	Method of Manufacture		Condition Terms
	Dating		Glass Colors
	Grading Condition		Bottle Cleaning

Grading Condition

Mint Condition! Now there’s an overused term. It’s hard to imagine that in 75 years or more a bottle did not acquire some evidence of its use or abuse. The fact is that many bottles commonly referred to as “mint” have evidence of wear in the form of one or more tiny, light scratches that can be seen with the naked eye (particularly on the base.) And if you really want to explode the “mint condition” myth, take a close look at a “mint” example with a magnifying glass (guaranteed to ruin your day!) The fact is that “mint,” by many standards, has come to be used to describe any bottle free of chips, cracks, bruises and obvious scratches.

For our own grading purposes, we don’t use mint unless we can find no blemishes whatsoever with the naked eye, and let me assure you, such bottles are few and far between. In our terminology, bottles of exceptional quality are referred to as “near mint” and then any blemishes visible with the naked eye are noted. When listing several tiny blemishes for total accuracy some bottles begin to sound like they have “problems,” when in fact they would still be considered by many to be “mint.” That is why customers often remark in our feedback “better than described.” When grading dozens of bottles a week there are bound to be an occasional blemish overlooked and this is why we offer a liberal return policy, which includes refund of return shipping cost if an item is found to not meet the description (see our full return policy here.)

We also make sure to note any manufacturing defects that may detract from, or sometimes add too, the display quality of the bottle. Anneal lines, open surface bubbles, potstones and any other irregularities (see Condition Terms) are mentioned when they affect the display quality, either positively or negatively, of a piece.

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