Allowable possible manufacturing spine tears 0

[Jack Hewett]

Hey everyone!  I am wanting to see if anyone has encountered this in grading.  I know CGC allows very small bindary tears at the top and bottom without generally a hit to the grade, but I have some Heir to the Empire books that have what look like some slight splits down the side that appear to be manufacturing defects due to this thicker stock paper they used for these.  I have two sets of the 1-6 and see it on some (not on others).  the thing is the books are almost flawless otherwise so it is not like a spine split from a 60-7- year old book.  One run I bought from the shop when they came out and have been stored correctly ever since, so I am pretty sure it was bought like that.  I guess my ultimate question is if the book would otherwise have gotten a 9.6-9.8, would that be allowable to keep it at that grade?  I tried to upload a picture, but could not for some reason.  I have seen this on others types of these covers, so I am sure somebody has encountered this.  Thank you!

[marvelmaniac]

NM+ 9.6 - Only subtle bindery or printing defects are allowed. No bindery tears are allowed

NM 9.4 - Subtle bindery/printing defects are allowed. Bindery tears must be less than 1/16" on Silver Age and later books, although on Golden Age books bindery tears of up to 1/4" have been noted. 

VF 8.0 - NM- 9.2 - A limited number of minor bindery/printing defects are allowed.

There is no specific mention of Bindery Tears below a NM 9.4.

[Lazyboy]

You're talking about spine cracking/feathering, which CGC basically ignores on issues that are prone to it due to how they were made. Though, if the spine is actually fully split, that's a different story

[LowGradeBronze]

With only 2 posts currently under your belt you might not be able to load images yet. Try again after a few more posts. Moderns are graded more strictly and some do show flaky spines pretty much from day one!

Edited January 15, 2023 by LowGradeBronze

[theCapraAegagrus]

The type of MFG defect you're describing is allowed up to 9.8 in grade.