will not find pricing verification anywhere, as these items are in collections and have not been re-sold since their original purchase. 

In fact, not one CGC 9.8 top 10 SI mag cover has changed hands in the past two years.

As a collector you should read into that extremely important statement – the big money isn’t selling – they’re still buying.  If you’re a collector, that is really good news.

Key to using this guide:

1. CGC census matters.  None Higher – POP 1 designations will out value others of the same grade.
2. Lower populations will out value higher populations.
3. “Unlimited” valuations of the Best of the Best are always set by the seller.
4. Grades lower than CGC 9.0 can be factored by a sliding scale continuation.
5. Valuations are first cover only.
6. Guide values are an average of all the variables.  For example, a 1967 Bobby Orr CGC 9.0, None Higher – POP 1 sold at Heritage auction this month for $6,360.  If your CGC 9.0 – 9.4 mag slips out of the Top 10, I’ve experience sell prices at or below $1,000.

2020 Sports Illustrated Evaluation Guide

Never Read	Top 10 Star	11-20 Star	21-100 Star
9.0	$2,500	$1,000	$500
9.2	$5,000	$2,000	$750
9.4	$10,000	$5,000	$1,500
9.6	unlimited	$8,000	$3,000
9.8	unlimited	unlimited	$6,000

One comment on a Top 10, FC, Sports Illustrated, never read, CGC 9.6 – 9.8, None Higher, POP 1 – I’m talking Mantle, Jordan, Gretzky, Mays, Clay, Clemente, Aaron, Rose, and maybe a couple more – bring a minimum of $50,000 if you want to own one – and that might not be enough.

In the end, do your homework.  Put yourself in the best position to succeed.  You’ll have fun and you’ll be happy you chose SI magazines.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit 

www.sportsillustrated98.com

Sports Illustrated Blog #50 – State of the Collectible Sports Illustrated Hobby – 2020 Edition.

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

We’ve hit a milestone in our journey to recognize and advance our hobby and all things Sports Illustrated. This blog marks my 50^th blog edition spanning coverage of the hobby over the past 3 years.  The mission has been to propel magazine collecting into the spotlight by educating any and all stakeholders to the truth and trends of our hobby.  In my coverage of present and potential values, forecasting, pricing, equity, movements in the market and answers to FAQ, nothing has been off limits.  My hope would be that within these writings you feel you have a bible into the hobby.

One thing I’ve learned over this period is that when you have a good (or great) thing, you can’t just sit on your hands and let the wind of change blow around you.  Building your SI collection has evolved from raw mags to newsstand to condition sensitive to grading to achieving the highest grade on as many issues as possible – and that’s where we are today.  We have built equity in our collections by being first or early in our acceptance of hobby movement.  And I believe those that followed this guideline have been nicely rewarded.

I have written very little about my early investors/believers in our neophyte hobby but I’d like to share a bit about my humble beginnings and my relationship with one investor.    One man believed and put his money in his belief.  My role was to search the world for high grade SI’s and he committed to buy them.  I made a profit on my sales and he built equity – a lot of it.   It was and still is a great partnership continuing to this day.  I wish to thank him here in this blog.  I mention this only to support the idea that the SI market is still a thing for those later adopters.

 Since, others that read my blogs, believed and followed suit, are also feeling positive about their future potential and as a result, they are not selling. 

It’s time for the next evolution.  The premise I’d like to put forth now, can be sufficiently explained by this analogy

“1952 Topps is to 1951 Bowman as Sports Illustrated Magazines are to other sports publications”.

Other sports publications do not compare to SI for all the collectable reasons however I believe as SI’s become more and more expensive and hard to procure, there will be increasing interest in off publications – in high grade. 

Therefore, off publications is the next trend I am hyping and advising to my readers.

Before I continue, I want to caution my readers about a couple of sellers on ebay, one in particular, that are trying to extort those of us that have faithfully and honestly tried to advance the hobby.  These sellers have artificially raised prices to crazy and unrealistic levels, to unsuspecting hobbyists in an attempt to scam my nonreaders.  Be careful of those who contribute nothing but try to piggyback on the real McCoy.  Text me if you have questions here.

Back to the topic, there are really great examples of very desirable pubs – mags featuring the iconic stars, years in advance of SI.  Musial, Mantle, Mays, DiMaggio, Williams…..  But, in my opinion, they must be very high grade and graded, to overcome the poor perception when compared to SI.  One issue I think really has potential is the 1946 Sport First Edition with DiMaggio on the cover. 

This is really an exciting pursuit in that it is as if we were starting over with the magazine collecting hobby.  A whole new window is opened and early believers will be rewarded.  Believe or not, invest or don’t, check my record for hobby predictions.

So there you have Blog # 50. 

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit  www.sportsillustrated98.com

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

Each month, one or two new CGC Highest Graded Star Sports Illustrated Covers find their way into the hobby census.  Such are the dynamics of our growing, evolving graded magazine hobby.  

Three years ago, new highest grades for SI’s entering the market were a common ordinary occurrence but as the census has grown from less than 100 graded SI’s to several thousand, eclipsing an old, highest grade star cover has become less and less frequent.  Currently the hobby is absorbing, on average, approximately one or two per month, at best. 

In fact, I predict that, with extreme few exceptions, the grade on 99% of pre-1980, CGC 9.4 star covers will NEVER be beaten. These issues are so rare that CGC 9.0 and CGC 9.2 star covers for this era (especially those printed in the “dark era” – mid 56 thru 69) have become accepted as the gold standard for condition.  Eclipsing a CGC 9.0 or 9.2 today is a significant find.

Just like the graded card hobby, as the graded magazine hobby organizes and actual off-line buy prices become public, more highest grade submissions will surface.  However, the rate of new highest grade submissions will be just up to the level that attracts the supply and demand competition so healthy for a growing hobby.

One comment on off-line buy prices – currently off-line buy prices have not leaked to the public as of yet because investors are still enjoying artificially low buy prices and want to keep it that way as long as possible.  Rarely, if ever, does one see any auction house selling a highest grade star SI cover.  Same characteristic in the card market – rarely does one of the top cards come to auction.  I know this about off-line SI investing because I’m the market seller.

When the actual off-line buy prices become documented, it is then that the graded magazine hobby will heat up exponentially and you’ll be very glad you bought in early.  There will be more buyers than sellers and in collectibles that phenomenon is what drives the hobby to the next level.

As a graded SI collector and investor, I find this stuff sooo exciting – operating within an almost untapped frontier.  How many times in life does this kind of opportunity come along?  Even now, my readers tell me they wished they’d have joined the party when they first started reading this blog. 

Every day is a new adventure.  These old SI’s are so colorful they just jump out at you from inside the professionally designed CGC presentation case.  They tell a story, a history and chronology of events we saw with our own eyes. 

Sports Illustrated is the TOPPS of sports publications – it’s a Cadillac.   That’s why it’s is so popular – it has the tangibles AND the intangibles.  What a journey in just three short years!

 Here are a few of the new, highest grade, star covers joining the census in the past two months.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit  www.sportsillustrated98.com

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

SportsIllustrated9.8 has just received the “2019 Registry Award for Outstanding Achievement on Building the Top Ranked Set in the CGC Registry”.

Registries are an integral component of the card collecting hobby but virtually an unknown within the graded magazine hobby.  It’s time we changed that.

First, let’s define what a registry is and its relative importance to the hobby.  A registry is a set of graded items of any criteria – any items, any quantity, or any value that typically have some relationship to each other.  For ex. – all SI baseball covers pre 1980 or, all SI Sportsman of the Year issues or, the top ten home run hitter SI covers – anything of interest to you and/or other collectors.

Most hobbyists like to showcase their collections.  In many cases, considerable sums of time and money are devoted to chasing, locating, negotiating, organizing, comparing, displaying, marketing etc etc etc. one’s collection in an effort become recognized as the leader or the best or the most valuable.

One way to achieve recognition is to submit your proposed registry (all or part of your graded collection) to CGC for certification and listing.  Once your submission is confirmed and certified, CGC will add it to the appropriate category (with a title and include all submissions individually) within their overall registry list.  Currently, there are 10’s of 1000’s of registries all vying for individual recognition.

Recognition follows as registries also receive a grade and are ranked according to values assigned to the individual grades.  Each individual registry and each of its components can be viewed by any CGC society member.  If you are interested in finding out who owns certain graded items or who collects items that may be of interest to you either to buy, sell, or compare, periodically checking the registry list is a good way to develop contact information.  In this way, registries help organize the hobby and any contribution in this area is a good thing.

SportsIllustrated9.8, that’s me, won this year’s Magazine Category, for its submission of the first 25 years of the highest graded Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues.  You can locate the issues and grades achieved in the current registry list, if interested.   I will be submitting more SI registries throughout the coming year as a way to further organize and promote the hobby. 

I hope you have found this information helpful in your pursuit of all things Sports Illustrated.  If you would like to know more about CGC registries feel free to contact me with any question you might have.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

For my readers interested in graded SI trends, I have much to report. 

Five days exhibiting in Chicago proved to be much of what I expected – lots of questions and starry eyed intrigue.  The “National”, as it is called by the annual attendees, consists mostly of window shoppers, curious strollers out for a day away from home, and autograph seekers.  But also, there is a dedicated group of serious buyers that come from the four corners of the USA to buy or collect anything and everything.  Don’t let the low key, good ol’ boy conversations fool you, there is some high stakes, serious money at this show and they say if you can’t find it here, it probably doesn’t exist.

Our reason for attending the show was simple – to introduce the hobby of graded magazine collecting to as many and as much of the world as possible.  Yes, if I sold something that would be nice too.   I spoke with about 100 former/current card collectors interested in finding the next new investment potential.  I answered questions mostly regarding an explanation of the hobby, added 50-100 names to my blog, and took in a few new customers too.  Here’s hoping that the 100 interested parties with which I spoke will each tell 10 friends of their encounter and we’re off to the races.

Once the world understands that collecting graded SI’s is much the same concept as collecting graded cards, there will be an urgency to buy in as early as possible.    

Investors are intrigued by is the newness of the opportunity.  I heard over and over, investors have been mired within a very stable card collecting market and there is a pent-up demand for the next big new thing.  Card prices are almost like currency.  You can count on them.    If you have a Grade 6, 52 TOPPS Mantle, it is worth x amount given within a small range.  The only variation is at the very top end of the spectrum.

Graded SI’s are something quite different.  First of all, SI is the TOPPS of magazines.  It’s one of a kind – nothing out there like it.  That’s a big plus to collector’s seeking to find any small advantage. 

Imagine, it’s the year 1979 when you could buy a 52 TOPPS Mantle, in any grade, for $100.  That’s where we are in Graded magazines.  I started grading SI’s three years ago.  I began blogging and educating on the subject two years ago.  In that time, I have bought, graded and sold the top graded, most popular SI’s known to the hobby, many at a tenth of today’s value.  That’s been the price trajectory over these two years. 

But interestingly, even with early values skyrocketing, none – not one, of my highest value sales has ever been re-auctioned.  Why is this you say?  It is because investors make money by understanding the product life cycle – knowing when to buy and when to sell – and we are definitely on the front side of “Buy and Hold”.  If you are interested in an opportunity to invest in the latest, high grade acquisitions before they are made available to the hobby, send a request to be added to my investor list.

In fact, the whole graded SI concept has become so intriguing to early investors they can’t get enough – within 24 hours of my acquiring new high grade SI inventory – it is sold.  If there is a problem, it’s that the supply continues to fall short of demand.

That is the reason I have devoted such an effort to educate the world to the hobby.  I want you, my readers, to be the first exposed to the opportunity on the front side of the curve.  If you are someone who’s been weighing that investment decision, I think the simple fact that investors are buying but NOT selling, should be received as a very positive indicator.  

So the recap of the show is:

1. SportsIllustrated98 was the first and only exhibitor devoted to graded magazines ever to attend the National.
2. 100 more interested collectors have been brought into the family, and in time, we hope each will tell 10 friends.
3. There’s still time to get in on the front end of the investment cycle.
4. I saw nothing at the show in conflict with anything I have been saying.  My opinion – the hobby interest level will be advanced in the next year at least 3-5 times the interest level today.

I hope you have found this blog consistent with my stated intentions – to educate my readers as to the evolving status of the hobby.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

One the most FAQ posed by my readers is “How do I match the most collectable covers to the years of their print?”

In previous blogs, I have published such lists as “a ranking of the most popular covers”, “the rarest covers overall”, and a general pricing guide reflecting up to date pricing trends.  Matching the most collectable covers to their years of print will help a collector when he or she is confronted with an inventory sale from a certain defined era.

For example, the conversation may go something like this – Seller – “What specifically are you looking for?”  Buyer – “What years do you have?”   Seller – I have from 1954 thru 1962.”  Boom! You know exactly which collectable covers could be included.

This list is by no means final, but it’s complete enough to get you started.  You can add to it with your own preferences.  Here they are. 

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

Thanks for your SI interest.  It’s on to the NCSS. 

Booth # 482

It’s about time the graded magazine hobby made a splash into the National Sports Collector’s Convention Show in Chicago July 31^st week.  No exhibitor has ever fully outfitted their exhibit with graded magazines.  That tradition is coming to an end this year. 

SportsIllustrated98 will be making its first appearance at the premier sports card show of 2019 with an exciting display of hundreds of your favorite Sports Illustrated covers, many graded POP 1 none higher.

Since 1979, the NCSS has provided a platform upon which collectors from all over the world could come to buy/trade baseball, football, and every other card known to man.  If you’re a sports hobbyist and want to learn more about what’s out there – you’ll find it here.

SportsIllustrated98 – that’s me – will be booth #482.  Our space will be furnished with the coolest, most colorful, most in demand graded SI’s known to the hobby.  The one’s you’ve been asking about, your favorite player in the highest grade – all priced like the Model T – every home should have one.   One caveat – most pieces are one of a kind and their grades will never be beaten – in my opinion.   Once they’re sold – they could be gone for a very long time.  Collector’s rarely turn over the best pieces.

My goal is to expand and draw recognition to the hobby – to put a graded magazine into the hands of every collector that wants one – big and small.  There will be plenty of opportunities to make that happen.

Here is a sampling of the pieces on exhibit. 

Note:  Every cover is a complete, newsstand magazine.  That’s all you’ll find here.

1.  Hundreds of graded SI’s with a guarantee to have at least 100 “POP 1, None Higher” included.  All grades guaranteed.
2. Tons of first covers – The 2^nd highest graded 56 Mantle SI and 53 TIME, the highest 36 DiMaggio and 49 Musial (TIME), the highest Brett, Schmidt, Brady, James, Tiger, Erving, 2^nd highest Rose, 3^rd highest Jordan.
3. Hundreds of the top 100, most in demand, raw SI first cover superstars – Mantle, Mays, Clay, Rose, Aaron, Clemente, Jackson, early Swimsuits, Brown, Unitas and all the rest – every superstar SI cover you can imagine – all encapsulated to protect condition forever!  SportsIllustrated98 is the only seller that goes to this expense.
4. For the Mantle enthusiast – a really cool, triple mag set (Mantle’s 56, 57, 65 mags), all in one frame, all high grade.  Frame, High Tech Plexiglas (protects against sunlight), and mags professionally laid out and assembled specifically for this exhibit.  You’re gonna like this one.  Special orders taken on other items for framing.
5. Special orders will be taken for graded and raw magazines back at the ranch.
6. No Ebay fees, taxes, or auction premiums.  My pricing is competitive anywhere within the hobby.  Discounts will be available on multiple purchases.

Send me a note ([email protected]) to reserve an appointment to discuss your interests, put together a deal, ask a question or perhaps you’d like my advice/opinion regarding the hobby.  Sign up to receive my SI blog – the first and only on the web.

Everyone is invited – it’s going to be a blast.  Looking forward to seeing you at booth #482.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Sports Illustrated Blog #43 – Latest Update on CGC Grading Trends – Part 2.

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

Thanks for your SI interest.  The scoop we all want to know.  What is CGC up to these days regarding magazines?

Quick recap from blog #42.

1. Pre-1980 SI grades of 9.0, 9.2, or 9.4 are very secure in their grading rank. 
2. Magazines seem to have a condition factor after 40 years.
3. The next pre-1980 9.8 with star magnitude (Mays, Williams, Gretzky, Aaron, Secretariat) sold publically will top $50,000 in sell price.
4. CGC grades are the driving force behind the hobby growth momentum.

I’m going to offer some downright opinion here regarding CGC as a grader and what you should expect as a gradee.  As a customer of over 1000 graded SI’s, I have had the opportunity to become as familiar as possible with CGC’s customer group, their grading focus, and most importantly their grading philosophy. 

CGC is a very secretive group.   They only address selective questions with generic answers.  My favorite is “our lead times are only estimates” – as if after the 1000^th phone call I didn’t know that. 

Here is my opinion on CGC’s grading philosophy as it relates to pre-1980 high grade issues.

1. All magazines are graded equally without consideration for age.  That is why high grade older mags are so scarce.  No consideration is given to age.
2. No downgrade is given for the existence of a mailing label.  It’s just a different category.
3. If a mag has been gently read or even opened, it rarely will exceed a 9.0 grade.  The reason for this is spine stress.  With just the minimum of handling, little white stress lines begin to form on the binding.  It’s the kiss death for a wanna be high grade issue.  So if you’re looking for a 9.2 or 9.4 – there can be NO binding stress which translates to “never have been opened”. 
4. Don’t restore your mag – they’ll find it.
5. Finger bends – a common downgrade if the mag has been opened.  This one is hard to spot unless you are looking for it and most collectors just ignore the possibility because they don’t really understand it.  When you kink the magazine with one hand during handling, it leaves a mark on the cover.   Again, nothing over 9.0 with finger bends.
6. Most common major downgrade – bumped corners.  The most difficult quality downgrade to avoid is bumped corners.  It happens when quantities of magazines are stored in a box.  Over time, the box is moved, shuffled, kicked etc etc, and the corners get bumped.  Happens in the best of situations – including shipping.  Nothing over an 8.0 with a bumped corner.
7. Other major downgrades – stains, water marks, writing, restoration, cut pages, rusty staples, loose staples, loose pages, bends, and creases.  Any of these downgrades will result in a grade of 8.0 or lower even if everything else is high grade.
8. There are also levels within each downgrade – major, medium and light.  Any major or medium, drops you below 7.0.

These opinions are mostly meant for collectors, not sellers.  Competing in the graded magazine market is not for the faint of heart.  You’ll likely acquire 49 graded mags for every one you sell.  And it is not about the price.  You can’t drop the price to garner interest.  Collectors buy when they’re interested and don’t when they’re not.  Not much you can say or do to change that.

The more informed you are, the better purchases you will make.  If you’re like me, it just feels great to have made an informed purchase.  It’s really what we’re all competing to do.  He who possesses the most information, wins.

Here’s a current price guide you can use for reference.

Price Guide
Never Read	Top 10 Star	11-20 Star	21-100 Star
9.0	$2,500	$1,000	$500
9.2	$5,000	$2,000	$750
9.4	$10,000	$5,000	$1,500
9.6	unlimited	$8,000	$3,000
9.8	unlimited	unlimited	$6,000

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

Thanks for your SI interest.  The scoop we all want to know.  What is CGC up to these days regarding magazines?

Is CGC, the most recognized comic and magazine grading company, its evolution, and its every trend/advancement important to our hobby? Perhaps I can best answer that question with a question – would you rather have a 1952 Mantle Topps Card Mint 10 or a near mint 9.5? 

Whether you’re interested in dollars or just bragging rights, we collectors “live and die” with our grades.

Just five short years ago, SI issues were collected by the cover, not by whether there was a mailing label, label removed, creased, stained, torn etc etc.  But one thing is absolutely certain in collectables, the best always rises to the top, in demand and value. 

Condition is the absolute driving force and momentum behind every collecting medium and magazines are no exception.

Hence, is the training and thought process behind every CGC grading criteria important?   Is every current event/trend at CGC important?   You bet your collection they are.

Magazine grading think ology is moving thru an evolution as unmistakable as the growth of the hobby.  Referring only to SI’s, there are probably about 10 pre-1980 CGC 9.8’s in existence today (excluding the #1 issue).  There are currently none listed on ebay or for sale at any of the auction houses which means the rest are in private collections and not being sold publically.  To my knowledge, the last pre-1980 CGC 9.8 sold in auction (again excluding the #1 issue) was two years ago at Heritage.  It was a 1955 Williams which sold for approximately $6000, an absolute steal in today’s market.  

I predict that the next publically sold pre-1980 CGC 9.8 SI with similar star magnitude, will sell in excess of $50,000.  In 1980, if I would have said that in our lifetime certain Topps cards would be selling for $millions, would you have believed me?

Here are a couple of current trends of interest coming out of CGC regarding high grades (9.8, 9.6), pre-1980, since 2017. 

1. With the exception of the number #1 issue, there has not been a single grade above 9.4.  Not some, but all high grades on the census have come during or before 2017.  That is a trend.
2. There has never been a 9.9 or 10.0 grade issued by CGC, across ALL magazines, EVER.  So I believe it’s a safe conclusion to assume any 9.8 will be the highest grade for that issue forever – until trends change.  That is a trend.
3. If you are lucky enough to find, receive or own a 9.0, 9.2, or 9.4 CGC grade, it will be the very unlikely exception that your grade will ever be beaten.  That is a trend.

As we search the internet, trade with collectors, or even walk the isles of the NSCC (National Sports Card Convention) in July, in pursuit of the very best magazine grades, don’t shadow the crowd that believes a CGC 9.0, 9.2 or a 9.4 is not and will not be the best ever.  This is not baseball cards we’re talking about here, it’s magazines.  Fact, pre-1980 magazines have had a much more difficult time surviving than their counterpart in cards.

Think about it.  A newsstand SI is purchased in 1965.  In order to maintain a 9.0 status or above, it must be brought home without protection, stored in a box without being read, survive numerous moves, restoring, shuffling, bumping, box deterioration, humidity and handling all over a 50 year period.  If it survives all that, it must then be located in the box, pulled for perusal, handled for photographs, autographs, and reselling before eventually finding its way into a protective package.

That all this could happen without damage is more than a long shot – in fact, it happens so infrequently that the scarcity of high grade SI’s is the hobby’s biggest asset and worst liability.

In my next blog, I’ll have more to say about CGC’s actual grading process and what I believe to be their grading intentions as they absolutely drive the hobby momentum.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!