Set Description:
This is my set of the U.K. Pence price-printed issues which exist in the first series of Avengers, namely issues numbers #1 to #8, #19 to #32, #35 to #45 , #63 to #120, #153 to #182, #184 to #199, #201 to #203 and #206 to #214 which have a printed Pence price on the cover ("UKPVs").
The other issues (those between numbers #9 to #18, issues numbers #33 and #34 , those between numbers #46 to #62, #121 to #152 and #183 to #200, and issues numbers #204 and #205) were only available in the U.K. as Cents copies or as Cents copies stamped by hand with the U.K. price. Furthermore, no Cents copies of any UKPVs were shipped to the U.K. at the time of publication of those UKPVs.
I believe it is estimated that between the equivalent of no more than 2% to 5% of the number of Cents issues were published as UKPVs . This means it is likely that not only are there relatively low numbers of UKPVs still in existence but also that very few of them will be in high grade. This is borne out by the Census where, in many (most? ) cases, there are actually very few copies of each comic listed.
Against that backdrop and the likely cost involved I decided to put together within a relatively short period of time a predominantly mid-grade set of UKPVs containing some high grade copies as well plus one or two low-grade issues, where necessary . This accounts for my copy of issue number #8 (first Kang) being a low-grade 3.5, and my copy of issue number #43 (first Red Guardian) being a low-grade 4.0, and I am seeking a low-grade (but nice-looking) copy of issue number #1 to add to the set.
This approach has been quite liberating and is the opposite of the one I took to build my Cents copies set, where I tried (within reason) to acquire the best copies I could find. But it has been fun with UKPVs to "go round again" and seek out comics that are familiar with a twist to them, and add them to the Registry as I go along. With my Cents copies set I recently registered it all in one go. This Pence one will remain a work in progress until it is finished .
The comics that make up the set have been acquired from a number of sources, including purchases at comic book shops and conventions, on-line and Ebay, and by auction. Except in the case of issues numbers #3, #4, #5, #8, #96, #98, #100 and #181 (which I bought as slabbed comics) they have all been acquired raw and then been slabbed by CGC.
I have all the rest of the comics in the set (other than issues numbers #1 and #94) as raw copies, and the intention is to have them slabbed and added to my set over a period of time.
There are a number of differences between UKPVs and Cents copy comics, namely :
(a) the price is shown on the cover of a UKPV in Pence instead of Cents :
(b) the UKPVs issues numbers #1 to #8 do not contain the month of publication in the box containing the issue number on the cover (the box on the Cents copies contains the issue number and the month of publication ) because shipping delays (and sometimes strike action) might result in the UKPVs not reaching the U.K. until well after the publication date, and on those UKPVs the following note is printed at the foot of the inside front cover :
"Sole distributors in the United Kingdom - Thorpe & Porter Ltd"
and :
(c) in the UKPVs issues numbers #153 to #182 and #184 to #214 the banner "Marvel Comics Group" on the cover of the Cents copies has been replaced by one saying :"Marvel All-Colour Comics".
When publication of the UKPVs began, the U.K. had an"Imperial" currency system , which was abolished with effect from 14 February 1971. From 15 February 1971 a "Decimal" system took over and still exists now. The Imperial currency system included "Pennies" or "Pence" shown by a "d" after the number of Pence when written down . Under the system, "12d" amounted to "One Shilling" or "1/-", and "240d" or "20/-" amounted to "One Pound" or "£1" .
Pennies or Pence still exist under the Decimal system but they are now shown by a "p" (in lower case) after the number of Pence, and they have been re-valued so that 100p equals £1.
The Imperial system applied to Avengers issues numbers #1 to #92 , and the Decimal system applied to issues numbers #93 to #214, ignoring in both cases the issues in those batches that do not exist as UKPVs.
The prices at which each of the UKPVs were sold are as follows :
Imperial prices
Issues numbers #1 to #8: 9d
Issues numbers #19 to #32: 10d
Issues numbers #35 to #45: 10d
Issues numbers #63 to £92: 1/-(12d)
Decimal prices
Issue number #93: 8p printed price with 6p sticker price (sticker stuck over the printed price)
Issues numbers #84 to #120: 6p
Issues numbers #153 to #156: 10p
Issues numbers #157 to #175: 12p (ordinary 12p print)
Issues numbers #176 to #181: 12p (starburst 12p print)
Issue number #182 and issues numbers #184 to #195: 12p (ordinary 12p print)
Issues numbers #196 to #199 and #201 to #203: 15p
Issues numbers #206 to #214: 20p
Issues numbers #153 to #182 have a "Newsstand Edition " type box in the bottom left corner of the front cover, and issues numbers #184 to #214 have a "Direct Edition" type box in that position.
Dual Cents/Pence pricing was introduced by Marvel in January 1982 with the result that no UKPVs were published after then.
UKPVs are recognised as the true first price variant copies of Cents comics and it is accepted that they were both printed at the same time on the same presses.
Robin
18 March 2024
PS. On 24 June 2024 I added to the Owner's Description for each comic the total number of Universal graded copies that exist on the Census plus, in relation to my higher-graded ones, their ranking on that date. I have put that information in this column for the comics that I have subsequently added to the set.
This highlights the low numbers of UKPVs that exist, both generally and in relation to their Cents counterparts.
It has also drawn my attention to the fact that my set contains the highest ranked copies of issues numbers #23, #63, #64, #67, #72, #76, #79, #81, #91, #117, #158, #172, #173, #174, #175, #180, #181 and #184.
POST 2024 AWARDS COMMENTS
In August 2024 I replaced my 8.0 copy of issue number #181 with a 9.6 copy (the joint highest graded and 1 of 21 on the Census).
In October 2024 I added issues numbers #169 (9.6 - the single highest graded copy and one of only two on the Census ), #176 (7.5 - the second highest graded copy , with the only other copy being a 9.2) , #194 (9.4 - the only graded copy ), #203 (7.5 - the sole highest ranking copy, ahead of a single 7.0, the only other copy) and #209 (9.4 - the only graded copy) to the set.
In November 2024 I added issues numbers #164 (8.5 - the only graded copy) and #201 ( 9.2 - the sole graded copy) to the set.
In December 2024 I added issues numbers #96 (9.2 - the sole graded copy) and #98 (9.4 - the highest graded copy and one of only two) to the set.
As at 8 December 2024 my set contained 60 of the 149 comics in the set.
In January 2025 I added issues numbers #30 (5.0 - the third highest ranking copy and 1 of 4 in total), #31 (4.5 - the third highest ranking copy and 1 of 5 in total), #171 (9.0 - the joint highest ranking copy with 4 in total on the Census) and #191 (8.5 - the sole copy on the Census) to the set.
In February 2025 I added issues numbers #166 (8.5 - the second highest ranking copy and 1 of 3 in total), #170 (8.0 - the second highest ranking copy and 1 of 2 in total, #172 (9.0 - the sole copy on the Census), #173 (9.6 - the sole copy on the Census), #174 (9.6 - the
sole copy on the Census), #175 (8.5 - the highest graded copy and 1 of 3 in all on the Census) and #180 (9.4 - the highest graded copy and 1 of 2 on the Census to the set.
In May 2025 I added issue number #167 (the sole 9.2 and second highest ranking copy behind a single 9.4 and 1 of 8 in total ) to the set.
In June 2025 I replaced my 9.0 copy of issue number #171 with a 9.8 copy ( the single highest graded copy and 1 of 6 in total ) and replaced my 7.5 copy of issue number #176 with a 9.6 copy (the single highest graded copy and 1 of 3 in total ).
In July 2025 I added issues numbers #153 (9.2-the sole copy on the Census), #159 (9.0-the sole copy on the Census) and #160 (9.2-the single highest graded copy and 1 of 2 on the Census - the other copy being a 5.0) to the set.
In September 2025 I added issues numbers #70 (9.0-1 of 2 highest and 1 of 9 copies in all on the Population Report ) , #73 (the single highest graded copy and 1 of 2 in total on the Population Report) , #74 (9.0-the single highest graded copy and 1 of 4 in total on the Population Report and #78 (the second highest graded copy behind 2 9.6s and 1 of 5 in total on the Population Report) to the set.
Taking the description "high grade" as applying to a comic that is graded 8.5, 9.0, 9.2 or 9.4 my set (made up of all the comics referred to above and below) includes 10 x 8.5s, 7x 9.0s, 8 x 9.2s and 5 x 9.4s high grade comics (30 in total), and taking the description "super-high grade" as applying to a comic that is graded 9.6 or 9.8 my set includes 4 x 9.6s and 1 x 9.8 super-high grade comics (5 in total), all of which it is true to say are very scarce indeed.
Although quite a number of the comics are described in the Slot Description as being a "U.K. Edition" each comic listed is a UKPV, and CGC changed the description on the comic book label from a "U.K. Edition" to a "U.K. Price Variant" with effect from April 2019.
With the registration and addition of photos of issues #153 and #159 on 29 July 2025 my set has reached the number 1 ranking with a dizzying lead of 14 points ! Now, the task begins of trying to keep it there !
As at 1 October 2025 that lead has increased by a further 402 points by the addition in September 2025 of issues numbers #70, #73, #74 and #78 to the set.
On 13 January 2026 I increased my lead by 248 points with the addition of issues numbers #187, (8.5 - 1 of 2 and the highest graded copy above a 7.5) #188, (8.5 -1 of 2 and the highest graded copy above a 6.5), #189 (9.0 - 1 of 3 and the second highest graded copy behind a 9.2 and above a 7.5) and #192 (8.0 - the sole graded copy ) to the set.
That brings my total of the comics in the set to 83 out of 149, so 66 left to go!
Although I said earlier on in this column that I have raw copies of most of the other comics in the set, I have become aware that they are not particularly high grade and I have been replacing them with better quality issues and having them slabbed.
However, I intend to take a break from adding further comics to the set for the time being to allow me to focus on adding additional comics to my other UKPV sets and to create new UKPV sets.
This set is one of 32 U.K. Price Variant competitive sets on the Registry. The sets are Amazing Spider-Man (5 sets), this set, Daredevil (2 sets), Fantastic Four (2 sets), Frank Miller Covers, Iron Man, Journey into Mystery (2 sets), Marvel Bronze Age 1st Appearances (1970-1979), Marvel Premiere, Marvel Team-Up, Ms. Marvel, Silver Surfer, Tales of Suspense (2 sets), Tales to Astonish (2 sets), Thor (2 sets), Two-Gun Kid, Werewolf by Night and X-Men (5 sets).
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