VGA 85 – Near Mint Plus (NM+)
The VGA Silver level consists of the grades 85, 80, and 75. The items that receive these grades are in excellent condition. An item graded an 85 will often be referred to as 'case fresh' and should be very close to gold level condition. The term 'case fresh' is certainly justifiable as the average item pulled from a sealed case will grade an 85 due to small flaws which occur when the items are packaged or shipped in the case. The average item pulled from a store shelf is usually an 80, which represents a nice specimen with minor flaws apparent upon close inspection. The final Silver level grade, a 75, represents an item with more minor flaws than the average Silver level piece. An item grading 75 does have significant wear but does not have major flaws which would draw the eye to them at first glance. For most high grade collectors, an 85 is satisfactory. For most discriminating collectors, an 80 is satisfactory. A 75 will be satisfactory to those who are not overly concerned with light stresses, small cellophane tears and imperfections, and other flaws which do not jump out at first glance. Therefore, the Silver level grades do represent a much larger range than the Gold level grades.