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GUIDE What is this 'Grail' you speak of?

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I keep seeing this term strewn about the boards, but I haven't found a clear cut criteria explaining what a 'Grail' is. Does it depend on second market value of the pin? How hard it is to find? Or is it a pin that you have to have in your signature :p

any help is greatly appreciated
 
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I have two definitions for it. A personal Grail is the pin/s you want the most. I usually refer to these more as "Top Wants", unless you get to the point where your Top Wants are also truly Grails, too (according to the second definition).

The second definition, for me, is a very, VERY hard to get pin, that you really, REALLY want. It's usually a combination of rarity, supply/demand issues, and expense. My remaining grails are things like the DA Art Nouveau pins. For some people, the Alice Bottle pin is a grail because of how hard it is to find. A lot of my Grails are Grails because they only show up on eBay once every 3-4 years.

The community used to have a small segment of pins referred to as Grails, because they tended to be the grails for everyone. Things like the Carousels, Mickey for President, the Raven, etc. I don't think it's used that broadly anymore, though, because the number of pins that could refer to has grown so great that we could be talking about any number of 100 pins, now, instead of 20 or so.
 
Grail pin(s) are pins that you want more then anything. They are the most wanted of the most wanted pins on your wants list.
 
The term "grail" is subjective. It's used to describe a highly sought after (extremely rare/hard to obtain) pin for many collectors or it's a highly sought after pin to an individual.
 
I take "grail" to mean a person's most-wanted pins. However, the term is certainly overused in the sales forum here. Whenever I see people saying "Grails for sale!!!" I always wonder "how do you know what my grails are?!" :)
 
I will add that your most wanted #1 pin is your Holy grail. Some will add emphasis and say it is the holiest of holier than holy grails or something excessive like that. Grails to me are pins you have wanted for an extremely long time and you almost never see it in person or will probably have to work very hard to attain. They are not necessarily extremely valuable. Some are really obscure or rare to see. One of my early grails was the 5th Anniversary of the Grand California Hotel pin. I think in 3 years of watching eBay I've seen possibly 2. It's rare to see than any marquee or PTD on eBay (save maybe Jiminy PTD which I don't know if I've ever seen it listed.) I finally got that pin thanks to a DPF member.

In the old days you had just 1 grail. People knew what it was and they'd look out for it. Some might help you trade for it. That stuff rarely happens now. A lot of people toss "grail" out just to hope to get a pin easier. Or they have this genre grail, that genre grail, those genre's grails, a holiest grail, a few mini grails, etc. I think, 1 holy grail which is the pin you dream of owning. A handful of just "grails" that are hard to find and you need them to complete collections, fill a gap, have been eyeing it for a while now. That is how the term should be.

A grail is not simply a pin that is valuable and there are 40 on eBay right now. Anna PTN for example is not a grail IMO. But to some, maybe it is. Some use the term "mini grail" which just means it's a highly wanted pin. DPF Auctioneers are notorious for saying they are auctionging a grail pin.

I know some old timers don't but I do believe however in the "instant grail." This is a pin that once sold you know it will be a grail down the road. You keep it and hide it and it is only for trade for a grail of yours in return. Elsa DSF Stained Glass was an "instant grail" in my mind. You knew when the surprise pic hit twitter that it was going to be insane. Tangled PODM's with the "it" scene. That stuff. While I don't think D23 Art of Ariel or DSF Ariel Jumbo were an instant grails even though they were selling extremely high. Typically a grail in my mind is the top pin of a genre. Being able to judge future grails gives one a leg up on when to put the extra effort into acquiring a new pin. I tried to tell people about Wreck-it Ralph before the movie came out but few listened. The line wasn't even formed until like 5am back when overnights were the norm. King Candy could be a grail level pin. Le150, the lowest LE in the WIR genre. The Original jumbo @ LE200 was a WIR grail for a while too.

Old Disney Auctions pins that were LE100 are many peoples grails. They are old, rare, really nice quality, valuable. All the finer points that make "holy grail" hunting more of a quest than a "buy-it-now" on eBay.
 
I used to be one of the over-users of the term. But the more I thought on it the more I decided that the word "grail" should be reserved for the hardest, most elusive pins that I desire. Right now the only "grails" I have on my signature are studio exclusive pins, from Brave (Pixar), and Frozen (WDAS). I don't think I will ever get them, let alone see them in person. And if they ever do go up for sale, I think I will have a very hard time getting them. But that is what makes the hunt interesting and fun!

Most-wanted is another story. That is what wanted threads are for, I think. But everyone sees the term differently! And some people don't want to hassle with a wanted thread, which is totally understandable, so signatures are a great way to just say "I am looking for ____". :)
 
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holy grail

[h=2]Holy Grail[/h] noun: something that you want very much but that is very hard to get or achieve
the Holy Grail : the cup that is said to have been used by Jesus Christ and that was sought by knights during the Middle Ages


[h=2]Full Definition of HOLY GRAIL[/h]1
: grail

2
often not capitalized : an object or goal that is sought after for its great significance

See Holy Grail defined for English-language learners »

See Holy Grail defined for kids »

[h=2]Examples of HOLY GRAIL[/h]
  • Finding a cure for cancer is the holy grail of medical researchers.


[h=2]First Known Use of HOLY GRAIL[/h]15th century

 
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I agree with Abyssinian28.

Abyssinian28 said:
I have two definitions for it. A personal Grail is the pin/s you want the most. I usually refer to these more as "Top Wants", unless you get to the point where your Top Wants are also truly Grails, too (according to the second definition).

The second definition, for me, is a very, VERY hard to get pin, that you really, REALLY want. It's usually a combination of rarity, supply/demand issues, and expense. My remaining grails are things like the DA Art Nouveau pins. For some people, the Alice Bottle pin is a grail because of how hard it is to find. A lot of my Grails are Grails because they only show up on eBay once every 3-4 years.

The community used to have a small segment of pins referred to as Grails, because they tended to be the grails for everyone. Things like the Carousels, Mickey for President, the Raven, etc. I don't think it's used that broadly anymore, though, because the number of pins that could refer to has grown so great that we could be talking about any number of 100 pins, now, instead of 20 or so.
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