Mint • Collecting General • The Acaeum

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Mint
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chokensmoke
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:05 pm

Ok this is to prove I am not the numbstick Maxwell as it seems he would not be smart enough to pose even this basic question. Would you say a book was mint if it had ever been removed from its packing box for any reason once it had been sealed?

Thanks

peace unto you even if wrong.

GraysonAC
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Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada, eh?

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:23 pm

Mint means flawless, not shrinkwrapped.

chokensmoke
Collector

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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:01 pm

Great answer! My gosh that can't be it.

Love to a great modron

Blackmoor
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:12 pm

GraysonAC wrote:Mint means flawless, not shrinkwrapped.

MINT is MINT! When I buy something shrinwrapped I am always afraid to open it up in case it was actually re-shrunk and crap inside

Games can get you through times of no money but money can not get you through times of no games!!

GraysonAC
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Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada, eh?

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:40 pm

Blackmoor wrote:
GraysonAC wrote:Mint means flawless, not shrinkwrapped.

MINT is MINT! When I buy something shrinwrapped I am always afraid to open it up in case it was actually re-shrunk and crap inside

Or the staples have rusted all over the interior.

Winterwords
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 12:50 am

GraysonAC wrote:
Blackmoor wrote:

MINT is MINT! When I buy something shrinwrapped I am always afraid to open it up in case it was actually re-shrunk and crap inside

Or the staples have rusted all over the interior.

Or the glue has gone & it falls apart.

Mount Celestia doesn't want me and Baator's afraid I'll take over.

Ninty-eight Blue and Green Slaad at the door, Ninty-eight Blue and Green Slaad, Take one down, they gate in two more, Ninty-nine Blue and Green Slaad at the door...

Deadlord
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 1:46 am

Or someone deshrinked it, disemboweled a deaf albino gerbil, and spread the small intestine along the inside pages, then reshrinked it.

Common sense answer. Mint is mint.

If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.

beyerun
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 2:05 am

Show me something you say is mint and I'll find a flaw. Best you can ever find is Near Mint.

Mint is perfect. Staples razor straight. Everything centered. Perfectly cut. Lays flat. Perfect gloss. Not a frayed fiber on any edge. No printing imperfections at all.

Impossible. :D

harami2000
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:33 am

beyerun wrote:Mint is perfect. Staples razor straight. Everything centered. Perfectly cut. Lays flat. Perfect gloss. Not a frayed fiber on any edge. No printing imperfections at all.

"Mint" never used to mean all that... "Perfect" did, perhaps, and only then, by the viewer's own definition of "perfection".

A 600 year old hammered coin may be off-centre, have flange breaks, die breaks, inclusions in the metal, etc. and still be as minted.

Similarly books "as printed" can have numerous flaws greater than a "frayed fiber" as part of that process. (I like the idea of paper that doesn't have frayed fibers )

IMO, the quest for perfection to such a degree (reflected in tail-wagging-dog price biases) is largely pointless and irrational when there's no level playing field in the first place.

A 3rd OD&D book set and brand new DMG can both be in the condition they were "as printed"/"as issued" yet are somehow judged not against that, but against an idealised state of "perfection".

What is everyone actually collecting, first-and-foremost; a list of grade conditions or actual content?

deimos3428
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:18 am

harami2000 wrote:
beyerun wrote:Mint is perfect. Staples razor straight. Everything centered. Perfectly cut. Lays flat. Perfect gloss. Not a frayed fiber on any edge. No printing imperfections at all.

"Mint" never used to mean all that... "Perfect" did, perhaps, and only then, by the viewer's own definition of "perfection".

A 600 year old hammered coin may be off-centre, have flange breaks, die breaks, inclusions in the metal, etc. and still be as minted.

Similarly books "as printed" can have numerous flaws greater than a "frayed fiber" as part of that process. (I like the idea of paper that doesn't have frayed fibers )

IMO, the quest for perfection to such a degree (reflected in tail-wagging-dog price biases) is largely pointless and irrational when there's no level playing field in the first place.

A 3rd OD&D book set and brand new DMG can both be in the condition they were "as printed"/"as issued" yet are somehow judged not against that, but against an idealised state of "perfection".

What is everyone actually collecting, first-and-foremost; a list of grade conditions or actual content?

Very well stated. I think you know my answer to that question:

Anything above "SF" grade* is generally fine with me, and as a bonus, more likely to fall into my price range. :wink:

*Revised Grading system:

Code - Explanation

----------------------

DC - Decent: No major flaws, not ripped in half.

ND - Not Decent: Often confused with Near Mint. Possibly ripped in half.

SF - Set on Fire - Avoid. Includes the previous "TX" (toxic) grade.

johnhuck
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:46 am

deimos3428 wrote:*Revised Grading system:

Code - Explanation

----------------------

DC - Decent: No major flaws, not ripped in half.

ND - Not Decent: Often confused with Near Mint. Possibly ripped in half.

SF - Set on Fire - Avoid. Includes the previous "TX" (toxic) grade.

But generally how I think when buying.

bclarkie
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:49 am

beyerun wrote:Show me something you say is mint and I'll find a flaw. Best you can ever find is Near Mint.

Mint is perfect. Staples razor straight. Everything centered. Perfectly cut. Lays flat. Perfect gloss. Not a frayed fiber on any edge. No printing imperfections at all.

Impossible.

This is actually a very strict interpretation of what card collectors(baseball, football, MTG, etc.) use. *<fact>*

It is far to hard to use this scale when grading books/booklets as for obvious reasons a book is substantially larger and has multiple pages, which be an impossible standard to use effectively. *<opinion>*

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." -Neitzche

Deadlord
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 11:55 am

Actually, a completely unflawed and unused book would be either "gem mint" or "pristine mint". Most items are mint when they are printed.

If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.

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