A brand new mouthpiece bearing no scratches, dings, dents, or insertion marks. Plating is 100% intact with no wear, though tarnish may be present. In the case of gold plating, the plating is bright and has not started to fade. The shank is perfectly round with no repair marks. May be in original packaging, but not required.

A like-new mouthpiece bearing only very minor dings or dents which do not affect playability. May have minor scratches and insertion marks. Plating is 100% intact with no wear, though tarnish may be present. In the case of gold plating, plating is bright and has not started to fade. Mouthpiece shows no signs of previous damage or repair, and has a perfectly round shank.

A lightly used mouthpiece bearing only minor dings or dents which do not affect playability. May have minor scratches and insertion marks. Plating is 100% intact with no wear, and in the case of gold plating may be very slightly fading. Tarnish may be present. Mouthpiece shows only very minor signs of shank repair, if any. Shank is perfectly round. No signs of other repairs.

A lightly used mouthpiece bearing only minor dings or dents which do not affect playability. May have minor scratches and moderate insertion marks. Plating is 95%+ intact with only minor wear primarily on the shank. In the case of

gold plating, plating is only slightly fading. Tarnish may be present. Mouthpiece shows only minor signs of shank repair, if any. Shank is perfectly round. No signs of other repairs.

A used mouthpiece bearing only moderate dings or dents which do not affect playability. May have moderate scratches and insertion marks. Plating is 90%+ intact with only minor wear, primarily on the shank. In the case of gold plating, plating is only slightly fading. Tarnish may be present. Mouthpiece shows only minor signs of shank repair, if any. Shank is perfectly round. No signs of other repairs.

A used mouthpiece bearing only moderate dings or dents which do not affect playability. May have moderate scratches and insertion marks. Plating is 80%+ intact with moderate wear. The shank may be showing raw brass. In the case of gold plating, plating is fading. Tarnish may be present. Mouthpiece may show  signs of moderate shank repair. Shank is round. No major scarring from any previous repairs.

A heavily used mouthpiece bearing moderate dings and dents that may slightly affect playability. May have decent scratches and serious insertion marks. Plating is 65%+ intact with heavy wear. Much of the mouthpiece may be showing raw brass. In the case of gold plating, plating is mostly faded away. Tarnish may be present. Mouthpiece may show signs of significant shank repair or damage. Shank may be out of round, but playable. Scarring may exist from past repairs.

A significantly worn or damaged mouthpiece in need of repair or refinishing. The mouthpiece may have dings and dents that meaningfully affect playability. Severe scratches, dings, and dents may be present. Major insertion marks and shank plating wear are likely present. Much of the mouthpiece is likely showing raw brass. Any gold plating is nearly gone, if not fully gone. Mouthpiece may show signs of significant shank repair or damage. Shank may be out of round or unplayable. Scarring may exist from past repairs.

A destroyed mouthpiece likely beyond repair. Only usable as a collector’s item in the case of rare mouthpieces. Will probably need to be scanned and replicated.