Pin Grading and Quality System

All of my pins are polished and filled by hand, and so naturally, not all pins will look perfect or exactly the same! I individually inspect each pin before packaging it, and then categorize it using the grading scale found below.

 

▪ STANDARD A-GRADE ▪ PERFECT or NEAR PERFECT ▪

Standard pins or A – Grade pins may have 1 or more minor flaws that are only seen under intense scrutiny.

Standard pins are of the highest quality. However, we refrain from calling them “perfect”, as “perfect” is subjective for hand-filled and polished pins. They may still be susceptible to very minor imperfections that are only visible upon extremely close-up inspection and/or when light hits the pin at a specific angle.

Examples of potential Standard Grade imperfections:

  • Very faint, minor surface scuffs on metal/enamel
  • Miniscule pores or bubbles in enamel
  • Slightly lower fills in minor areas

 

▪ B-GRADE ▪ SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT ▪

B-Grade pins are a slight step down from Standard quality-wise, and may have one or more noticeable imperfections. Most errors found on B-Grade pins would not bother the casual collector, but if you are pickier about quality, we recommend you purchase a Standard Grade. These pins are especially great if you plan on wearing them on a bag/hat/etc., but still want good quality! Because of their imperfections, B-Grade pins are priced at a slight discount.

Examples of B-Grade Imperfections:

  • Slight oxidization of the metal
  • More noticeable surface scratches or scuffs on -metal/enamel
  • Low fills in minor or average areas
  • Small unfilled areas (only applicable to pins with very tiny details)
  • Posts with a tiny bit of wiggle

 

▪ SECONDS GRADE PINS ▪

These are essentially the oopsie-daisy pins of the batch. They have noticeable flaws that tend to stick out no matter what lighting or angle the pin is viewed from. The defects in Seconds are random, with some being more noticeable than others. Seconds pins are majorly discounted (up to 50% off).

Examples of Seconds Grade Imperfections:

  • Leaked/overflowed enamel
  • Medium to large unfilled areas
  • Plating errors
  • Heavy oxidization of the metal
  • Noticeable/deep scratches on metal/enamel
  • Low fills in larger or visually important areas
  • Loose posts/backings