Amazing Spider-Man #238 75¢ Variant Value

From: The 2021 CPV Price Guide for 80's & 90's Canadian Price Variants by Bill Alexander, Tim Bildhauser, Paul Clairmont, Jay Halstead, Jon McClure, Benjamin Nobel, Conan Saunders, Doug Sulipa, and Angelo Virone [ introduction, table of contents, all titles, other price guide editions]

Amazing Spider-Man #238 75¢ Canadian Price Variant Comic Book Picture

9.2	Near Mint -	$510
9.0	Very Fine / Near Mint	$342
8.0	Very Fine	$273
6.0	Fine	$191
4.0	Very Good	$128
2.0	Good	$64

Amazing Spider-Man #238 Comic Book Values

Amazing Spider-Man #238 75¢ Cover Price Variant, Marvel, 3/1983, Published in the USA

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Amazing Spider-Man #238 75¢ Canadian Price Variant Notes:

1st Appearance of Hobgoblin; Came with Tattooz
#3 in this year's Top 100.
Angelo notes: Rumors are circulating that the Hobgoblin will be coming to a theatre near you but most probably after Spider-man 3. In 2020 the following grades sold for breakout prices: 4.0 CGC for $160 in October; 5.0 CGC for $335 in July; 9.2 for $800 in March; 9.8 in March sold for $4650 becoming the highest amount paid for any CPV on a public auction only to have this price shatterered once agian a few months later in November when a second copy sells in another public auction for $7800. This has become a must have book for the serious C.P.V. collector and/or investor. A double cover in 9.4-9.4 CGC has been confirmed to exist!
Ben notes: Classic cover contender. Also refer to my prior note in this separate blog post »
Conan notes: Example variant sales at MyComicShop: a raw 2.0 on 3/20/2020 for $80, a CGC 8.5 on 12/26/2019 for $350
Jon notes: Amazing Spider-Man #238 is not incomplete without Tattooz. It was printed in a standard, old-fashioned way, independent of the Tattooz inserted later, just like many other in-house or paid advertisement inserts from any era. This problem originates from the fact that the comic's cover mentions Tattooz, as does the cover to Fantastic Four #252(3/83). Ideally, the Tattooz are absent due to the slow degradation of the contents that will eventually affect the paper quality inside. Overstreet Guide listings are confused, forced to respond to CGC's myopic view. Once upon a time, I called Bob Overstreet and told him that the Fantastic Four #252's Tattooz were being used as Amazing Spider-Man #238's Tattooz and that the cure was to list them as same value, which he agreed with and subsequently did so. Collectors aren't sure what to believe and that's how the myth is perpetuated, the myth of being incomplete without Tattooz. At some point, although my original note remains in the guide about the switching of Tattooz between books, this was changed back to the original mistaken listing (including the explicit mistaken statement that no Type 1a Canadian variants exist with Tattooz) with two values, with and without Tattooz. Fantastic Four #252 is listed in the Overstreet Guide #50 at $8 with Tattooz and $6 without in NM-, and Amazing Spider-Man #238 is listed at $180 with and $85 without in NM-, a discrepancy that highlights this dilemma, with Tattooz worth between $2 and $95 for the same useless item, which is ridiculous. Worse yet, the Tattooz are valued at $10 higher than the book by itself! All any grading company would have to do is say ''no Tattooz'' on the label and have a blue label, leaving it to the collector to decide on the relative importance of its inclusion. There is little difference between the mistaken use of the term ''Canadian Edition'' for Type 1a variants and insisting books without inserts are incomplete; thankfully the misidentification of "Canadian Edition" now reads "Canadian Price Variant." Any NM- or better copy should be taken seriously with or without the insert. Tattooz were inserted in Amazing Spider-Man #238 and Fantastic Four #252 and advertised on the covers; Captain America #279(3/83) and Star Wars #69(3/83) were also given Tattooz inserts without any advertising on the covers. Because neither of the latter books are considered incomplete without the inserts and would receive CGC blue labels, it stands to reason that Amazing Spider-Man #238 and Fantastic Four #252 are not incomplete without Tattooz either; the only difference is the ads on the covers, and those are irrelevant as they are part of the cover of the comic book. The only cure to allow for promotional extras, be they trading cards, inserts, or spare tires, is to eliminate them from the nomenclature as the extraneous and unnecessary items that they are, at least in regards to grading a book independently. Any insert loosely attached at the staple is not part of the book. If an item is glued into the binding it becomes part of the book, just as rebound comics exist, but those become a new and unique product that is not a variant. The day will come when Amazing Spider-Man #238 is selling for serious money and the color of the label, instead of the quality of the book, will largely determine the value, which creates an increasing financial incentive for inserting the Tattooz. If you are investing in this book, do you really think half of the value is in the Tattooz?
Paul notes: 75¢ variants of this issue did indeed come with Tattooz included; book is considered incomplete at CGC (green qualified label) if absent — read Jon's note as well, regarding CGC's treatment. A VF- Amazing Spider-Man #238 variant sold at PNJ Comics for $160 in 2018
CGC label note: 1st appearance of the Hobgoblin. Manufactured with "Tattooz" insert & sample. 75¢ cover price.

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