OVERSTREET GRADING CRITERIA
GRADING DEFINITIONS NOTE: This section uses both the traditional grade abbreviations and the ONE number throughout the listings. The Overstreet Numerical Equivalent (ONE) spread range is given with each grade.
MINT (MT) (ONE 9.9-10.0): Near perfect in every way. Only the most subtle bindery or printing defects are allowed. Cover is flat with no surface wear. Cover inks are bright with high reflectivity and minimal fading. Corners are cut square and sharp. Staples are generally centered, clean with no rust. Cover is generally well centered and firmly secured to interior pages. Paper is supple and fresh. Spine is tight and flat.
NEAR MINT/MINT (NM/MT) (ONE 9.8): A comic book that has enough positive qualities to make it better than a NM+, but has enough detracting qualities to keep it from being a MT 9.9. In most cases the comic book has a better appearance than a NM+.
NEAR MINT (NM) (ONE 9.2-9.7): Nearly perfect with only minor imperfections allowed. This grade should have no corner of impact creases, stress marks should be almost invisible, and bindery tears must be less than 1/16 inch. A couple of very tiny color flecks, or a combination of the above that keeps the book from being perfect, where the overall eye appeal is less than Mint drops the book into this grade. Only the most subtle binding and/or printing defects allowed. Cover is flat with no surface wear. Cover inks are bright with high reflectivity and minimum of fading. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever so slight blunting permitted. Staples are generally centered, clean with no rust. Cover is well centered and firmly secured to interior pages. Paper is supple and like new. Spine is tight and flat.
VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM) (ONE 9.0): A comic book that has enough positive qualities to make it better than a VF+, but has enough detracting qualities to keep it from being a NM-. In most cases the comic book has a better appearance than a VF+.
VERY FINE (VF) (ONE 7.5-8.5): An excellent copy with outstanding eye appeal. Sharp, bright and clean with supple pages. Cover is relatively flat with almost no surface wear. Cover inks are generally bright with moderate to high reflectivity. Staples may show some discoloration. Spine may have a couple of almost insignificant transverse stress lines and is almost completely flat. A barely unnoticeable ¼ inch crease is acceptable, if color is not broken. Pages and covers can be yellowish/tannish (at the least, but no brown and will usually be off-white to white).
Please allow for slight color variation due to
camera, light and monitor settings.
Thank you.