Condition - Glossary needed (1 Viewer)

[DerberAlter]

Hi guys,

there are some terms out there about the condition of chips:

• unused
• uncirculated
• perfect mint
• mint
• minty
• (chalky)
• near mint
• excellent
• good
• homegame used
• used
• casino used
• worn

I've missed maybe some. Is this the correct order? What the definition of mint?

Best regards,
Jonathan

 

[Trihonda]

Mint should mean all listed above it on your list. If it’s ever been used in a game, it’s not accurate to list it as mint.

The best description of condition is detailed photos.

 

[weak]

Mint is basically new/never saw a table (in my book).

Also take a look at http://www.ccgtcc.com/education/conditions.pdf

 

[DerberAlter]

Mint is basically new/never saw a table (in my book).

Als take a look at http://www.ccgtcc.com/education/conditions.pdf

thank you, this is what I needed!

 

[DerberAlter]

Mint should mean all listed above it on your list. If it’s ever been used in a game, it’s not accurate to list it as mint.

Even it was just a home game for a couple of hours?

 

[Trihonda]

Mint is basically new/never saw a table (in my book).

Als take a look at http://www.ccgtcc.com/education/conditions.pdf

Thanks for the link. But I think there’s a huge gap between New and Slightly Used. For instance I have a set of AS tourney chips that I received NEW and were put into play exactly one time. They look identical to the way they did upon unboxing, but I’d never sell them as MINT or NEW. One game did not wear these chips Whatsoever, but I’d more accurately describe them as “like New, put into play once” if I ever sold them ...

The link above goes from New to SN, which denotes some sign of wear.

Even it was just a home game for a couple of hours?

Yup

 

[weak]

I think there’s a huge gap between New and Slightly Used.

Agreed. It's just the only ressource describing different chip conditions I know. It would be great if there was a sticky thread with more fine grained levels which we could refer to.

 

[DerberAlter]

It would be great if there was a sticky thread with more fine grained levels which we could refer to.

Exactly. Would be helpful for both sellers and buyers of the classifieds

 

[Perthmike]

I personally don’t care what words people use to describe condition.

I’d rather just see some high quality pictures and judge whether I like them or not.

Descriptions of condition are just too subjective for my liking. I know we all collect chips, but for the most part it’s for use in home games, rather than traditional style collecting and leaving in sealed packaging.

If chipping ever gets like that im out lol.

 

[K ALL IN 9]

Also condition may be subjective for some. My chips may not be considered excellent but in my opinion they are in terms of handling, sound, and ease of shuffling

 

[BGinGA]

I think there’s a huge gap between New and Slightly Used.

Agree with ^this^ assessment.

Personally, I use the following:

• Mint condition (new, uncirculated)
• Near-mint condition (like-new condition, but have been briefly handled or used - no signs of use or damage)
• Excellent condition (very slight signs of use or wear)
• Very good condition (stand on edge, noticeable wear, possible slight nicks, chips, or slightly worn cross-hatching on some chips)
• Good condition (noticeable wear, some damage, rounded edges)
• Casino used condition (lots of wear and edge damage)
• Casino worn condition (poor shape, bicycle tires)

So my personal scale has two additional rankings between their grades of 'mint' and 'slightly used' ('very good condition', on my scale) -- 'near-mint condition' and 'excellent' condition.

 

[Trihonda]

I’d rather just see some high quality pictures and judge whether I like them or not.

Quality in the pictures matters greatly. Blurry or poor quality pictures won’t help an item sell. For instance, I snagged this knife on eBay many years back.. it’s a $200 knife, and I snagged it for $26 (shipped) because the seller’s photos were such poor quality, the knife actually looked as if it had a broken tip, lol... no one wanted to take the risk but me. It arrived in almost new condition with no signs of wear.

It’s slightly more worn now, as I’ve carried it around in my pocket for almost 20 years. .

But pictures can tell condition, so long as they are quality pics.

 

[DerberAlter]

Agree with ^this^ assessment.

Personally, I use the following:

• Mint condition (new, uncirculated)
• Near-mint condition (like-new condition, but have been briefly handled or used - no signs of use or damage)
• Excellent condition (very slight signs of use or wear)
• Very good condition (stand on edge, noticeable wear, possible slight nicks, chips, or slightly worn cross-hatching on some chips)
• Good condition (noticeable wear, some damage, rounded edges)
• Casino used condition (lots of wear and edge damage)
• Casino worn condition (poor shape, bicycle tires)

So my personal scale has two additional rankings between their grades of 'mint' and 'slightly used' ('very good condition', on my scale) -- 'near-mint condition' and 'excellent' condition.

bookmarked!

 

[DoubleEagle]

Agree with ^this^ assessment.

Personally, I use the following:

• Mint condition (new, uncirculated)
• Near-mint condition (like-new condition, but have been briefly handled or used - no signs of use or damage)
• Excellent condition (very slight signs of use or wear)
• Very good condition (stand on edge, noticeable wear, possible slight nicks, chips, or slightly worn cross-hatching on some chips)
• Good condition (noticeable wear, some damage, rounded edges)
• Casino used condition (lots of wear and edge damage)
• Casino worn condition (poor shape, bicycle tires)

So my personal scale has two additional rankings between their grades of 'mint' and 'slightly used' ('very good condition', on my scale) -- 'near-mint condition' and 'excellent' condition.

I would like to see the board adopt a rating scale similar to this so sellers can uniformly describe their chips and buyers can know exactly what they are getting. To me, the biggest area of confusion now is disparity in what "mint" means to different sellers.

Any way to adopt something like this with appropriate tweaks @Tommy ?

 

[Darson]

Agree with ^this^ assessment.

Personally, I use the following:

• Mint condition (new, uncirculated)
• Near-mint condition (like-new condition, but have been briefly handled or used - no signs of use or damage)
• Excellent condition (very slight signs of use or wear)
• Very good condition (stand on edge, noticeable wear, possible slight nicks, chips, or slightly worn cross-hatching on some chips)
• Good condition (noticeable wear, some damage, rounded edges)
• Casino used condition (lots of wear and edge damage)
• Casino worn condition (poor shape, bicycle tires)

So my personal scale has two additional rankings between their grades of 'mint' and 'slightly used' ('very good condition', on my scale) -- 'near-mint condition' and 'excellent' condition.

So I like the description of condition (in parentheses) as the definition of the term but I don't necessarily agree with the term itself. I guess this depends on your expectations - for example, in my parent's household, anything less than an A was bad.

I also have an issue with the mint/near mint differentiation. If the chips look like they're fresh from the factory, they're mint. If they've been taken out the box and put back in, then how can you tell if they still look like they're in the same condition? How many times would you have to take it out the box to go from mint to near mint is no visible wear takes place? The only differentiation would be if the manufacturer sealed the package (i.e. MISB - mint in sealed box). So for me, it would be MISB as the "new" and mint (like new but not sealed). If there are any signs of use/wear (i.e. not crisp sharp factory edges) then it's excellent for me.

So as an example, here are some potential definitions. I don't know nearly enough to make it definitive so it'll need some tweaking but as a start:

New	Still sealed in manufacturers packaging (factory shrink wrapped or sealed boxes)
Mint	Like-new condition - no signs of use or damage
Excellent	Very slight signs of use or wear such slight rounding of edges but no chips, nicks etc (i.e. chip has been used but not abused), molded features prominent, crosshatching clearly visible
Good	Noticeable wear but stands on edge, small number of nicks or chips on <50% of chips, cannot fit 21 chips in standard rack, molded features clearly identifiable
Fair	Noticeable wear, may not stand on edge, nicks or chips on most chips, can fit 21 chips in standard rack
Casino Used	Very noticeable wear, does not stand on edge, edge damage on majority of chips
Casino Worn	Large nicks, cuts, gouges, missing inlays

 

[BGinGA]

I also have an issue with the mint/near mint differentiation. If the chips look like they're fresh from the factory, they're mint.

New	Still sealed in manufacturers packaging (factory shrink wrapped or sealed boxes)	View attachment 249558
Mint	Like-new condition - no signs of use or damage	View attachment 249555

Not if they've been used. Mint is new / uncirculated / unplayed in every market and social setting where I've ever sold / bought / traded chips. In coin terms, it is the exact condition received from the mint that manufactured them.

"Mint" isn't "like new"..... it IS new. If it isn't brand-spankin' and unused new, it isn't mint. If it's been washed, oiled, shuffled, or used in play, it's not mint. If chips have been played (even if showing no signs of visible wear), then they are no longer mint (new / uncirculated / unplayed) but fall into the near-mint category -- regardless what they look like to the naked eye.

High-end clay and ceramic chip manufacturers don't seal chip boxes (and attempting to grade mid-range and cheaper chips is pointless, imo). I personally do not consider removing chips from a manufacturer's shipping box and storing them in a display rack as altering their "mint"/"new" condition.

 

[Darson]

Not if they've been used. Mint is new / uncirculated / unplayed in every market and social setting where I've ever sold / bought / traded chips. In coin terms, it is the exact condition received from the mint that manufactured them.

"Mint" isn't "like new"..... it IS new. If it isn't brand-spankin' and unused new, it isn't mint. If it's been washed, oiled, shuffled, or used in play, it's not mint. If chips have been played (even if showing no signs of visible wear), then they are no longer mint (new / uncirculated / unplayed) but fall into the near-mint category -- regardless what they look like to the naked eye.

High-end clay and ceramic chip manufacturers don't seal chip boxes (and attempting to grade mid-range and cheaper chips is pointless, imo). I personally do not consider removing chips from a manufacturer's shipping box and storing them in a display rack as altering their "mint"/"new" condition.

If Mint is new and near mint are visibly no different then why is there a differentiation? I think this is problematic because it relies on the seller knowing the provenance. I bet there are loads of "mint" chips that have passed through several hands yet were only mint once but are still advertised as mint (because they still look mint). I'll accept that "new" can't be proven because clay chip manufacturers don't seal boxes.

So perhaps the differentiation is:

• Mint: I bought it from the manufacturer and I am the first owner and they are in the same condition as received from the manufacturer.
• Near mint: I didn't buy if from the manufacturer but as far as I can tell, they are in the same condition as received from the manufacturer.

 

[BGinGA]

Depending on the manufacturer, it can sometimes be determined if they are unused or not (chalky factory dust finish, etc.). Also, if looked at closely enough (beyond the naked eye), one can usually tell if chips have been in play.

And some sets are actually sold as mint/near-mint, simply because some of the chips have been lightly used once, but not all.

Boils down to trusting your source to market and present fairly, and not press to squeeze every single last penny out of the sale.

 

[DerberAlter]

It seems, there are many (slightly) different opinions out there about condition terms.

 

[allforcharity]

Too many delineations and everything gets mixed up. This is why I (practically speaking) really use only 3 condition ranges:

Excellent (to Near Mint)
Good (to Very Good)
Fair

The only thing above Near Mint would be Mint, and there's no way I would ever get my hands on uncirculated, unhandled chips
The stuff below Fair would be serious bicycle tires or outright broken chips, which I would not prefer to try to sell (if I could help it)
The 'dirtiness' of the chip doesn't really affect the category, but I don't even know why you'd want to sort chips into quality categories if they weren't at least clean. I've been pleasantly surprised many times when mass cleaning revealed a chip that was in Excellent condition, but for the grime.

 

[FDLmold]

It seems, there are many (slightly) different opinions out there about condition terms.

there are. That is why words are pretty cheap and good photos are worth a million bucks.

 

[DerberAlter]

Agree with ^this^ assessment.

Personally, I use the following:

• Mint condition (new, uncirculated)
• Near-mint condition (like-new condition, but have been briefly handled or used - no signs of use or damage)
• Excellent condition (very slight signs of use or wear)
• Very good condition (stand on edge, noticeable wear, possible slight nicks, chips, or slightly worn cross-hatching on some chips)
• Good condition (noticeable wear, some damage, rounded edges)
• Casino used condition (lots of wear and edge damage)
• Casino worn condition (poor shape, bicycle tires)

So my personal scale has two additional rankings between their grades of 'mint' and 'slightly used' ('very good condition', on my scale) -- 'near-mint condition' and 'excellent' condition.

I used your assessments for my current classifieds. thank you again!

 

[big_alv77]

Agree with ^this^ assessment.

Personally, I use the following:

• Mint condition (new, uncirculated)
• Near-mint condition (like-new condition, but have been briefly handled or used - no signs of use or damage)
• Excellent condition (very slight signs of use or wear)
• Very good condition (stand on edge, noticeable wear, possible slight nicks, chips, or slightly worn cross-hatching on some chips)
• Good condition (noticeable wear, some damage, rounded edges)
• Casino used condition (lots of wear and edge damage)
• Casino worn condition (poor shape, bicycle tires)

So my personal scale has two additional rankings between their grades of 'mint' and 'slightly used' ('very good condition', on my scale) -- 'near-mint condition' and 'excellent' condition.

Thank you for this. I've been searching for a Chip Condition Scale and your breakdown is exactly what I'm looking for. Example pics, for each grade on the scale, would make this a goto reference guide for almost any new member, like myself. Much appreciated.

 

[TheBigTater]

there are. That is why words are pretty cheap and good photos are worth a million bucks.

^^^ This x 1000

Rating guidelines are always subjective and never the same no matter how much you want them to be. When you start using pricing/condition guides you end up with chips in slabs. For singles collectors that may be ok but most people here play with and handle their chips on a regular basis.

 

[allforcharity]

^^^ This x 1000

Rating guidelines are always subjective and never the same no matter how much you want them to be. When you start using pricing/condition guides you end up with chips in slabs. For singles collectors that may be ok but most people here play with and handle their chips on a regular basis.

This is why in my previous sale ads I took the time to describe exactly what I mean by fair, good, or excellent along with pics. Yes, it made the ad text longer than it could be, but better to be accurate than have a potentially pissed-off customer because you were on different sides of a few key adjectives.

 

[Thujone]

To be honest, I don't care how someone grades the item. I want pictures. If I don't like what I see, I ask for more pictures. If they don't live up to what I feel is a reasonable price then I negotiate or pass all together. I collect many things, chips, comics, tcg and more. This is a constant debate and gave rise to the grading companies who grade and seal the item. Cant very well play with chips that are sealed either...lol. In short call, call it gem mint uncirculated perfection radiating holy light if you want, I'll take pictures please.

 

[Colquhoun]

I collected vinyl LPs for years and have been selling them on eBay. With vinyl, the Goldmine grading system is used because a camera cannot accurately capture the true condition of the LP.
This is not the case with chips...a group of good photos is FAR superior than any description or grading system.

 

[Ben8257]

Just go a message from @HaRDHouSeiNC and he said "the empress $1s were "shot out of a cannon" I damn near pissed my pants laughing. Never heard that one... so I would like to submit "shot out of a cannon" by Eric to the bottom of the grading chart!

Seriously dying laughing... why didn't I think.of that one!

 

[HaRDHouSeiNC]

Just go a message from @HaRDHouSeiNC and he said "the empress $1s were "shot out of a cannon" I damn near pissed my pants laughing. Never heard that one... so I would like to submit "shot out of a cannon" by Eric to the bottom of the grading chart!

Seriously dying laughing... why didn't I think.of that one!

FIRED from cannon
correct
checks out