| Basic Grade Guide
This guide has been culled from various sources (primarily the Paul Adams and Overstreet grade guides), and is intended as an easy reference for beginning collectors and potential dealers who do not know much about comic books. More detailed and accurate info can be obtained from those aforementioned sources, including eBay's Comics Board.
The condition of books is VERY important. You have to remember that we're dealing with fragile paper products that can easily show signs of wear and tear. The "industry" has therefore adopted an extremely strict grading classification system... Having said that, you should also realize that grading, by its very nature, is somewhat subjective.
Please note that NOMINAL is defined as "barely noticible", and that any defect--even if allowed--will drop the book a full grade if extreme. It has been suggested that you start from basically the bottom up in your approach to grading... Identify defects before moving on (Got tape? GD at best. Got tear? FN or less). Best of luck!
M - MINT - 9.9 [125-150% of NM value; Overstreet 98-100]: Almost perfect in every way, like new (not a single flaw anywhere on the book with the exception of subtle bindery or printing defects). Cover flat, centered, and secure with no surface wear; inks bright with high reflectivity; corners square and sharp; staples centered and clean; paper supple and fresh; spine tight and flat. Comics are VERY RARE in MINT. Think "hot off the presses"... There are those who would argue that, once a comic has hit the newsstand, it is no longer MINT.
NM - NEAR MINT - 9.4 [100% of NM value; Overstreet 90-97]: Beautiful. Cover is flat, centered, and secure with no surface wear; inks are bright with high reflectivity and a minimum of fading; corners square and sharp with only slight blunting; staples centered and clean; paper is supple and like new, spine tight and flat. You bought a brand-new book and then bagged and boarded it to keep it NEAR MINT.
- DEFECTS ALLOWED
Autographs.
- ALLOWED IF NOMINAL
Corner bends; spine stress marks; page tips nicked during production; slight browning if comic is older; off-center printing; cover scuff marks.
- DEFECTS NOT ALLOWED
Tears; writing; rubber stamps; tape; missing pieces; fingerprints; water stains; browning if comic is newer; spine roll.
VF - VERY FINE - 8.0 [70% of NM value; Overstreet 75-89]: Excellent copy with outstanding eye appeal. Cover and pages sharp, bright and clean; supple with off-white to yellowish discoloration; spine wear. Most comics from the last decade that have been read yet cared for are VERY FINE.
- DEFECTS ALLOWED
Autographs.
- ALLOWED IF NOMINAL
Minor tears (1/8 inch); corner bends; spine stress marks; slightly loose staples; page tips nicked during production; slight browning if comic is older; off-center printing; cover scuff marks.
- DEFECTS NOT ALLOWED
Writing; rubber stamps; tape; missing pieces; fingerprints; water stains; browning if comic is newer; spine roll.
FN - FINE - 6.0 [50% of NM value; Overstreet 55-74]: Above average copy that shows some wear. Relatively flat, clean, and glossy with no subscription crease or browned margins. Light spine wear; minor surface wear; slight crease; minor yellowing/tanning of interior pages; inks beginning to show a significant reduction in reflectivity. Read a few times and handled with moderate care, this is still a highly desirable collectible in FINE.
- DEFECTS ALLOWED
Autographs; international or Stars & Stripes stamps.
- ALLOWED IF NOMINAL
Minor tears (1/4 inch); corner bends; spine stress marks; slightly loose staples; price neatly penciled in interior; missing pieces (1/8 in. sq.); fingerprints; humidity stains but not wrinkling or warping; browning but not brittle; spine roll; off-center printing; cover scuff marks.
- DEFECTS NOT ALLOWED
Tape; water stains.
VG - VERY GOOD - 4.0 [35% of NM value; Overstreet 35-54]: The average used comic... Moderate wear but with enough eye appeal to make it desirable. One or two markings on cover; minor spine roll; lightly creased along spine; subscription crease; loose centerfold; chips and piece missing. Not properly handled, most comics you'll find are VERY GOOD.
- DEFECTS ALLOWED
Autographs; several minor tears or one major tear; corner bends; spine stress marks; staples loose but fully joined with no tearing; international, Stars & Stripes, and store stamps; missing pieces if smaller than postage stamp; fingerprints; browning but not brittle; off-center printing.
- ALLOWED IF NOMINAL
Price neatly penciled in interior or on cover; small single-drop water stain; spine roll; cover folds but not bent in half; cover scuff marks.
- DEFECTS NOT ALLOWED
Tape.
GD - GOOD - 2.0 [20% of NM value; Overstreet 15-34]: Complete with basic structural integrity present. Creased; scuffed; abraded; soiled; paper aged but not brittle. A great reading copy, beat but complete, qualifies as GOOD.
- DEFECTS ALLOWED
Autographs; tears short of cover torn in half; corner bends; spine stress marks; loose staples with some rust; writing allowed except in excess (detracts from interior); rubber stamps except in excess; missing pieces (2 in. sq. cover, 3 in. sq. back, 1 in. sq. interior corners); clipped coupons from back; fingerprints; browning and slightly brittle; spine roll; folds; off-center printing; cover scuff marks.
- ALLOWED IF NOMINAL
Spine tears (1/4 inch); moderate taping; moderate water stains.
- DEFECTS NOT ALLOWED
None.
FR - FAIR - 1.0 [10% of NM value; Overstreet 5-14]: A comic in fairly bad shape... heavily read and soiled but complete. Commonly known as "bottom feeder" material, books that have been damaged beyond standard collectibility are FAIR.
- DEFECTS ALLOWED
Autographs; tears short of cover being torn in half; corner bends; spine stress marks and tears (1 inch); loose staples with rust; writing allowed except in excess (detracts from interior); rubber stamps except in excess; tape except in excess; missing pieces and clipped coupons as long as story can be read; fingerprints; water stains except in excess; browning and brittle; spine roll; folds; off-center printing; cover scuff marks.
- ALLOWED IF NOMINAL
All.
- DEFECTS NOT ALLOWED
None.
PR - POOR - 0.5 [5% of NM value; Overstreet 1-4]: Sufficiently degraded so as to have little or no collector value.
Often severely stained, abraded, defaced, or damaged beyond
readability. Comics molested in a bizarre rituals are POOR.
- DEFECTS ALLOWED
Anything short of book being torn in half.
- ALLOWED IF NOMINAL
All.
- DEFECTS NOT ALLOWED
None.
COVERLESS [1% of NM value]: Many comics have lost their covers yet the interiors are still intact. There is demand for these books if they are valuable older books, esp. for the purposes of historical preservation.
PLUS OR MINUS SIGNS [ex. VF+ or NM-]: Widely used to grade books a bit above or below one of the basic grades.
SPLIT GRADE [ex. VF/NM]: Used by many collectors and dealers to grade books that fall between two basic grades.
One final note... There are those who espouse "qualified grading" (stating a comic is FN except for one or two coffee rings). Generally, this is NOT an accepted practice, as it can oftentimes be viewed as deceptive. A sliding-scale approach to grading older comics is occasionally recommended, however, as long as you're not too lenient. Be conservative.
Value of Books
Virtually all comic collectors and dealers use the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. Bob Overstreet publishes this huge annual price guide which features the most in-depth listing of titles/values, historical and publishing information, as well as the dates and contents of every important comic published in the last 100 years. This guide is available at most book stores and comic shops, or it can be purchased directly from the publisher (Gemstone). Another excellent reference is the Wizard Guide to Comics, a monthly magazine available at most newsstands. Although it has a tendency to over-value more current or "hot" titles, it should still give you a good idea of what a particular book might bring. Mad props to publisher Gareb Shamus! Right now there's only one (possibly two) online price guide available. It can be located at www.comicspriceguide.com. The accuracy of this guide hasn't been determined. And don't forget to run a search on completed items at eBay! | 
