mint condition

mint condition

The state of an object that is in perfect condition, as if it has never been touched or otherwise used. The phrase originally referred to coins that were never put into circulation and thus remained in the same pristine condition as when they were produced at the mint. There's no way I'm selling my mint condition Babe Ruth rookie card—I don't care how much money it would get, it's one of my most prized possessions!
See also: condition, mint
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

mint condition, in

Appearing to be brand-new and unused; in excellent shape. A favorite hyperbole of used-car salesmen and secondhand dealers, this term was borrowed from philatelists who so describe a new, unused stamp. It began to be transferred to other objects by the 1920s. Iris Murdoch used it in her novel The Flight from the Enchanter (1956): “The books were chaotic, but in mint condition.”
See also: mint
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • how about
  • how/what about...?
  • eggs is eggs
  • How long is a piece of string?
  • from my cold, dead hands
  • (one's) best foot forward
  • best foot forward
  • (as) sure as eggs (is eggs)
  • game on
  • great minds
References in periodicals archive
| MINT CONDITION: A signed copy of Double Fantasy is being auctioned on Saturday
A MINT condition album signed [...]
"There are many charming items in this sale, many in mint or near mint condition and complete with original boxes," said a Vectis spokesperson.
Titanic going under the hammer... And there's lots more to get your bids in for too
The biggest prices are for unopened, mint condition toys.
Your Money: TREASURE HUNTERS
"The problem is people love them and play them to death, making it increasingly rare to find them in mint condition."
Get in the loft and find your old vinyl records
The 1893 Veuve Cliquot bubbly, complete with the firm's trademark yellow label, was in mint condition because it has been kept in the dark for more than 100 years.
Champers a corker; VINTAGE
You would probably make pounds 300 - pounds 350 if the sub and box are in mint condition.
Your Money: TREASURE HUNTERS; TV's JAMES BREESE answers your questions on antiques & collectables
While some properties still rush out the door at record-breaking amounts (especially those in mint condition), the pace of the market overall has slowed, and properties are remaining on the market for weeks now instead of days, or minutes.
Brooklyn, Harlem providing shade in this red-hot market
Golfbreaks.com has secured tee times from September 1 to September 5, 2010, to give its customers the ultimate Ryder Cup preview, playing the same mint condition course that Europe's Ryder Cup Team, led by Colin Montgomerie, will play in their quest to reclaim the biggest team prize in golf.
Tee off on 2010's Ryder Cup course; holiday shorts
Certainly, mint condition, boxed lighter versions of this toy sell at auction for pounds 600 to pounds 700 and in a shop you could expect to pay pounds 1,000 or so.
Your MONEY: TREASURE HUNTERS
The mint condition Now We Are Six - complete with its original dustjacket - was among a pile of donations to the shop.
So Pooh's sorry now
The trains, all in mint condition and still in their original boxes, have been collected over almost 50 years by Chris Dyer, of Minehead in Somerset.
A treat for the train collectors
THE MINI has been voted car of the 20th century and to mark the accolade one in mint condition will be sealed in a special millennium vault to ensure it is around in the year 3,000.
'Tomb' for a classic Mini
It was rushed to a specialist company hours after the service to ensure it was kept in mint condition.
Sophie to keep bouquet
It includes such gems as a three-litre Ford Capri, a Triumph TR8 built at the firm's old factory at Abingdon, a BMW 700 from 1965 and a Model A4 built in 1929, all in mint condition.
Bryan parts with classic cars