THE FLASH #187
Late Silver Age Flash issue from the Barry Allen run under Julius Schwartz
// Unit specification
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-012884 | ~6.0 | — | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows moderate wear consistent with a mid-grade Silver Age book: visible corner softness at the top right and bottom corners, light surface creasing near the spine, and slight discoloration/toning along the edges. The spine shows minor stress lines but no major color breaks are evident in this photo. The book is housed in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of edge chipping; interior pages and back cover were not assessed.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $10 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $25 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $325 |
// Archive commentary
The Flash #187 (May 1969) arrives near the tail end of DC's Silver Age, part of the long Barry Allen run that Julius Schwartz shepherded through the 1960s. The title was a proving ground for the era's speed-based storytelling conventions, and by 1969 the book was pairing Neal Adams cover work with the tighter, more dynamic art style he brought to DC's line at the close of the decade. The issue does not carry a first appearance, origin, or death, and is best understood as a representative entry in a long-collected run rather than a stand-alone milestone.
Market data reflects that status: certified sales cluster in the $48-$90 range across grades 7.0 through 9.4, a modest and fairly linear curve typical of common Silver Age issues without key content. The 90d/30d sales columns are largely empty, indicating thin, sporadic trading rather than active speculation, while the one available 9.2 one-year average spiking well above the FMV suggests occasional outlier sales rather than a sustained trend. Demand is driven almost entirely by Flash-title completists and Neal Adams cover collectors rather than by character-first-appearance buyers.
This book trades as a run-filler: raw low- and mid-grade copies move cheaply and steadily to readers assembling a full Silver Age Flash set, while top-census CGC 9.8 copies command a real premium purely on condition rarity rather than content significance. Expect gradual, unspectacular appreciation tied to the broader Silver Age DC market rather than the sharp spikes seen in recognized key issues.
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