For the first time ever in the comic industry, collectors and dealers will have a chance to test their grading mettle in the first CGC Grading Contest 2009! Presented by Matt Nelson of Classics Inc and Worldwide Comics, and Richard Evans of Bedrock City, the event will be held the days of June 19th and 20th during the Wizard World Philadelphia comic convention (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/wwphilly.html).

If you would like to participate, simply come to the Worldwide Comics booth #826 as early as possible Friday or Saturday to enter the qualifying round. This first round is free to all, and consists of grading five comics in five minutes. Your subsequent score will determine if you are eligible for the grading contest. Your ability to carefully handle the books will be judged as well, so remember to take care when grading!

If you pass the qualifying round, you will be assigned a time slot to grade in the contest sometime during Friday or Saturday during show hours. There are 50 slots available for the grading contest, so make sure to visit the booth as early as possible. The entry fee per participant is $30, with $1,000 in prizes awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. Each participant must grade 30 comics in 30 minutes, ranging from Golden Age to Moderns, low grade to high grade, unrestored and restored. All comics will be submitted to CGC for grading Sunday, with CGC grades and the winners announced Monday night on the CGC message boards (http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php). Each participant's own individual score and rank will be emailed to them on Monday as well.

"We expect this to be an ongoing event, and plan to expand it in many ways, depending on the reaction we get in Philly," says Matt Nelson. "It's exciting to think that collectors will have a chance to truly test their grading skills and see how they stack up against each other."

"This grading contest is the next step in our vision to promote collector education in the vintage market," adds Richard Evans. "In addition to our seminars on restoration detection and grading, the contest will help strengthen people's confidence when buying and selling books in the hobby."

Mark Haspel, CGC's President and Primary Grader remarks, “CGC is honored to be a part of this contest. Matt and Richard have always gone above and beyond when it came to educating collectors on the intricacies of the hobby. This will be a fun and educational experience for everyone. Good luck!”

Any questions about the grading contest can be directed to Matt Nelson at comics@classicsincorporated.com or Richard Evans at richard@bedrockcity.com. 

More detailed information will be posted on the CGC message boards this weekend (http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php).

For more information, please visit: 

CGC: www.cgccomics.com  
Bedrock City: www.bedrockcity.com
Classics Incorporated: www.classicsincorporated.com
Worldwide Comics: www.wwcomics.com
Wizard World Philadelphia: www.wizardworld.com
CGC Message Boards: http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php