I currently have a shared family heirloom for sale in an auction, Superman # 1 unrestored, 6.5 grade. It is in the top 6 known copies.
My question is about the valuation of provenance.
When preparing for the sale, I found pictures from when my father had loaned the comic to the Smithsonian Institution for the 50th anniversary of Superman. I was excited to see Christopher Reeve and the other stars, at the exhibit in the Smithsonian. I felt that gives any buyer a nice story to tell behind the amazing comic itself - that it was seen by the actor who many considered to be the “real” Superman, in their mind.
The auction includes these photos however, the text does not make it clear that the photos of the actors are at the exhibit with the comic. The way it’s worded, it just sounds like these are the actors who are in the movie that was released during the time of the exhibit.
My brother is handling the sale and I had him call the auctioneer today, and the auctioneer said he didn’t really think it mattered, and he wouldn’t upgrade the description in the auction to make it clear.
My feeling is that they should do this if it’s just a matter of changing some text, why not at least let the customer feel like he put his best foot forward instead of regretting that they didn’t describe the item with the importance that the seller perceived.
My question for you is - do you think this matters to the sale value of the comic book at all?
I tried to make the analogy in my terms, with the difference in value between, say, a 62 fender Stratocaster, and a 62 fender Stratocaster, that’s pictured with Jimi Hendrix. To me the details matter.
What are your thoughts on the wording. Is it clear that the actors are pictured at the exhibit with the comic, or does it not matter anyway.
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