Original D&D Discussion
« Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set? »

Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
May 19, 2013, 9:48pm

[Home] [New Topics] [Help] [Search] [Login] [Register]



Original D&D Discussion :: Dungeons & Dragons (1971-1978) :: Holmes Basic D&D (1978) :: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Page 2 of 3 » Jump to page   Go    [Search This Thread] [Share Topic] [Print]
AuthorTopic: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set? (Read 2,079 times)
blackbarn
Level 7 Enchanter
****
member is offline





Joined: Apr 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 537
Karma: 30
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #15 on Mar 25, 2011, 12:24am »
I find it very odd to see the price go up on a shrink wrapped set just because of who owned it. It's not like it was autographed or had hand-written notes in the margins - it's still in shrink! You can hardly brag to people it used to belong to so-and-so when it looks just like any other set.
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
DungeonDevil
Level 6 Magician
***
member is offline

[avatar]

Put Me In That Dungeon.



Joined: Sept 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 386
Karma: 5
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #16 on Mar 25, 2011, 2:00am »
That's a very good point. I laugh at the chumps that pay such money basically for the plastic film over something that should be opened and enjoyed with others. I'd gladly settle for NM+ w/out the wrap. *crosses fingers*
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
YE AULD SKÜL
waysoftheearth
Moderator
*****
member is offline

[avatar]

[ImmersiveInk]



Joined: Sept 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,214
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Karma: 195
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #17 on Mar 25, 2011, 8:23am »

Mar 25, 2011, 12:24am, blackbarn wrote:
I find it very odd to see the price go up on a shrink wrapped set just because of who owned it. It's not like it was autographed or had hand-written notes in the margins - it's still in shrink! You can hardly brag to people it used to belong to so-and-so when it looks just like any other set.


From the description:

Quote:
Each numbered lot comes with its own unique Certificate of Authenticity personally signed by Gary’s widow Gail Gygax and an image of Gary’s own signature stamp from 1983.
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
Zenopus
Level 8 Warlock
****
member is offline

[avatar]


[homepage]

Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 799
Karma: 95
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #18 on Jun 21, 2011, 6:32am »

Quote:
A copy of the Holmes Basic Set (Wizard Logo) in shrink-wrap, from the personal collection of Gary Gygax, sold yesterday for $308.25 (+ ~$12 shipping):


Another shrinkwrapped Holmes from the Gygax collection sold yesterday, this time for $331.05 (+~10.35 shipping). This was an earlier printing (3rd, 1978, Lizard Logo):

Link to auction

[image]


Quote:
ITEM FOR AUCTION: The Collector's Trove has TSR’s Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set Edited by Holmes 3rd Print from 1978 in SHRINK for auction!

CONDITION: This game is still in its original shrinkwrap. The box would be in FINE+ condition as far as general wear save for the only flaw: a light 1” crease to the bottom side of the lid where the box was bumped by something. The shrink is split all along the bottom edge but overall it is still secure. A really beautiful copy!

DESCRIPTION: This is TSR’s first attempt to make an introductory set of rules for playing Dungeons & Dragons. According to Gary himself in an online Q&A, “John Eric Holmes approached me to do an edited beginner's version of the D&D game at the time I was in the throes of designing the AD&D game. Eric's son was a dedicated D&D gamer, and after chatting with the Good Doctor and his son, I gave the go-ahead. When the ms, was turned over to me for approval, I inserted a goodly number of the new AD&D game rules so as to upgrade the D&D system as well. The Basic Set sold very well, and it was to TSR's benefit that Holmes' did that version, and it cost the company nary a red cent.”

This particular copy is a 3rd print from around 1978 and is one of the many comp copies given to Gary as the president of the company and for his lifetime subscription to TSR product as the company founder. From his personal collection!


The quote from Gygax used in the Auction is from Dragonsfoot originally, though it may have been copied from my website (or a forum post) since all of the typos are corrected in the same manner. Gygax on Holmes

The price of this one still doesn't beat the purported $500 for a shrinkwrapped 1st print at GenCon 2009.
« Last Edit: Jun 21, 2011, 6:37am by Zenopus »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
"Story tellers are always careful to point out that the reputed dungeons lie in close proximity to the foundations of an older, pre-human city, to the graveyard, and to the sea.”
- Holmes rulebook

Zenopus Archives - Holmes Basic D&D - website & blog


Finarvyn
Administrator
*****
Dungeon Master
member is offline

[avatar]



Joined: Jun 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,673
Location: Near Chicago
Karma: 178
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #19 on Jun 21, 2011, 8:48am »
With or without a certificate, this seems like much too much to pay for a copy of Holmes Basic.

An autograph might boost value to me, but not a certificate.

Heck, I met Gary several times and never did ask for his autograph. I think he seemed tired of people just wanting his name and seemed happy just to chat for a while. It would be kind of strange for me personally to spend big bucks to get his autograph now when I refused to ask for a freebie years ago. :D
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
Marv / Finarvyn
DCC playtester (2011) C&C playtester (2003)
I'm partly responsible for the S&W WhiteBox
Builder of the TrollBridge
Master of Mutants; MA since 1976
OD&D Player since 1975

"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
- Dave Arneson
xerxez
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
***
member is offline




[homepage]

Joined: Dec 2009
Gender: Male
Posts: 235
Karma: 19
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #20 on Jun 21, 2011, 9:00am »
I'd have to agree with Finarvyn and Blackbarn.

No offense to Mr. Gygax's wife and family but it would be Gary's actual autograph on the book that might make it more valuable, and I don't think I'd pay that much even then, much as I love the man and what he did.

Then again. I was never much into the idea of paying for autographed memorabilia.

My FASA Star Trek game is autographed by Walter Koenig (Chekov) and I got it for $20 at Amazon but I was only interested in the game itself, the autograph was incidental.
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
http://jennerak.blogspot.com/

keltset
Level 4 Theurgist
**
member is offline

[avatar]



Joined: Jun 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 168
Location: Blackmoor
Karma: 5
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #21 on Jun 21, 2011, 9:16am »
I'd love an actual autograph, but a shrink-wrap game that he owned? Lame.
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
KELT-SET
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Bishop of Blackmoor
Found B/X D&D in the 1980's
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules."
- Gary Gygax

Zenopus
Level 8 Warlock
****
member is offline

[avatar]


[homepage]

Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 799
Karma: 95
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #22 on Jun 21, 2011, 8:19pm »
I'm neutral. I'd never pay that much myself, but I don't mind if someone else wants to. I'm also numb to the insane prices after hanging out at the Acaeum for years. I can understand the reactions here, where most everyone is a player first and foremost.

It's kind of a tribute to the Holmes set that it's valued enough to command that much money. Also, the Gygax auction prices are inflated not only due to the "celebrity" factor but also the "charity" factor - people are willing to pay more since the money is going to his widow/family. A newbie stated as much on the Acaeum today (with respect to winning a World of Greyhawk box set for $203).

For the record, the top three Holmes sets are currently:
1) SW true 1st print (blank bottom) owned by Brian Blume - ~$500 - GenCon 2009
2) SW 3rd print (Lizard Logo) - owned by Gygax - $331.05 - Jun 2011
3) SW 4th+ print (Wizard Logo) owned by Gygax - $308.25 - Mar 2011
« Last Edit: Jun 21, 2011, 8:30pm by Zenopus »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
"Story tellers are always careful to point out that the reputed dungeons lie in close proximity to the foundations of an older, pre-human city, to the graveyard, and to the sea.”
- Holmes rulebook

Zenopus Archives - Holmes Basic D&D - website & blog


Zenopus
Level 8 Warlock
****
member is offline

[avatar]


[homepage]

Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 799
Karma: 95
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #23 on Mar 21, 2012, 10:56pm »
New 3rd place record price for a Holmes set in shrinkwrap:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TSR-Dungeons-Dra....item4844 753584

This auction was by Paul of the Collector's Trove, who's run the many Gygax auctions, but this is from his personal collection, so it's somewhat surprising it went higher than one of the Gygax auctions. Here's the new lineup:

1) SW 1st print (F115-R code, Lizard Logo) owned by Brian Blume - ~$500 - GenCon 2009 - has a blank box bottom (could be a "true 1st").
2) SW 3rd print (Lizard Logo) - owned by Gygax - $331.05 - Jun 2011
3) SW 7th? print (Wizard Logo) - Collector's Trove personal auction - $315 - Mar 2012
4) SW 4th+ print (Wizard Logo) owned by Gygax - $308.25 - Mar 2011

The ? is due to a discrepancy in the auction listing - in one place it's listed as having a date of 1978, but elsewhere it's listed as a 7th/1979.
« Last Edit: Mar 21, 2012, 11:05pm by Zenopus »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
"Story tellers are always careful to point out that the reputed dungeons lie in close proximity to the foundations of an older, pre-human city, to the graveyard, and to the sea.”
- Holmes rulebook

Zenopus Archives - Holmes Basic D&D - website & blog


cadriel
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
***
member is offline





Joined: Dec 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 206
Karma: 18
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #24 on Mar 22, 2012, 4:54am »
Jeez. I just got a Holmes box with B2, a little beat up but with contents in great shape, for all of $20 a couple weeks ago. What's with the shrink wrapped copies going so high?
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
Semper Initiativus Unum - OD&D blog
Dungeon Crawl - Classic Dungeon Print Zine
Thorulfr
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
***
member is offline





Joined: Nov 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 245
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain
Karma: 10
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #25 on Mar 22, 2012, 3:44pm »
This anecdote might be a little off-topic, but my brother told me that one time someone gave Teller (of Penn and Teller) a gift of an autographed first-edition copy of one of Harry Houdini's books.
Teller immediately started to read it, and then whipped out a pen and start making notes in the margins. :o
On one level, it shows Teller as amusingly unconcerned about the "collector" mentality... On another level, he is one of the few people who could have done that to that book and actually INCREASE the value.
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
Happily chasing game systems down dark alleys, clubbing them senseless, and rifling through their pockets for loose tables since 1978
Shameless plug
Beholder
Level 1 Medium
*
member is offline





Joined: Jun 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 19
Karma: 0
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #26 on Aug 31, 2012, 11:43am »

Mar 12, 2011, 10:04am, Zenopus wrote:
Believe it or not, this is not the highest recorded sale price for a Holmes Basic Set. Rabbit67 and Blackmoor on the Acaeum pointed out something I had forgotten, that a shrink-wrapped set sold at GenCon 2009 for $500. It was from the collection of Brian Blume.

It was an earlier print than the one above:

Quote:
For one the Blume copy of Holmes basic set (in shrink) that strato won; it has a blank box bottom and the F116-R [sic, should be F115-R] lizard box top. This confirms that it is a bonifide printing and I know that I have one and so does Stephen (bombadil) so we can add a new printing to the Basic set descriptions on the Acaeum.


The Acaeum still doesn't list this print, which probably predates what is listed as the 1st print on the Acaeum (blank box bottoms generally precede box bottoms with pictures). Stratochamp has one of the premiere D&D collections - his goal is one copy of every printed FRPG product for the first 30 years of releases - so he would have known exactly what he was bidding on, and the early very rare printing in shrink surely contributed to the price.

Edit: Here's a portion of a pic from stratochamp's collection showing his Holmes Basic sets (and multiple woodgrain sets):

[image]

From this Acaeum thread:
http://www.acaeum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=176713&highlight=#176713

Finest collection of Holmes Basic sets? At least 9 sets, 4 or 5 of which are Lizard Logo.


Does anyone knows this guys' address and when he goes on vacation?
;D
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
owlorbs
Level 4 Theurgist
**
member is offline

[avatar]



Joined: May 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 118
Location: North Dakota
Karma: 5
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #27 on Aug 31, 2012, 4:18pm »
For comparison, I recently picked up an EX+, almost NM 6th print off of eBay with sealed dice bag for $45. I hadn't owned a copy as a kid and I figured it was long overdue.
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
-Brett
Zenopus
Level 8 Warlock
****
member is offline

[avatar]


[homepage]

Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 799
Karma: 95
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #28 on Sept 11, 2012, 10:35pm »
There's a new #1 record. $588...!

I just saw it in this auction posted on the Acaeum:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180967290301

Here's the revised list:

1) SW 1st print (F115-R code, Lizard Logo) - ebay Auction - $588 - Sep 2012 - has box bottom with standard writing
2) SW 1st print (F115-R code, Lizard Logo) - owned by Brian Blume - ~$500 - GenCon 2009 - has a blank box bottom (could be a "true 1st").
3) SW 3rd print (Lizard Logo) - owned by Gygax - $331.05 - Jun 2011
4) SW 7th? print (Wizard Logo) - Collector's Trove personal auction - $315 - Mar 2012
5) SW 4th+ print (Wizard Logo) - owned by Gygax - $308.25 - Mar 2011
Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
"Story tellers are always careful to point out that the reputed dungeons lie in close proximity to the foundations of an older, pre-human city, to the graveyard, and to the sea.”
- Holmes rulebook

Zenopus Archives - Holmes Basic D&D - website & blog


Zenopus
Level 8 Warlock
****
member is offline

[avatar]


[homepage]

Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 799
Karma: 95
Re: Record sale price for Holmes Basic Set?
« Reply #29 on Oct 14, 2012, 3:49pm »
Another one, now in 6th place:

6) SW 5th or 6th print (Wizard Logo) - $260 - Oct 2012

Ebay auction
« Last Edit: Oct 14, 2012, 3:50pm by Zenopus »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
"Story tellers are always careful to point out that the reputed dungeons lie in close proximity to the foundations of an older, pre-human city, to the graveyard, and to the sea.”
- Holmes rulebook

Zenopus Archives - Holmes Basic D&D - website & blog


« Page 2 of 3 » Jump to page   Go    [Search This Thread] [Share Topic] [Print]

Click Here To Make This Board Ad-Free


This Board Hosted For FREE By ProBoards
Get Your Own Free Message Boards & Free Forums!
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Notice | FTC Disclosure | Report Abuse | Mobile