A guide to Grading License Plates

COLLECTORS' GUIDE TO GRADING LICENSE PLATES

Like any other collectible, license plates have a grading system. We emphasize that the following is a guide since there will always be differences in opinion, both experts and novices alike. It is generally better to grade conservatively to avoid disputes.

Painted	Reflective	Description
		Mint (m) A plate just as it was made, without any blemishes. Generally unused or unissued.
		Excellent (ex) No faults except minor wear, usually around the bolt holes. Generally the best possible grade for a used/issued plate.
		Very Good (vg) Some minor scratches or wear evident but the colors are still sharp. tin: minor rust spots around edges. reflectorized: minor corrosion around bolt holes. Stickers should be intact.
		Good (g) Satisfactory, but has a flaw of some sort. May have minor bends, scratches somewhat faded colors. Still a decent plate. tin: rust more evident. refl: minor hairline scotchlite cracking or noticeable corrosion around bolt holes. Stickers may show some damage.
		Fair Sub-standard. Often bent / scratched, or badly faded, sometimes metal cracking. Original colors may not be obvious. tin: About 25 - 50% original paint left with more rust usually on the older ones. refl: Shows severe scotchlite cracking or significant corrosion/discoloration under the scotchlite. Stickers often damaged.
		Poor (p) Space filler. Usually really bent, chewed-up or corners/pieces missing. Lots of rust. Looks like roadkill.
		Repainted tin: Little or no original paint, but plate should look close to original. The quality of the repaint should be stated. refl: generally not applicable.
		Needs Repainting tin: A restorable plate which usually has little or no paint at all. Usually only applies to old plates. Flat, solid with no noticable bends or tears or extra holes. These plates in general are about as desirable as those in fair condition. refl: Not applicable.
		Touched up tin: Generally less than 25% of plate has been repainted. Usually as desirable as a plate in good condition. refl: Generally does not apply. Numbers, if originally painted, could be touched up.
Additonal terms. These should be stated in addition to the aforementioned grade. In other words, the license plate should be graded as if these flaws weren't present. Then these flaws are listed after the grade. The same goes for major scratches and dents or anything else out of the ordinary.		Extra Hole (xh) Nail Hole (nh) Torn Bolt Hole (tbh)

In-between grades are possible. i.e. g-vg, f-g etc. Sometimes these are indicated by fg, gvg, g+, vg- etc...
With grading being so subjective, you are bound to get differences in opinion. Here are two others for comparison, in case you are shopping for plates elsewhere.

PL8S (with pictures)
The ALPCA Grading standards

With deals in bulk plates (i.e. many plates of the same kind, usually recent graphic plates) one occasionally runs into the terms 'A', 'B' and 'C' grade. This is explained below. Click on the plates to get a better look.

	A Grade vg-ex average grade. Most plates should be excellent, with the odd vg mixed in. Nice clean stock, stickers intact, no damage beyond marking around bolt-holes. Usually expected, and available for the most common recent plates.
	B Grade g-vg average grade. Plates are still respectible, but show some sort of flaw. Stickers may be damaged, light scuffing on numbers, minor scrapes bends etc. Not junk, but obviously not top grade material either. The less common plates often trade in 'B' grade bulk.
	C Grade f-g average grade. Plates show significant flaws. Usually major scrapes, scuffing dents and bends and stickers often damaged. Only a step above roadkill. Material not quite bad enough to throw away but pretty close. Only hard to get plates are worth dealing with in 'C' grade builk.