How to Grade Comic Books By Condition
Grading a comic book is done to give a grade to the book. This helps to define the monetary value of the comic book. For example a mint which is the best quality of comic book condition might get you the price of 5 comic books which are of poor grade. Comic book grading can be done by professionals. There are certain companies that evaluate comic books by condition and give them the right grade. However, if you wish to get your comic books collection evaluated and want grades for each comic, then you can ask a company to do it for your collection. But, this might cost you much. So, why not grade comic books yourself?
How to Grade Comic Books By Condition?
The first thing you need to grade your comic books by condition, is to divide them. Divide your comic books and graphic novels according to their release date. Then make your own standard chart, where the grading system of comic books from poor to mint is mentioned. You can refer to many comic books grading guides online, to get an idea. Once you are done preparing your chart, you need to start the process of comic book grading. You can get stickers made of various grades, so you can stick them on the comic book.
To start checking the comic books by condition, you need to be observant and check for any minor flaws or deformities and other quality issues. So, check the comic book cover, back cover, spine, each comic book, printing quality, color quality, readability of each page, thickness of the page, also check for any dog ears, torn paper, stained paper, etc. Do a thorough job with each comic book to find the flaws and then use the appropriate grade sticker. Here are some comic book grading conventions used to grade comics, which you can use to make your comic book chart.
Grading Conventions
Poor: This means the book has major defects, like pages missing and lacks any collectors value. Poor is denoted by PR.
Fair: Fair means the book might be heavily used, but still is in a readable and enjoyable condition. It is denoted by FR.
Good: Good means the comic book is in a better condition than fair, as it has better color sketches. GD is used to denote good grade for comic books.
Very Good: This condition means the comic book is in a good condition, but has maybe a major crease or a spine roll. Very good is denoted by VG.
Fine: Fine grade means the comic is a well read copy, yet it is still desirable as it holds collectors value. This grade is denoted by FN.
Very Fine: This means that the comic book has been read couple of times, but still is maintained well, so has very less defects. It is denoted by VF.
Near Mint: This grade is used to describe comic books which are great copies and have great visual appeal too. For near mint NM is used as a symbol.
Mint: This means the comic book is in the best of condition. It is very rare to find an old comic book issue of this grade. These grade old comic books have a good monetary value. They are denoted by MT.
So, make sure you do an honest and thorough job to grade the comic books. If you wish to sell off your comic books, then consider selling them on internet and make sure you mention the grade on them.
