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When Is "Gem Mint" Not Gem Mint?
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21 posts in this topic

10 minutes ago, James J Johnson said:

Yes. Gem Mint vs. Mint is the difference between 9.9 and 10.0. Defect and perceived perfection, though nothing is truly perfect.

Don't apply CGC standards to raw comics.

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2 minutes ago, shadroch said:

Don't apply CGC standards to raw comics.

I'm not. I'm comparing 9.9 to 10.0. Technically speaking 10.0 is the absence of imperfection at some perceived level. 9.9 implies some type of imperfection preventing a 10.0 finding when viewed at the same level. Right?

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1 hour ago, James J Johnson said:

I'm not. I'm comparing 9.9 to 10.0. Technically speaking 10.0 is the absence of imperfection at some perceived level. 9.9 implies some type of imperfection preventing a 10.0 finding when viewed at the same level. Right?

You are correct, JJ. But to be honest, the difference between the two grades can be so miniscule that it usually boils down to something like a tiny bindery flaw or other extremely minor imperfection...  9_9

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2 hours ago, KirbyJack said:

Honestly, when I hear “gem mint”, I usually tune out. Like the word unique, mint doesn’t need a qualifier.

I hate that term for comics because I recall it as a come lately term that came over from baseball cards. Am I the only one (I need someone else who has been collecting since the 80's at least) who remembers that the term for a (allegedly) flawless comic was "pristine mint?" I first heard the term "gem mint" connected with baseball cards, in the same timeframe.

Too much info/background, depending on your perspective -- when I was in high school, a friend of mine and I (he was a card collector) ran a series of comic and card shows to further our collecting and fund our concert tickets. I remember both terms (in excessive overuse) from the dealers of both items, respectively. 

Anyone else recall the term "pristine mint" for a so-called flawless comic?

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6 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

You are correct, JJ. But to be honest, the difference between the two grades can be so miniscule that it usually boils down to something like a tiny bindery flaw or other extremely minor imperfection...  9_9

"eye tracks" as coinees have said for decades. The difference between 69 and 70. (thumbsu

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28 minutes ago, Readcomix said:

I hate that term for comics because I recall it as a come lately term that came over from baseball cards. Am I the only one (I need someone else who has been collecting since the 80's at least) who remembers that the term for a (allegedly) flawless comic was "pristine mint?" I first heard the term "gem mint" connected with baseball cards, in the same timeframe.

Too much info/background, depending on your perspective -- when I was in high school, a friend of mine and I (he was a card collector) ran a series of comic and card shows to further our collecting and fund our concert tickets. I remember both terms (in excessive overuse) from the dealers of both items, respectively. 

Anyone else recall the term "pristine mint" for a so-called flawless comic?

I remember. I’m right there with you, too. 

Bad memories of overuse / abuse of the terms has closed my mind to gem and pristine. My cross to bear.

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1 hour ago, KirbyJack said:

I remember. I’m right there with you, too. 

Bad memories of overuse / abuse of the terms has closed my mind to gem and pristine. My cross to bear.

Eureka! I was wondering if it was just a term bandied about by a few dealers in my area, but then I recalled I had a very old (#8 -- 1977) OSPG, and sure enough....

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

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9 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Pffft.

EVERYONE knows that "PLATINUM MINT" is where it's at...

You only get that with a 10.0 and a cva sticker. Not all 10.0s are created equal.:shy:

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9 hours ago, Readcomix said:

Eureka! I was wondering if it was just a term bandied about by a few dealers in my area, but then I recalled I had a very old (#8 -- 1977) OSPG, and sure enough....

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

What's funny is that, in 1978 when this was printed, the number of comics that would qualify under Bob's definition here were maybe...I dunno...500-1000 individual comic books total? From the hundreds of millions printed between 1933 and 1978....? If we take what's written here strictly literally, that is.

If that many. I think that's an extremely high estimate. There may have been, at that point, less than 100 such books in existence, even from among books that were being printed at the very same time.

Perfection's pretty hard to come by.

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12 hours ago, The Lions Den said:

You are correct, JJ. But to be honest, the difference between the two grades can be so miniscule that it usually boils down to something like a tiny bindery flaw or other extremely minor imperfection...  9_9

I feel like it's usually 'centering'. If a book is not 100% center, I feel like CGC would not give it a 10 Gem Mint grade. And I agree with that! So, those who see "no" flaws in a 9.8 may not be taking that centering into consideration.

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11 hours ago, TwoPiece said:

I feel like it's usually 'centering'. If a book is not 100% center, I feel like CGC would not give it a 10 Gem Mint grade. And I agree with that! So, those who see "no" flaws in a 9.8 may not be taking that centering into consideration.

I think you're 100% correct on this...  (thumbsu

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