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Grading Guide Question

Started by Jayman,

64 posts in this topic

Jayman

Jayman

Posted
Posted

One of my gifts this Christmas was the Overstreet Grading Guide 2nd edition which is a great book for those of you who might not have it yet. Upon reading the various grade breakdowns I have a question regarding a criteria of the 9.0 VF/NM grade.

 

The guide states (pg 186) "Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted but no creases." and on page 187 it also states "no creases" under corners. Yet on two examples from this grade on the pages following (pgs. 194, 197) there are color breaking corner creases.

 

So are tiny color breaking corners allowed in this grade or is it that the two example books were in overall better condition for that particular grade as to permit them having a tiny break?

 

Sorry if this sounds too over analyzed but I'm really trying to get a better handle on my grading skills so any answers are welcome.

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drbanner

drbanner

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Yes, corner creases are allowed in 9.0, and yes, the pictures of the books in the grading guide defy the text descriptions of the grade quite a bit. I don't believe there are strict metrics for the magnitude of a corner crease allowed in the various grades, but on an otherwise perfect "10.0" book I feel you can have a faint 1/16" to 1/8" corner crease/bend and still have a NM book. I've seen slabbed books up to 9.6 with teeny corner creases as well.

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arexcrooke

arexcrooke

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I agree that there are times that the OGG contradicts itself. It can be frustrating for someone like myslef, who works in the realm of the concrete so much, that when something says that a certain defect is not allowed in a certain grade, then you see pictures with said defect in it, it tends to make it confusing.

(sorry for the run-on sentence) sorry.gif

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seank

seank

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The grading guide is a great resource, but sometimes you have to go with intuition, voodoo, chicken guts, and a magic eight ball instead.

 

And remember that on eBay, NM = "Not Mint."

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Jayman

Jayman

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The grading guide is a great resource, but sometimes you have to go with intuition, voodoo, chicken guts, and a magic eight ball instead.

 

I agree completely! insane.gif It's just that I am trying to get a fair assessment of the grades but also do not want to be too harsh on otherwise VF/NM books. That being said, I know a lot goes toward over all eye appeal and maybe that is why some CBC's are forgiven.

 

And remember that on eBay, NM = "Not Mint."

 

That's another thread entirely! makepoint.gif

Thanks for the responses all!

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

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It's just that I am trying to get a fair assessment of the grades but also do not want to be too harsh on otherwise VF/NM books. That being said, I know a lot goes toward over all eye appeal and maybe that is why some CBC's are forgiven.

 

If that's a polite way of saying that the state of the art in comic book grading is still heavily under development, then you're absolutely correct! Continue on with your study of the art, and perhaps you can be one of the ones who will help push the envelope... 893crossfingers-thumb.gif

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blowout

blowout

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Posted

 

If that's a polite way of saying that the state of the art in comic book grading is still heavily under development, then you're absolutely correct! Continue on with your study of the art, and perhaps you can be one of the ones who will help push the envelope... 893crossfingers-thumb.gif

 

Still developing?

 

You mean all those CGC slabbed books are one day going to have the wrong grade on them? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

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You mean all those CGC slabbed books are one day going to have the wrong grade on them? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

YES! And when that day comes that grading standards are actually precise enough to fit the overly-ambitious 25-notch (but thankfully less ambitious than the 100-point ONE scale) Overstreet/CGC grading scale, people will start getting different grades when they resubmit!

 

Oh, wait, that started to happen shortly after CGC started. blush.gif

 

It'd be nice if Borock would collude with a good writer--perhaps a Matt Nelson--to write a grading guide. Or perhaps he could just collaborate with Overstreet on the next edition of the OGG. 893crossfingers-thumb.gif

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divad

divad

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Well now you're just making me feel genuinely unappreciated.

 

Arnold smile.gif

 

Arnold, don't. I understand that the task in rewriting the grading guide was to both improve the grading system, yet maintain much of the language that had been used previously. That is a fine line, and you met the challenge as the OGG is a great reference - keep up the good work thumbsup2.gif We ALL appreciate it!

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Zanarkand

Zanarkand

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Posted

 

If that's a polite way of saying that the state of the art in comic book grading is still heavily under development, then you're absolutely correct! Continue on with your study of the art, and perhaps you can be one of the ones who will help push the envelope... 893crossfingers-thumb.gif

 

Still developing?

 

You mean all those CGC slabbed books are one day going to have the wrong grade on them? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

Hell, a lot of them have the wrong grade of them now. devil.gif

 

The OGG definitely is a work in progress, but it's still a fantastic resource. Just before the grading section, there are two tidbits that might help. One is a rough equivalency chart that attempts to define terms like "very small", "moderate", etc. The other is a graph that suggests the minimum and maximum total number of defects allowed in each grade.

 

So on one hand if there are 4 defects allowed in the grade and your book only has one, but on the other hand that one defect is technically not allowed in that grade, it's a bit of a tossup. A harsh grader might say too bad, VF+. A lenient grader might say NM-. Whatever confused-smiley-013.gif. That's why it's only part science, and the other part is art.

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ArnoldTBlumberg

ArnoldTBlumberg

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It's OK, I was just kidding with you. smile.gif But I appreciate the sentiment too. As I said in the past, my goal was to come to the GG with a fresh eye and try to make everything make sense internally. Clearly there are still areas that need fixing or clarification, but worry not - the third edition will give us a chance to improve things once more.

 

Arnold

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Jayman

Jayman

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Well now you're just making me feel genuinely unappreciated.

 

Arnold smile.gif

 

Arnold,

I was hoping you would pop up here so I could tell you that the OGG 2nd Edition is a invaluable book to me and to thank you and all who contributed to it. It definitely helps get a clearer view of current grading insights. I finally got a copy after failing to win one here in the comic trivia thread (whatever happened to that?)

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arexcrooke

arexcrooke

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Well now you're just making me feel genuinely unappreciated.

 

Arnold smile.gif

 

Arnold,

I was hoping you would pop up here so I could tell you that the OGG 2nd Edition is a invaluable book to me and to thank you and all who contributed to it. It definitely helps get a clearer view of current grading insights. I finally got a copy after failing to win one here in the comic trivia thread (whatever happened to that?)

 

I have to agree with Jayman, Arnold. The OGG is a great asset to me as I try to figure out what is what in the world of grading.

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chrisco37

chrisco37

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Clearly there are still areas that need fixing or clarification, but worry not - the third edition will give us a chance to improve things once more.

 

Sweet! Maybe you can get rid of the Platinum/Victorian section as we know that no one collects in that area.

 

Ooops! Wrong OS publication. poke2.gifdevil.gif

 

Just Kidding Arnold & Tom. wink.gif

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