I get asked a plethora of different questions when people learn about my work in the antiques and collectibles trade. Most of these questions I am able to answer easily, but a select few stay with me and rattle around in my head like Pac-Man gobbling up those pesky ghosts. Recently, I was asked to name some of the most overused terms that make up the modern day antiques and collectibles trade. This question caused me to pause, not because the answer is difficult (spoiler alert: its not), but because I honestly didnt know where to begin. The last 10 years alone saw unbelievable sums of money come into the trade while sellers, auction houses, grading companies, and dealers have all come up with words and descriptions to describe their wares so that a new wave of speculators, collectors, and investors would be willing to drop money to acquire these would-be treasures. As a result, I think it is only fitting to define these buzzwords that have become common on collecting forums, social media, and in many auction company advertisements. The specific words I have chosen for this list are as follows: investment grade, rare, mint, and vintage. Listed below are the words in question and my humble opinion of how they should be used and defined. Investment Grade Since the advent of third-party grading the term investment grade has taken on a new meaning in the collectibles trade. Beginning with graded coins in the mid-1980s and spreading to other collecting categories such as trading cards, paper money, comic books, and even toys, the term investment grade is one of the most overused and confusing terms in the trade. Unfortunately, younger and newer collectors think the term means that an item is worthy of investment or guaranteed to go up in value. This however is not the case. Generally, all the term means is an item that is in the top 10 to 15 percent of the market based on condition alone. It does not constitute demand, rarity, or any other moniker. Due to the rise of third-party grading overtaking the trade, everyone from sellers, auction houses, and even grading companies use this phrase regularly, even though few participants in the trade know what it actually means. Rare Rare has to be one of the most overused words in the entire antiques and collectibles trade. Unfortunately, the term rare has absolutely nothing to do with value, and most items described as rare are anything but. Rare has become an overused and meaningless description being placed on everything from low value antiques to modern era mass-produced items that are simply selling because they are in demand. If you can easily find multiple examples of the item in question, I am sorry to say, it definitely is not rare. Furthermore, there are different types of rarity. Organic rarity, sometimes called true rarity, is the best kind of rarity there is. This denotes an item that is truly hard to find in any condition. An Action Comics #1 featuring the first appearance of Superman is a prime example. Another type of rarity is conditional rarity. This generally applies to graded collectibles. An example would be a trading card, coin, or comic book in the highest graded condition known. The last and final type of rarity that seems to attract starry-eyed speculators is mass-produced rarity, also known as mass-produced scarcity. This is when the manufacturer deliberately limits production of an item to make it hard to find. Unfortunately, unknowledgeable speculators tend to think this means the item is rare, simply because these kinds of items usually sell for a premium on the secondary market. However, this is an artificial rarity. If you are using rare to define your items, use caution. I myself have been known to get into some interesting discussions with collectors who think their mass-produced toys from the 1980s are rare. Very few, if any mass-produced items, can ever be considered truly rare. Mint Mint is a descriptive word that represents condition. Believe it or not, you can have a brand new item that is not mint and a used item that is mint. Most items, however are not mint. Even in top grade, most would qualify as being near mint. This is important to note, and if you dont believe me check out any third-party grading companys grading scale. Very few items with the exception of certain trading cards ever score the equivalent of a perfect 10 when sent in for grading. Be careful if you describe every item as being in mint condition. Even near mint is pushing it a lot of times, and if you see the words mint and rare together in the title of an online auction, proceed with caution. Am I really to believe that the would-be seller has the equivalent of a truly rare comic book like an Action Comics #1 that just happens to be in mint condition as well? In June of 1991, the dance group C+C Music Factory released a song titled Things That Make You Go Hmmm. I think that song title fits perfectly here. Vintage Most hardened and knowledgeable antique dealers will tell you the definition of something being defined as vintage is 40 years of age or older. Ask younger collectors, and they will argue it is something 20 years or older. Whos right? The hardened antique dealers are correct. In a world where Pokemon cards and video games from the early 2000s are being bid up to no end on online auction sites, it is easy to see why collectors are pushing to make the term vintage include items that are 20 years or older, as opposed to 40. However, in the process, these younger collectors are actually doing themselves a disservice. Twenty years is nothing, and in the scope of the antiques and collectibles trade, it is almost the equivalent of yesterday. Over the past few decades, the value of newer collectibles has soared, which is causing a lot of modern-era mass-produced collectibles to be hoarded. In another 20 years, most of these items that are going to be incorrectly defined as vintage are going to be readily available in mass quantities. Be careful when someone tells you an item that is only 20 years old meets the definition of being vintage, as they may have a nefarious purpose to get you to overvalue the object in question. There are several other words I would have loved to include here, but I will save those for another article. As I approach the ripe old age of 50, my hair is slowly starting to show gray. I am not, however, losing my hearing, and I can already hear the cries of younger starry-eyed speculators and collectors telling me that I am wrong in my analysis. Oh, how wonderful it would be to wake up and be able to live my 20s all over again! But even if I was in my 20s, I would still not define myself as vintage. Food for thought. Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.