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About This Site

Although there is no official or even generally accepted grading scale in pendom, there are at least some points upon which most agree. The scale below is similar to that used by many first line vintage dealers and pen repairers, such as Richard Binder, David Nishimura or Battersea Pen Home. We've done the best I can to represent each accurately and consistently with this scale. If you buy a pen from me, I hope you enjoy!

Grades:

Mint: Unused, as new from the manufacturer, though may be from a private collection. Neither dipped nor filled.*
Near Mint: May have been used, including dipped or filled. No appreciable wear.
Excellent: Lightly used, minimal wear, minimal brassing of plated metal parts.
Very Good: Used with care, shows signs of light wear or brassing. Imprints, if present, are strong and readable. No dings or scratches.
Good: Easily noticeable but light wear and / or brassing. Imprints may be weak, but readable. Light dings or scratches.
Fair: Working but worn, brassed and / or deeply scratched. Dings and / or cracks may be present. Imprints may not be readable or are worn / buffed out.

Other Important Terms:

New Old Stock (NOS): An unsold pen from manufacturer or dealer stock. May have been displayed and may show some shopwear. Unused as mint. Not dipped or filled. May or may not come with box and papers.
Discoloration: Many pens were made from early plastics that change color over time, due to contact with leaked ink, or contact with early ink sacs. Discoloration is a separate item from grading, but affects price in most cases. Any discoloration will be noted.
Engraving: Many vintage pens had space set aside on the body or cap for engraving (indicia) and some are very handsomely engraved. Engraving may or may not affect the value of a pen, and some collectors find engraving an interesting touch. Removed engraving, unless done extremely well, generally detracts from the value of the pen, in some cases looks bad no matter how carefully done, and is almost always detectable. Remove engravings at your peril!

* Note: Some manufacturers test their pens prior to shipment, so there may be ink residue from dipping, even though the pen may have been washed or flushed. As such, evidence of small amounts of ink residue do not necessarily make a pen less than mint.