Comics Grading Chart
Here are 2 different charts meant to help a collector measure the same concept: how to assign (a value to) the Grade of a book (from Poor to Mint). It may take a few viewings to reconcile the 2 charts. To assist in "keeping it straight" , both charts use the same major color scheme for the folllowing groupings:
click for examples of books at various grades
HIGH GRADE|
New Ten Point Grading System (in Overstreet Price Guide) |
CONDITION (see Abbreviations) |
COMPARE TO WHICH OS PRICE? |
APPLIC. % |
|
10.0 Mint 9.9 Mint 9.8 Near Mint/Mint 9.6 Near Mint + 9.4 Near Mint 9.2 Near Mint - 9.0 V. Fine/Nr Mint 8.5 Very Fine + 8.0 Very Fine 7.5 Very Fine - |
NM/MT |
NM |
100-150% |
|
NM |
NM |
100-125% |
|
|
NM- |
NM |
95-100% |
|
|
VF/NM |
NM |
90-95% |
|
|
*VF++ |
NM |
85-90 |
|
|
*VF+ |
NM |
80-85 |
|
|
VF VF-NEW OS STANDARD |
NM or (NM + F) / 2 = VF |
70-75 |
|
|
VF- |
VF (NM + F / 2) = VF |
65 |
*Note: add 5% of NM Value for each "+"
UPPER - MID GRADE
|
New Ten Point Grading System (in Overstreet Price Guide) |
CONDITION (see Abbreviations) |
COMPARE TO WHICH OS PRICE? |
APPLIC. % |
|
7.0 Fine/V. Fine 6.5 Fine + |
F/VF 'A' |
(To Compute F/VF 'A') NM + F / 2=F/VF 'A' |
50-60% |
|
F/VF 'B' |
(To Compute F/VF 'B') 1st Compute VF (NM + F / 2)=VF; then compute(VF + F / 2) = F/VF 'B' |
45-50% |
|
|
F+++*** F++ F+ |
F |
up to 45% 40% 35% |
|
|
F/F+ |
|
33% |
*Note: 'A' = (closer to VF-)('A' is for 'apparently' hi-grade, but w/defect (stain,fox,NOC,miscut) e.g. "would be vf/nm but for sm. stain on bc!"
**Note: 'B' = (closer to F+) ('B' is for 'near hi-grade', but not VF from general wear. e.g. "near to VF, but has 2 rounded corners!"
***Note: its possible to have up to 3 plus features in a Fine grade. A plus implies something extra-like white pages; extra vivid, sharp corners, etc. Add 5% of NM Value for each "+".
MID TO LOW GRADES
|
New Ten Point Grading System (in Overstreet Price Guide) |
CONDITION (see Abbreviations) |
COMPARE TO WHICH OS PRICE? |
APPLIC. % |
|
6.0 Fine 5.5 Fine - 5.0 Very Good/Fine 4.5 Very Good + 4.0 Very Good 3.5 Very Good - |
F |
30% |
|
|
F- (or VG/F) |
(commonly interchangable for Fine- or VG/F) |
25-30% |
|
|
VG+ or VG++ |
* |
20-30% |
|
|
VG |
To Compute: F + G / 2 =NEW OS STANDARD FOR VG |
15% |
*Note: its possible to have up to 2 plus features in a VG grade. A plus implies something extra-like white pages; extra vivid, sharp corners, etc. Add 5% of NM Value for each "+".
READER & FILLER GRADES
|
New Ten Point Grading System (in Overstreet Price Guide) |
CONDITION (see Abbreviations) |
COMPARE TO WHICH OS PRICE? |
APPLIC. % |
|
3.0 Good/Very Good 2.5 Good+ 2.0 Good 1.8 Good - 1.5 Fr/Gd 1.0 Fair .5 Poor** |
GD/VG, G+ or VG- |
* |
10-15% |
|
GD |
10% |
||
|
FAIR |
1/2 to 2/3 of OS GD |
5-6% |
|
|
POOR |
Filler Grades |
2-3% |
|
|
COVERLESS |
Filler Grades |
<1% |
*Note: add 5% of NM Value for each "+".
**Note: poor = incomplete. Coverless = about 10% of Gd, max 1% of NM.
WHY ARE 2 CHARTS NEEDED?
Because "Incremental" grades, as a % or fraction of a NM 9.4 or the perfect "Mint 10.0", do not (comparably) compute as a % or fraction of the NM prices.
Can't a price be set by using the 10.0 chart alone?
The 10 point grading scale causes confusion in pricing, especially mid to lower grade comics.
Example below: a Book may receive a grade of "G/VG" 3.0, but the market price would not approach 30% of the Guide NM price; perhaps closer to 10-15%. A "Fine-Plus 6.5" may market price at 30-33% of the NM Guide price. Without this understanding, you may overpay for a book based on its Overstreet ten-point grade! To learn more about this variance, see Ed's Grading Methodology (click here)
Example: book was graded as a G/VG ; NM $ is $100
OS Grade Scale
As a ratio to NM
3.0
$30 (or 30%) wrong!
Ed's Grade to Price Scale
As a ratio to NM
10-15%
$10-15 correct!
Here is an example as shown in (Ed's) "Beginner's Guide to Grading":
Superman 199 VG+ 4.5, NM = $300
OS Grade Scale 4.5
As a ratio to NM = $135 (or 45%) WRONG!!
Ed's Grade to Price Scale
As a ratio to NM =$60-90 (or 20-30%!) CORRECT!
click for larger image
use this book as a sample: If a NM 9.4 is priced $300+/- and a VG 4.0 price would be $50; the plus+ (in this case, a very vivid cover) adds about $15 (or 5% of $300 NM price!); the book is valued at about $65. FN would be valued at $70-75, so this seems reasonable.
Ed's "Grade to Price" Chart
Use the "Crazy Ed" chart to minimize the discrepancy between grading %'s and pricing $$'s: Ed designed this chart in 1996 as a rule for grading/pricing. (Then, the Overstreet grading guide followed a 100 point scale). Ed continues to use the "scale of 100" because it is simple to convert a grade; 1st to percentages (%) and then, to Dollars ($$)!The notes in this chart (usually highlighted blue) if applied consistently as a tool, help value the "incremental" or "plus" features of a book, can help a collector "fine-tune" the price of a book that falls between grades "Good" and "Fine", and between "Fine" and "Very Fine" or better. Also read "How to Grade."