Hello and welcome to your crash course of what a pin grade is! As many of you know, enamel pins are usually handmade! This means there is plenty of room for human error that may cause any defects in the handmade product. Grading is where a creator or designer sits down and closely inspects each and every pin for any flaws that may or may not be noticeable!
A Grade Plus and A Grade
Upon grading the Grown Up Enamel Pins, there was one flaw that was majorly universal. This specific flaw is a recurring underfill in the enamel located in the bottom left backpack strap of the Ellie inspired design. Since the flaw is so universal and the pin itself is nearly perfect with extremely minor and unnoticeable flaws, we have decided to make two A Grade categories for this specific pin. The "A Plus" category pins are near perfect with almost no noticeable flaws or defects. The item may have tiny not noticeable air bubbles, minor underfill, or very minor scuffing. The "A" category pins match the same description except for the more noticeable underfill in the enamel mentioned above.
B Grade
The pins in the "B" category have some noticeable flaws, but are still very wearable and displayable. You might notice that the item has areas that are noticeably under filled with enamel, missing metal lines, enamel colors or larger scuffs.
C Grade
The pins in the "C" category have major flaws and defects that might take away from the overall look of the original pin. These defects may include, multiple plating defects, major missing or no enamel filling, printing errors or gouges in the enamel.
For more information, please refer to AlumandInk's grading article that can be found here.