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Pen
Grading
| New Old Stock | An unused pen asserted to have been never sold. Uncertainty exists as to confirming how the unsold status possibly could be confirmed. | |
| Mint |
Pen never met ink. Unused. | |
| Near Mint |
Pen has been inked. Otherwise superb. Expect sharp imprints, unbrassed trim | |
| Excellent | Minimal wear. Trace high point brass IS allowed (eg. the clip ball of a Parker Duofold). Imprints sharp. Threads intact and functioning | |
| Extra fine | A gray zone grade offered as a concession to pens a nominal flaw away from Excellent. One feature is off. Imprint weak or a bit more brassing than is conveyed by Excellent. Consider Extra-Fine to mean "Pen is Excellent except for X", with X representing one weaker detail | |
| Fine | Still a nice pen. Moderate brassing, weaker imprint, more wear to plastic (light teethmarks) etc all can be in play. Pen still is clean and presentable. | |
| Very Good | The slippery slope continues. Light imprint, heavier brassing, stress lines (but not hairlines or cracks) to cap-lip, etc. | |
| Good | Bad. | |
| User Grade | User grade pens have a large flaw that is of great significance to value, independent of other grading features. Most commonly, user grade will reference a Hairline cap crack, barrel crack, bad cosmetic flaw, etc. Note that the flaw will be described, and the overall grade will be provided independent of the flaw that renders the pen USER GRADE. | |
These grading standards
and their descriptions were developed by David Isaacson, and
were
lifted wholesale from his website with his permission.