Tear on Back Cover Effect on Comic Grade
In this part two of four in the Grader's Notes Article Series, we will explore High Grade Comic books and the grader's notes from CBCS for those books. Understandably, a high grade book is the most desirable book for any collector. When you are searching for a comic book, you need to know how to spot a High Grade book. Consequently, in order to spot a high grade, you need to know what flaws affect the grade, which flaws are allowed, and which flaws will adversely affect the grade.
Part 1 of this series focused on the restorations and the different types of restoration that can be done to a comic book, how to handle comics, and the tools needed to inspect your comic books. If you have not read the first part of the series, it is available at: http://comicbookinvest.com/2016/05/19/comic-book-grading-restoration/
Grading is subjective and this article will describe my grading strategies and guidelines. Remember that no one truly understands what happens behind the closed doors of a grading company. Every collector should also own and read a copy of Overstreet's Grading Guide. This is the standard of strict grading.
This article is NOT meant to be the definitive guide on grading. However, it is designed to help you estimate what grade your may receive from a grading company should you decide to submit. Remember, grading is subjective ; how I grade may not be how other people grade.
High Grade Comic Books
I understand that different people have different definitions of what a high grade book is, so for the purposes of this article, high grades will mean grades between 9.2 and 10. Books in these conditions can demand a high premium and are some of the most desirable books for collectors to own.
Grading Scale For Higher Grade Books is as follows:
| 10.0 | Gem Mint |
| 9.9 | Mint |
| 9.8 | Near Mint/Mint |
| 9.6 | Near Mint + |
| 9.4 | Near Mint |
| 9.2 | Near Mint – |
Definitions
Before we go over grading a book, there are a few definitions that you will need to know as they are typically mentioned when describing the grading process. There are many more terms that relate to the grading process; however, these are the ones that are seen the most in different grader's notes reviewed for this article.
Abrasion: marks that are due to rubbing.
Bindery/Printing Defects: Various defects caused during the manufacturing of the comic.
Corner Crunch: Type of dent located on one of the corners of a book.
Crease/Creasing: Permanent folding, resulting in a visible line on the comic itself. Creases can appear on any part of the book.
Color Rub: An abrasion that has rubbed off part of the book's gloss and color.
Dent: Damage that occurs to a book when sharp pressure is exerted.
Fold/Folding: Is a crease that does not break the color.
Foxing: An age-related process of deterioration that causes spots and browning on old paper. The spots look like a fox's tail.
Miswrap/Off-set/Off-center: This is a binding defect where the cover wraps around to the other side beyond the normal "spine line". Part of the front cover may show on the back or vice versa.
Spine Roll: A condition where the left edge of the comic book curls toward the front or back.
Spine Split: A separation of the covers anywhere along the spine fold.
Spine Wear: Creasing or other damage on the spine (left side) of the comic usually from opening the comic.
Tick: A small color break usually located on the spine by the staples typically due from stress that is placed on the book when opening.
Inspecting Your Book
Part one of this series discussed how to handle your books when looking for restorations. Most of the instructions were pretty common knowledge to the veteran collector. The same techniques apply when you are inspecting your books for a grade. I suggest checking for restorations and grading the book simultaneously.
To grade your book, always go from the inside out, page by page, carefully examining each page. On each page, go from top to bottom and count the defects that appear and list them out on a piece of paper. If a page is folded, has a color breaking crease, a stain, spine wear, or any other defect, write it down.
Be sure to measure the defects as well. If a book has a color breaking crease, document how large the crease is and where it is located. If the book has stains somewhere on the book, measure the diameter of the stain, where it is located, and the total number of occurrences. Do this process for all the defects and flaws that you encounter.
Some defects are hard to see with the naked eye so be sure to use your tools: a magnifying glass, black light, and/or a light box. Make sure that you have ample light in the room that you are inspecting the book in – this will aid in detecting additional defects.
When you are finished inspecting the book and documenting all the flaws that you find, total up the number of defects. Use these as your grader's notes. The number of flaws and the size of the flaws will determine the grade of the book.
Paper Color & Grades
Paper color will have a slight effect on most high grades. The lower the book is on the OWL color chart, the lower the grade will be. To determine the color of a book's pages, hold the OWL card beside the pages in question and simply select the color on the card that is the closest to the color of the book's interior pages. There are many collectors that believe that an OWL card is outdated and it does not contain all the possible colors. It is still a great tool to estimate the color of the pages.
It is not known the exact effect that the color of the paper has on a book's grade. Below is a table of abbreviated colors and the grades that have been observed on graded books.
| White | 10 to 0.5 |
| Off-White to White | 9.9 to 0.5 |
| Off-White | 9.8 to .05 |
| Cream | 9.6 to 0.5 |
| Tan | 8.0 to .05 |
| Brittle | 5.0 to 0.5 |
Note: The lower the paper grade is, the less flaws or other defects that the book can have to receive a grade on the higher end of the spectrum. For example: a book with Off-White pages may have two defects and may receive a 9.4; a book with White pages may have four to six defects and may receive the same grade.
Near Mint / Mint Characteristics
Books that are considered Near Mint to Mint (9.2 – 10) all have similar characteristics. The books will all lay flat, have sharp corners, and rich colors. Unless the book is a Gem Mint or Mint, they may have a few flaws. The flaws may be small spine ticks, tiny bends on the corner, or other signs of spine wear. Overall, the books will look like they are fresh off the presses.
The higher the grade, the less noticeable the defects are. Grading is subjective and what one grader notices, another grader may overlook. Some of the defects are so small that they are not even noticeable with the naked eye. But those defects can drop the grade from 10 to 9.9. It is almost impossible to tell a mint book from a gem mint book.
Comic books are fragile in nature and often when vendors place their books on the shelves, they will damage them. When purchasing books off the shelf, make sure to exam them for any potential flaws that may drop the grade of the book and purchase only the best copies that you can find.
Gem Mint (10)
The definition of a Gem Mint book is one that has absolutely no flaws. This is an impossible grade to get for older books and is rarely given out to modern books. This grade is rarely seen in real life. A gem mint book will look like it just came off of the press and has never been opened. Golden or Silver age books will generally not receive this grade.
The reason that this is impossible for older books is that comics were originally not intended to be collected. They were children's books that were meant to be read and then discarded. The printing presses at the time were crude, the paper was sub-par, and the binding machines were not accurate. These faults make it almost impossible for golden age and silver age books to receive a Gem Mint grade.
A Gem Mint book will have no stress marks, no creases, and no folds anywhere on the book. The colors will be rich and not have faded. Realistically, this is an impossible grade to get. However, there are examples of a few books receiving this grade. Simply inspecting a book by opening it should drop the grade of the book by at least .1 of a point. Gem Mint books are out there and do appear on the CGC census.
Mint (9.9)
This is another example of a grade that is rarely given for older books. A mint book will have perfect corners, the spine will be immaculate, and the edges will be sharp. A Mint book will have zero noticeable defects.
The differences between a Gem Mint and Mint are minuscule. A 9.9 may have some defect that is not noticeable to the naked eye and will only appear when magnified. Both a Gem Mint and Mint book will lay flat, have a perfect spine, be correctly centered, and have razor sharp corners and edges.
Grading is subjective and as such, one grader may not notice a flaw that another grader does. It's possible that a book graded at 9.9 from one grader would come back as a 10 from another grader. It is also possible that the 9.9 book could come back as a lower grade if resubmitted.
Near Mint / Mint To Near Mint – Characteristics
Near Mint / Mint (9.8)
CGC 9.8
A Near Mint / Mint book is an almost perfect book. It may have a few small defects that keep it from being a Mint book. A Near Mint / Mint book will always lay flat, not have a spine roll, and the pages are typically white. To the uneducated grader, this book will look mint and the defects will be small and may require a magnifying glass to see.
A Near Mint / Mint book is allowed a few flaws or defects. However, there should be no more than a total of 3 tiny defects on the book to qualify for this grade. Acceptable flaws include, but are not limited to: slight spine wear that barely breaks color, a tiny bend on a corner of the cover, tiny wear on the front cover, tiny wear on the top or bottom of the spine, tiny color breaks on the spine, some staple wear. None of the color breaks should be larger than 1/16 of an inch.
Many modern books will get a 9.8 grade. Once again though, older books have trouble getting this grade. Near Mint / Mint books are one of the most sought after books and can sell for a much higher price point than even a 9.6.
Below is a list of defects that were found in grader's notes of 16 books graded by CBCS as 9.8. All the graded books reviewed had white pages and no more than 3 defects.
9.8 Near Mint / Mint: Acceptable Defects – Average Number of Defects: 2
| slight spine wear barely breaks color |
| tiny bend top right corner front cover |
| tiny wear top front cover on spine |
| tiny wear top & bottom spine |
| tiny spine wear breaks color |
| very minor tiny spine wear |
| tiny wear top and bottom spine |
| tiny spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny wear bottom corners |
| tiny spine stress breaks color front cover |
| few tiny spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny wear at staples |
| tiny spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny wear spine corners |
| tiny spine wear breaks color |
| indent top edge front cover does not break color |
| minor spine stress barely breaks color |
| light bend back cover spine |
| light spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny wear spine corners |
| small bend right edge middle front cover |
| 1 tiny spine stress barely breaks color |
| very minor miswrap |
| light color rub by bottom staple |
| tiny wear top spine |
Near Mint (9.2 – 9.6 range)
Common Defects Allowed In Near Mint Category
Some defects or flaws are allowed in the Near Mint category. All books graded in this category must have sharp corners, bright colors, and nice edges.
Below is a set of guidelines that you can use to help you judge the different grades based on the number and type of defects. These guidelines are meant to help you estimate the grade of your book but not guarantee a grade.
All the books that are 9.2 to 9.6 are allowed to have spine ticks. However, the ticks must be less than 1/8″ in size. A 9.6 should not have any ticks greater than 1/16″. If there is a ¼ of an inch tick on the spine, more likely than not, the book will not be in Near Mint condition. Remember, the number of ticks affects the overall grade.
If you have more than six defects, such as small ticks on the spine of the book, if the pages are folded, or if there are any large stains on the book, it will also more than likely not fit into the Near Mint category.
Below is a table of allowable defects or flaws in each grade. These are not written in stone but are sufficient guidelines to consider.
CBCS vs Overstreet
| Grade | Number Defects Allowed | OSGG Defects Allowed | Allowable Defects |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6 | 3 | 3 | Spine Ticks that measure 1/16 of an inch or less and small breaks in color, small corner wear, light rubbing, small stain, minor bends, or slight miswrap. No defect should be larger than 1/8th of an inch. |
| 9.4 | 5 | 3 | Spine Ticks that measure 1/8th of an inch or less and small breaks color, small corner wear, light rubbing, small stain, minor bends, or slight miswrap. One defect can be a Color Breaking Crease that is 1/2 inch or smaller or up to a 2 inch crease or fold that breaks color less than 1/2 inch, with 0 other flaws. |
| 9.2 | 6 | 4 | Spine ticks that measure 1/8th of an inch or less and breaks color and small breaks in color, small corner wear, light rubbing, small stain, minor bends, or slight miswrap. |
***There are exceptions to every rule and these are guidelines you can use. Remember that the Size of the defects matter. The number of defects allowed are based on the total number of defects that were found in the different grader's notes from CBCS, these were not as strict as Over Street grading guide***
9.6 Near Mint +
Below is a list of defects that were found in grader's notes of 20 books graded by CBCS as 9.6. All the graded books in the sample had white pages. Books in the 9.6 category will lay flat, have rich colors, and have sharp edges. Books in this grade level may have small spine wear, light bends, and tiny stains.
9.6 Near Mint: Acceptable Defects – Average Number of Defects: 3
| light color rubbing to front cover |
| tiny spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny corner wear |
| light spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny wear spine corners |
| few tiny indents front cover |
| small stain in logo |
| few light spine stress barely breaks color |
| few tiny foxing front & back cover |
| minor bend top right corner front cover |
| few spine stress does not break color |
| tiny wear top & bottom spine |
| minor wear top edge front cover |
| slight cover miswrap |
| slight cover miswrap |
| tiny wear to corners |
| spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny wear to corners |
| few light spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny wear spine corners |
| tiny wear to spine corners |
| light wear bottom front cover edge |
| light bends right front cover edge |
| slight cover miswrap |
| light spine bend |
| tiny wear top & bottom spine |
| tiny edge crease right front cover barely breaks color |
| light color rubs right front cover |
| tiny spine stress barely breaks color |
| few color rubs to front cover |
| tiny spine stress breaks color |
| slight miswrap |
| tiny spine stress breaks color |
| tiny color rub spots back cover spine |
| spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny tears back cover at bottom staple |
| light color rubbing to cover |
| 1 spine stress middle spine breaks color |
| tiny corner wear |
| few light color rubs to cover |
9.4 Near Mint
CBCS 9.4
Below is a list of defects that were found in grader's notes of 20 books graded by CBCS as 9.4. All the graded books in the sample had white pages. Books in the (9.4) category will lay flat, have rich colors, and sharp edges. Books that grade as a (9.4) may have tiny stains, small spine wear, light bends, and small creases. The difference between a (9.6) book and a (9.4) is the number of flaws or defects that are allowed. The average number of defects on the (9.6) books reviewed was three, while the average number of defects on the (9.4) books reviewed was five. The size of the defects are also allowed to be larger on a (9.4) book. For example – it is acceptable to have a two inch crease on a (9.4) book that barely breaks color. However, this is not allowable on a (9.6).
9.4 Near Mint: Acceptable Defects – Average Number of Defects: 5
| tiny bend through book top right with ¼" crease back cover |
| very light rubbing on staples front cover |
| very light sunshadow left edge back cover |
| tiny wear bottom right corner front cover |
| tiny spine wear & stress barely breaks color |
| light bend right edge front cover |
| tiny crease top left back cover does not break color |
| tiny tear top right corner back cover |
| very tiny crease bottom right corner barely breaks color |
| wear top and bottom spine |
| spine stress barely breaks color |
| slight sun shadow back cover |
| minor bend top right corner does not break color |
| spine stress breaks color |
| wear bottom edge front cover |
| tiny production chip top left corner back cover |
| tiny wear top and bottom spine |
| very slight sun shadow back cover |
| mis-cut |
| very tiny crease top right corner front cover breaks color |
| wear top and bottom spine |
| light bend bottom right corner front cover does not break color |
| rubbing on spine back cover |
| light tanning top corners interior front & back cover |
| tiny light creases bottom edge front cover does not break color |
| tiny wear top and bottom spine |
| light bend top edge front cover does not break color |
| tiny spine stress breaks color |
| light surface wear bottom right front cover |
| minor spine stress barely breaks color |
| very small crease top right corner front cover barely breaks color |
| wear top and bottom spine |
| tiny wear top and bottom spine |
| light bend top right corner front cover does not break color |
| minor wear bottom left corner front cover |
| small crease top edge front cover breaks color |
| tiny crease bottom right corner front cover |
| tiny wear top and bottom spine |
| tiny wear bottom right corner front cover |
| minor spine stress barely breaks color |
| light impact bend top spine back cover does not break color |
| tiny spine stress barely breaks color |
| wear top and bottom spine |
| tiny wear top edge back cover |
| tiny crease bottom right corner front cover |
| minor soiling back cover |
| minor wear top right corner front cover |
| tiny wear top edge back cover |
| tiny wear top edge back cover |
| tiny chip bottom left corner back cover |
| spine stress barely breaks color |
| wear top and bottom spine |
| tiny tear bottom edge back cover |
| tiny wear top and bottom spine |
| very tiny crease bottom left corner back cover |
| very tiny crease bottom edge back cover |
| very small crease top edge back cover |
| slight miswrap |
| 2″ crease & tiny tears top edge back cover barely breaks color |
| tiny crease & wear top left corner back cover |
| light wear & bends top edge back cover barely breaks color |
| tiny wear bottom left corner back cover |
| tiny spine wear & stress barely breaks color |
| tiny spine wear & stress barely breaks color |
| tiny crease & wear bottom left corner back cover |
| light bends & tiny wear top edge back cover |
| tiny wear top edge front cover |
| very light rubbing on spine back cover |
| small scuffs & tiny bends left edge back cover |
| wear top & bottom spine |
| light wear top & right edge front cover |
| spine wear & stress barely breaks color |
| tiny scufff bottom right corner back cover |
| very light soiling back cover |
| tiny tear & wear right corner front cover |
| light rubbing & color transfer on spine back cover |
| spine wear & stress barely breaks color |
| tiny tears at top staple |
| tiny scuff left edge back cover |
| tiny wear bottom spine |
| light wear right corners front cover |
| few very light vertical roller marks back cover |
| small tear bottom spine |
| tiny tear top edge front cover |
| very small wear bottom right corner front cover barely breaks color |
| tiny wear top & bottom spine |
| few tiny spine stress barely breaks color |
| tiny wear top edge & top right corner front cover barely breaks color |
| tiny wear top & bottom spine |
| small light crease above CCA seal front cover barely breaks color |
| very light production wear above Spidey's arm front cover barely breaks color |
| few tiny spine stress barely breaks color |
| very tiny crease top right corner barely breaks color |
9.2 Near Mint –
CGC 9.2
Below is a list of defects that were found in grader's notes of 20 books graded by CBCS as 9.2. Almost all the graded books that we reviewed had white pages. The books that did not have white pages had "Off White / White" pages. However, they had fewer defects than books with White Pages, indicating that Off White pages are acceptable as long as they have fewer defects.
9.2 books will lay flat, have rich colors, and have sharp edges. Books that grade as a 9.2 may have tiny stains, small spine wear, light bends, small chips, some page tears, small amounts of foxing, and small creases. The difference between a 9.4 book and a 9.2 is the number of flaws or defects allowed.
The average number of defects on a 9.4 book is five, while the average number of defects on a 9.2 book is six. The sizes of acceptable defects are also greater on 9.2 books. For example, it is acceptable to have small tears or chips on a 9.2 books, but not on a 9.4.
9.2 Near Mint – : Acceptable Defects – Average Number of Defects: 6
| bend / crease top spine back cover |
| 1″ bend on Storm does not break color |
| tiny wear right front cover edges |
| spine stress, some barely breaks color |
| few tiny production tears top & bottom front cover |
| small production tear top right corner front cover |
| few tiny production tears top front cover |
| tiny production chip top right corner front cover |
| tiny production tear top left & bottom left corners back cover |
| tiny production chip top right corner front cover |
| tiny production tears top & bottom front cover |
| very tiny production tear top left back cover |
| tiny production chip top right & bottom right corners front cover |
| tiny production tears top front cover |
| tiny production chip top right corner front cover |
| few tiny production tears top front cover |
| very tiny production tear top left corner back cover |
| very tiny thin bend top edge back cover |
| tiny production tears top front cover |
| tiny production tear top left corner back cover |
| very tiny production chip bottom right corner front cover |
| tiny production tear top right corner front cover |
| very tiny production tear top left & bottom left corner back cover |
| tiny production chip top left corner front cover |
| tiny production tears top front cover |
| tiny production tear top left & bottom left corner back cover |
| tiny production tears top & bottom front cover |
| tiny production chip top right corner front cover |
| light tiny production tears top & bottom front |
| very tiny production tear top left & bottom left corners back cover |
| tiny production chip top right corner front cover |
| light 2/3″ corner crease top left back cover does not break color |
| tiny edge & corner wear |
| Off white / White pages |
| small amount of color lift front cover |
| small amount of foxing along spine |
| spine stress breaks color 1st cover. |
| light edge crease top back cover does not break color |
| tiny edge & corner wear |
| spine stress breaks color |
| light crease top right back cover, does not break color |
| distro ink along top of book |
| few small foxing spots to interior cover & bottom front cover |
| light staple indent to back cover spine |
| small creases top left front cover, breaks color |
| light corner wear |
| light spine stress barely breaks color |
| Off-White / white pages |
| small crease middle right front cover, breaks color |
| small stain & tiny wear bottom left front cover, |
| light spine edge & corner wear, breaks color |
| tiny wear at staples front cover |
| tiny spine stress breaks color |
| few bends & tiny indents front & back cover, does not break color |
| small stain left back cover edge |
| tiny wear top & bottom spine |
| small bend top edge back cover |
| long light bend bottom left edge back cover |
Remember
Books that are considered Near Mint to Mint (9.2 – 10) all have similar characteristics. The books will all lay flat, have sharp corners, and rich colors. Unless the book is a Gem Mint or Mint, they may have a few flaws. The flaws may be small spine ticks, tiny bends on the corner, or other signs of spine wear.
There are so many factors in grading a book that I could not possibly fit them all into this article. This article is meant to help educate readers on what defects are acceptable at different high grades.
For more information on grading, I suggest that you read Overstreet's Grading Guide. It is the standard for estimating the grade of your book and goes into much more detail as to what's acceptable or not at different grade points. Grading is subjective.
If you have any tips or tricks for grading book in high grades or if you have some guidelines that you follow to spot a high grade book, please comment below. Thanks to the Forgotten 5 Comics for some sample pictures. Special thanks to Dr. Ricardo Lumbreras for editing and suggestions!
Tear on Back Cover Effect on Comic Grade
Source: https://comicbookinvest.com/2016/05/27/high-grade-comic-books/
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