Pin Grading and what you can expect from our pins

Pin grading: a guide by Toad.

Pin making can be tricky business and every maker and designer has different standards and systems for pin grading. 

They might vary across styles or materials, if it's hard enamel vs soft enamel or if it's a limited edition or Kickstarter creation. Despite all these processes, you can rest assured that each pin maker has developed their eye for excellent pin standards through a history of creating, appraising and designing pins alongside building a good relationship with their manufacturer.

This guide, will help you reference what to expect from a Tooth and Toad pin and what you can anticipate from your order. This guide may change as we experiment and trial new pin effects so any changes will all be documented here!

First up: Authenticity!

Sometimes pins are replicated so how can you be sure you're getting the real deal? At Tooth and Toad we backstamp our pins so each pin will come with a logo or our name on the back, this means you can be sure your pin is really a Tooth and Toad design. 

Second: Grading.

Pins are often put into different levels or categories. These are: A grade, B grade and C grade - Or Standard grade and Seconds grade. 

A (standard) grade is the highest grade and perfect for pin collections and displays - but will often still show minor flaws; as pins are handmade there is always a possibility for error and some minor flaws can be expected: such as scratching to the plating/enamel or other errors that don't distract from the design.

B (seconds) grade may have more noticeable defects that start to detract away from the beauty of the pin and C grade is one where the defects completely draw away from the artwork of the pin and are often sold heavily discounted compared to their A and B counterparts. You may occasionally see them listed (the more complex the design, the more opportunity for mishaps). 

When we check our pins during grading we pay close attention to the front of the pin and not so much to the sides or back though the back is checked for plating, secure posts and backstamp if needed. The front of the pin is the main focus and is where our manufacturer will place the most attention. From the manufacturer perspective the front of the pin is the most important so this is where they will analyse when reporting on flaws or issues.

When we check our pins we pay a little less attention to the back and sides but they're always checked and any specific issues in a batch or individual pin will always be noted :) 

So, what are our main standards? Well friends, take a look below for the most recent Tooth and Toad standards guide!

(last updated January 2025)

A (Standard) Grade: 

• Small marks on the enamel that's not in the central focus of the design.
• Light scratches, often only visible in certain lighting or on high contrasting designs - such as dark black, bright pastel or mirrored surfaces.
• Light scuffing or over polishing on the metal plating.
• Slight tarnish/ Minor additional plating on the sides of the pin.
• Light tarnish and small marks, often only visible in certain lighting or on high contrasting designs - such as dark black or mirrored surfaces.
• Minor offset/misaligned screen printing.
• Very slight underfill.
  
• Small bubbles or scrapes in the enamel not in the centre of the design/of high impact.
• Minor glitter overspill or low dispersion.
• Glitter pins may also have slight areas of dark/non uniform glitter or dust.
• Slightly bent posts on the back of the pin but are still secure and clutches are flush.
• Other small but visible imperfections that are only visible on close inspection and don't distract from the design such as minor plating imperfections or other small slights.
  
  For any Kickstarter or Pre-orders these standard grades are what we endeavour to deliver though sometimes we may send pins that are not usually found in our A grade category, but are still superior to a B grade, depending on their design complexity :)

B Grade (seconds) often brought for wearing :)

• Small bubbles in the enamel central to the design.
• Screen printing that is far off or missing details.
• Obvious underfill.
• Scratching or tarnished surface that is obvious from a far distance as well as close inspection.
  
• Deep scratches, scrapes or areas heavily marked.
• Small areas of missing colour. 
• Posts with slight movement but are still secure and flush.
• Noticeable imperfections on the sides of the pin such as missing plating.
• Incorrect colour.
• Glitter overspill that impacts the design.
• Large specks of debris or large amounts of dust in the design.
  
• Missing back stamp.
• Plating imperfections such as unconnected lines due to over polishing.
• Slight colour bleed into other areas that aren't detrimental to the focus of the design.
  
  

C grade pins highly flawed:

C grade pins mainly have all the above or multiple areas of error but on a higher scale for example:

• Excessive dust, debris or spotting in the design.
• Deep air bubbles.
• Large area's of missing colour.
• Severe plating issues including the back of the pin and the sides.
• Large area's of glitter over spill.
• Large area's of enamel over spill.
• Deep scratches in several areas of the enamel.
• Back post that are loose, severely bent.
• Heavy scratching and marks on the enamel and metal plating that is detrimental to the whole design.
• Plating that is missing from the design.
• Screen printing that is missing.
• Heavy under/over fill.