Mint condition is an expression used in the description of pre-owned goods. Originally, the phrase comes from the way collectors describe the condition of coins

Coin grading

In coin collecting coin grading is the process of determining the grade or condition of a coin, one of the key factors in determining its value as a collector's item....

. As the name given to a coin factory is a "mint", then mint condition is the condition a coin is in as it leaves the mint

Mint (coin)

A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...

. Over time, the term "mint" began to be used to describe many different items having excellent, like-new quality.

Variations

Mint condition is often used to describe a collectible item such as an action figure

Action figure

An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...

, doll, or toy that or in some cases is as good as new without any scratches or other damage. The term is also widely used in philately

Philately

Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...

, record collecting

Record collecting

Record collecting is the hobby of collecting music. Although the main focus is on vinyl records, all formats of recorded music are collected.-History:Record collecting has been around probably nearly as long as recorded sound...

, and comic books.

Abbreviations include:

• NRFB – Never removed from box
• MIB – Mint in box
• MIP – Mint in package
• MOC – Mint on card (For accessories sold attached to a card)

When describing trading cards, perfect condition is used to describe the condition as it is when pulled from a pack, mint would be new but opened.

See also

• Mint
  MiNT
  MiNT is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST and its successors. Together with the free system components fVDI , XaAES , and TeraDesk , MiNT provides a free TOS compatible replacement OS that is capable of multitasking.MiNT was originally released by Eric Smith as...
  
   (disambiguation)
• Mint (coin)
  Mint (coin)
  A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
  
  
• Mint stamp
  Mint stamp
  In philately, a mint stamp is a stamp which is in its original state of issue, is unused, has never been mounted and has full gum, if issued with gum. The term applies equally to postage stamps and revenue stamps.- Variations :...