Pin Grading System
Pin Grading Policy
(Special thanks to TealTeaCup for letting me use their grading system)
It’s imporant for me to make the people who support my art happt, therefore I strive to provide the best quality possible pins. Enamel pins are handmade items that can contain minor flaws that can occur during the production process. No pin will be perfect and every pin maker's grading standard varies. Please read below for my grading standard.
A Grades/Standards
A grades are the best of the batch for the particular design. If there is a minor imperfection that is across more than 20% of the batch, that will be considered part of the standard grade for that design/batch. No major defects will be considered standard. A-grades may exhibit very minor imperfections that can be seen under close inspection.
- Stray glitter
- Wiggly posts
- Low-fill or very slight overfill of enamel in small areas
- Slightly misaligned screen printing
- Small traces of random debris (dust, fuzz, etc.)
- Small amount of tiny bubbles in enamel, glitter or epoxy coating
- Light scuffing, scratches, dents, enamel bleeding
- Slight discoloration and imperfections in/on the metal plating on the sides and /or back of the pin
- Minor enamel miscoloration
- Small areas of thickened Metal lines that reduces or removes visibility of small enamel fill spots from original design.
- ***Hard enamel pins with large areas of metal are more likely to have small scratches or scuffs that normally occur during the polishing process.
Noticeable minor defects, however, very close to being Standard grade pin.
- Moving posts
- Low-fill or overfill/spillover of enamel in large areas
- Chipped metal plating
- Discoloration or staining
- Missing enamel or plating
- Wrong enamel fill colors
- Large dents, divots, scratches
- Missing or badly printed screen printing
- Excessive bubbles, scratches, dents, divots
- Foreign materials embedded in enamel, glitter or epoxy
- Lightly discolored / tarnished plating
- Scratched or medium-largely misaligned screen printing
Very visible multiple minor and / or major defects. Perfect for those on a budget. In addition to defects mentioned above, C grades may also have...
- Missing posts
- Heavily Discolored / tarnished plating
- Other
