Terms used in grading license plates

m - Mint: A plate which was never mounted on a vehicle and has only the most minor of blemishes, if any. May have very small scuffs, scratches or rub marks from storage however these marks should be almost unnoticable. Just because a plate was never mounted on a vehicle does not mean it is mint. A plate that was never issued could still be graded fair if it were scratched severely enough or if the scotchlite was discolored enough.

exc - Excellent: A plate with no flaws excepting marks around the boltholes from having been mounted on a vehicle. May have very small scuffs, scratches or rub marks from storage however these marks should be almost unnoticable. Basically mint and excellent are the same but an excellent plate was attached to a vehicle.

vvg - Very very good: An intermediate grade between very good and excellent. This is a grade that not many plate collectors use. I use it to mean "almost excellent". It is a plate, either used or unissued, which has very minor scuffs, scratches or rub marks. Still has nice gloss. Stickers, if any, are not damaged. Could almost be graded as excellent.

vg - Very good: This tends to be a very broad category. Many plate collectors call any decent-looking plate very good, even if it has a bit too many blemishes or is closer to excellent. The author considers very good to be the typical used plate. It may have minor scuffs or scratches. May have a few dents or gravel dings. May have very minor rust spots or rub marks. Stickers, if any, might be chipped or cracked, but not necessarily. If reflectorized the scotchlite might be greyed slightly but not drastically. Still considered displayable by plate collectors.

gvg - Good to Very Good: An intermediate grade between good and very good. This is used when a plate is better than good but not quite very good.

g - Good: A plate with blemishes, scratches, rubs or scuffs that detract from the plate's appearance considerably. Commonly a front plate with considerable bug splats that give the plate a dull appearance. Stickers, if any, may have substantial damage. Generally plates in this condition are not desired but are acceptable until a better one is found.

fg - Fair to Good: An intermediate grade between fair and good. This is used when a plate is better than fair but not quite good.

f - Fair: A plate with major blemishes, scratches, rubs or scuffs that substantially detract from the plate's appearance. The scotchlite on reflectorized plates may be severely discolored. Stickers, if any, may have substantial damage. Unreflectorized plates may have considerable rust. Generally plates in this condition are not desired, even as a filler. Common plates in this condition are often discarded.

p - Poor: A plate with severe blemishes, scratches, rubs or scuffs. This is commonly the condition of plates which have been lying in the street and run over frequently. Older plates may have been tacked up in a barn for several decades. On reflectorized plates the scotchlite may be flaking off in large pieces due to rust. Unreflectorized plates generally have very little to no paint remaining. Unless the plate is particularly rare or old, plates in this condition are generally considered trash.

rp - Repaint: A plate whose original paint has been removed and the plate has been totally repainted, both background and numbers. Generally repainted plates are not desired except as a filler until a good or better plate can be found.

nrp - Needs repainting: A plate which has very little to no original paint remaining and ought to be repainted. There is essentially no difference between nrp and poor although nrp is usually only applied to older (pre-1960s) plates. To be suitable for repainting the metal must be solid (no rusted-through spots) and straight (no cracks, or bends which were straightened). A plate with no paint which has bends, cracks or spots which have rusted through would be graded as poor.

Supplemental grading codes

tu - Touched up: A plate which has had a small part of the background or numbers repainted or gone over with a magic marker. This practice is generally frowned upon because it is akin to repainting.

xh - Extra holes: A plate with holes which were not made during the manufacturing process. Typically these holes are either from mounting the plate when it was used or are nail holes made after the plate was removed from use and nailed up in a barn or such. Commonly the quantity of extra holes is noted along with the abbreviation "xh". For example, the notation "2xh" would mean a plate with two extra holes. Extra holes on plates from outside North America are common since in many countries the plates are actually manufactured without mounting holes.

Additional Notes

An unissued plate would not necesarily be graded as mint. As noted above, just because a plate was never mounted on a vehicle does not mean it is mint. A plate that was never issued should still be graded depending on how many scratches or blemishes it has. Many 1960s and 1970s plates which use scotchlite reflectorization have had the scotchlite discolor and would be graded accordingly. See the page on scotchlite for an example of this. An unissued plate could be as low a grade as good or fair if it were scratched severely enough or if the scotchlite was discolored enough.

The term unissued can be a bit misleading. What unissued means in plate collecting circles is a plate that was never mounted on a vehicle. A plate could have been issued to a motorist but was never put on the vehicle to which it was registered. Technically it was issued but never used. Since most unused plates were never issued, we use the term unissued to mean an unused plate.

Touching up areas with paint or magic marker is discouraged. If done and it is noticeable it would usually lower the condition by a grade.

Any plate whose scotchlite has discolored or greyed would be downgraded.

Rarity or age have absolutely nothing to do with how a plate is graded!!. A good condition 1929 Alaska plate is in the same condition as a good condition 1994 Texas. Pricing takes condition and rarity into consideration but grading is only a statement of condition.