Grading Vintage Fishing Lures
How to Grade Vintage Fishing Lures
Grading lures is an important component of determining the value of any particular vintage fishing lure. While there is a large degree of subjective judgment required in this on the part of the grader, there are some commonly recognized areas of quality or defect. However, be aware that there will be room for disagreement as to these between any group of collectors. Ask five different people to grade a lure and the likelihood is high that there will be five different answers.
This article has two parts. The first part is a listing of the NFLCC’s standard grading system. The second part is a small listing of some of the factors that can add or detract from a lure’s grade and will move it up or down this scale.
The NFLCC (The National Fishing Lure Collectors Club) has a standard grading system shown below.
Lure Grading System
| SCALE | DESCRIPTION |
| (NIB) New-In-Box |
Unused w/original box or carton |
| (M) Mint |
Unused w/out box or carton |
| (EX) Excellent |
Very little or no age cracks; very minor defects |
| (VG) Very Good |
Little age cracks; some minor defects |
| (G) Good |
Some age cracks; starting to chip; small defects |
| (AVG) Average |
Some paint loss and/or chipping; showing age |
| (F) Fair |
Major paint loss and/or defects; much chipping |
| (P) Poor |
Parts missing; poor color and/or major chipping |
| (R) Repaint |
Original paint covered in part or all |
Conditions may be clarified by the use
of (+) or (-) ratings with each scale
Important Factors Influencing Grade of Vintage Fishing Lures
- Flakes: The paint or finish flaking or chipping off of the lure. Flakes will change the grade of a lure after more than a couple of flakes. Also, the size of the area covered by the flaking will impact the grading.
- Pointers: These are marks made by the hook points in the paint or finish where they contacted the paint or finish and created small holes. These will change the grade after more than a couple per lure. They also must be minor to avoid more significant grading impact.
- Hook drag: Almost always seen on a bait that has been fished this is a scratch in the paint or finish made by a hook. Having a hook drag will impact the grading of the lure.
- Crazing/Checking: This is a minor fracture/crack of the paint or finish. A deep split of the paint or finish would not qualify here and would rise to the level of a crack. This will impact the lure grading depending on the significance of the crazing/cracking.
- Cracks: Deeper than crazing/checking a crack goes all the way down to the wood or original surface. This will impact the grading of a lure significantly.
- Chip: More than just a flake, a chip is paint loss, but either down to the wood, in a large area, or both. This will impact the grading of a lure significantly.
- Broken glass eyes: On lures with glass eyes, an important part of their status will be the condition of the eyes. If they are broken or damage, this will impact the grading of the lure significantly
- Shiny: This is used to describe the appearance of the paint on a lure. A somewhat self descriptive term, it is a measure of how well preserved the appearance of the paint and finish look visually. This will impact the grading of a lure, and will be a key quality looked for in the upper ranges of the grading scale.
- Worm burn: Typically seen in lures that were stored in tackle boxes. The lure paint will have been in contact with a plastic work bait and will cause serious damage to the paint. This will cause a significant impact to grading.
- Rust: Found on the metal surfaces such as hooks, rust or corrosion can occur due to exposure to moisture or high humidity. This will impact the grading of a lure significantly and especially if it is severe.
- Touch-up or Repaint: Any attempt to cleanup or otherwise improve an old lure by correcting flaws of time by using new paint or other refinishing materials. Repaint could extend all the way to completely repainting the lure in a new color scheme. Either of these will remove the lure from being considered as a graded collectible.
