So how does one go about determining the actual value of their individual collections? This is not an easy task or one to be taken lightly. Comic book worth is a highly perceived value and will vary quite greatly, depending on which opinion you choose to follow. By all means, if there is a reputable comic book dealer in your local area that you are comfortable dealing with, get his or her opinion. But in all my research so far, it seems that "The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide" is the bible of most active comic book collectors.

I have my copy in electronic format, reachable from my desktop. It is very handy. If you truly want to understand what your magazines are worth, the first thing you need to do is to determine the physical condition of each comic book. Is it raggady ass poor with pages missing and in need of a paper clip to hold it together or has it never been opened since purchased and appears to be in mint condition? Even brand new comic books may not make the grade of mint or perfect condition.

Overstreet gives a very detailed description of all the grades and sub-grades used in the 0.5 to 10.0 scale, generally acceptable by all comic book aficionados. If you follow his physical condition explanations and grading scale, you will get a pretty good feel for the conditions of your own collection.

The next step in your pricing exercise is to then go through the myriad of pages to find your particular issues. Along with your now determined physical and grade conditions, you can find your issue's current assumed value.

This guide also has tips on collecting, preserving and storing your comic books. And it defines the various ages (Golden Age, Silver Age, etc.) that comic book history has moved through.

I guess if I had to mention a drawback to this guide, it would be the fact that there is soo much information to go through, it could take you quit a while to devour the whole book. Once you get well acquainted and comfortable with the guide though, you could consider yourself an expert in your own right and help your friends out with their collecting and pricing questions.

I do believe this guide to be an invaluable and inexpensive resource to have and I don't think you will be disappointed with it. You can visit Heritage Comics at Dave Gieber, a former rocket engineer, has decided to take up residency on the Internet. He is the owner and editor of several websites, one of which was built around one of his childhood passions;