Complete Guide to How Vintage Movie Posters Are Graded
Find out more about how are vintage movie posters graded? This article offers a complete guide to vintage movie poster collecting.
The average condition of any collectable item is crucial and substantially affects the overall value. Nowhere is this factor more true than in the world of vintage film posters.
The movie poster grading system is a confusing process, and it is unregulated. Unlike other collectable items like baseball cards, comic books or old coins, there is no universal grading service or scale accepted by the masses. The dealers in the film poster collecting niche can grade pretty subjectively.
As the production companies used posters for promotional advertising material, grades are given based on numerous factors, such as the older the movie or, the rarer the piece, often the higher grading. However, the condition is usually the most important factor when examining the movie art to decipher its final grade.
Minor flaws commonly found include creases, wrinkles, tears, numerous pinholes, stains, ageing or colour fading, writing, tape marks, etc.
Collectors work tirelessly to remove as much subjectivity as possible from the grading process, even though many dealers are bound to have differing opinions on different vintage or classic film posters.
Auction houses often use a scale created by Jon Warren, author of Warren's Movie Poster Price Guide. The grading system scale is purely intended as a guideline; however, it is generally agreed with 99% of the time. It is recognised as a truly excellent tool for reference when evaluating movie posters for collectors.
GRADE DESCRIPTION
C10 MINT CONDITION. (M)
C10 Mint Condition is a scarce grade usually saved for more recent or "new" items. Many items in this grade are in perfect condition or the same condition that it looks to have been when the company made it. Many things don't receive this grading unless it is absolutely perfect.
The item practically has to appear untouched or with no perceptible flaws other than incredibly minor flaws that could've occurred, perhaps during the posters printing process. The acceptable minor printing flaw may be in the registration or alignment in colours that appear only slightly offset. It cannot be so visually obvious; otherwise, it can reduce the grade to a C9.
The folding/trimming process should not result in any damage to the film poster. Folded lines may occur in the folding machine. If the folding machine causes a faint white line, the grade will drop. In the C10 grade, no major fraying or dents are allowed.
C9 NEAR MINT CONDITION. (NM)
90% OF C10.
In this grade, the posters must be in pretty much "never-used" condition and carefully preserved after its promotional use in theatres. The flaws that are not acceptable in the level of grade are:
- Tape stains or tape residue
- Creases or wrinkles
- Minor fading or foxing
- Small tears, pinholes or staple marks/dents
- Border chips
- Soiling from mildew or dust
- Small pieces of paper loss
- Censor stamp/sticker
- Paint staining
- Any marker or biro writing
- Dampness staining
C8 Excellent Condition. (EX)
80% OF C10.
C8 is also referred to as Condition A or very fine. Items, similarly to C9, must be in "never-used" condition or only used in theatres to promote the movie. The vintage posters may be carefully preserved, and it doesn't have to be perfect but still of high quality. The sign should be bright, supple and very clean and clear. Some of the following flaws that are not acceptable in this grade are:
- Tape residue
- Marker bleeding
- Paint staining
- Censor stamp/sticker
- Significant paper loss or large pieces missing
- Severe fading
- Heavy soiling or dirtiness
- Small pieces of paper loss
- Punch holes or tears from stapes or pins
- Censor stamp/sticker
- Several border chips
- Heavy writing from marker or biro
C7 Very Good To Excellent Condition.
70% OF C10.
C7 is a well-preserved item. An item in this level or grade has several of the same flaws as C8; however, it may be of more significant negatives than positives. Thus, they cannot be assigned a higher grade. Grade C8 may have only two or three of the above flaws, and a C7 may have around seven or eight flaws.
C6 Very Good Condition.
60% OF C10.
The grade C6 is referred to as the "very good" condition. No film art item with a window card if the top border is trimmed away should not be rated higher than C6. Several pinholes, artwork or typography areas or any tears anywhere are somewhat acceptable if they are no longer than 1 or 2 inches. No more tears than four are allowed. Light creasing is permitted in any of the 1 or 2 of the four corners in restoration.
C5 C5 Good To Very Good Condition.
50% OF C10.
Sometimes this grade is called "Condition C". C5 is somewhat of a transition grade. Heavily used or worn-out items, frequently used or unappealing to collectors, can often go into this grade due to the mass accumulation of flaws.
C4 Good Condition.
40% OF C10.
If your movie poster exhibits any following flaws, it may go into this category.
- Marker bleeding
- Pieces of tape
- Stamps/stickers
- Countless pinholes in the image area
- Significant paper loss or large pieces missing
- Countless frays or wrinkles
- Dampness or paint staining
- Soiling
- Brittle paper
- Several corner creases and numerous tears
- Heavy folds or lines
- Fading of colours
- Aging/use
- Heavy writing from marker or biro
- Tears because of the tape or tape residue
C3 Fair Condition.
30% OF C10.
Similarly to C4, it can be called the "fair" condition or Condition D.
The movie art may have some defects similar to those described in C4 to a higher degree.
C2 Poor To Fair Condition.
20% OF C10.
Several flaws present are acceptable for this grade, no matter how many flaws it has:
- Heavy edge fraying
- Heavy foxing or paint staining
- Deep fold separation
- Aging/use
- Tears because of the tape or tape residue
- Creasing and wrinkling.
- Pieces of tape
- Stamps/stickers
- Brittle/fragile paper
- Holes that are bigger than an inch
- Severe fold wear creases
- Dampness or paint staining
- Soiling
- Countless pinholes, staple holes or dents
C1 Poor Condition.
10% OF C10.
To reach this grade, it's very similar to C1 but to a slightly greater degree.
Original Vintage Movie Posters for Sale
We created this website to provide a vintage movie poster guide. If you have an interest in classic movie posters from the 1950s, 1960s or 1980s, we hope you will learn more about the most popular posters of the period.
Take a sneak peak at some of the posters we have in stock here. However, if you have a film in mind and don't see it here, please get in touch as we'd be happy to locate it for you.
Are you interested in movie poster collecting? We hope this guide to how vintage movie posters are graded was useful. Follow the links below to discover more about collectable movie posters.