Mint condition means in pristine shape, in an unmarred condition. Mint condition is used to describe used or pre-owned goods that have an excellent, like-new appearance and are in good working order. The word mint in mint condition refers to a coin that is newly stuck or newly minted and uncirculated, and therefore in pristine condition. Mint condition is first used in the 1880s to describe coins fresh from the mint and uncirculated, in the 1890s mint condition is used to describe rare postage stamps. Today, the phrase mint condition may be applied to any object or collectible. Mint condition is sometimes hyphenated as mint-condition when appearing in front of the noun it modifies, though use of the hyphen seems to be slowly disappearing.
Examples
The fully restored vehicles are in mint condition and include a 1929 Bugatti Type 46, with its continuous S-curve bucket seats; a 1930 Cord L-29 Cabriolet with its art moderne styling (Frank Lloyd Wright owned one); and a 1930 Henderson KJ Streamline motorcycle – known as a concept vehicle – which was misunderstood by the conservative motorcycle community of the time, which treated it as a “futuristic cartoon,” according to the exhibit’s companion catalog. (The Houston Press)
He sent one of his collection of valuable, mint-condition American cars back to where it came from. (The Otago Daily Times)
It is essential that notes are in mint condition with no folds, tears or marks of any kind as they will be refused – even in banks. (The Telegraph)
Flooring throughout is original pine with a satin finish – now exposed for the first time and in mint condition. (The Irish Times)
Prada’s Spring 2012 collection was not only eye-catching, with its 1950s automobile-inspired prints and flames shooting out from the back of shoes to look like a mint-condition car on the go, the line echoed a retro aesthetic common in Southern California. (The Los Angeles Times)