Don't be fooled by such terms as near-mint , very-near-mint or would be very-near-mint except for...It should be first noted that mint condition as it pertains to vintage archery equipment means "As New".  That means in the same condition that the equipment was in when it was purchased new by the original owner or purchaser. 

To further expand on this, a mint rated piece of equipment should have no flaws of any type.  No scratches, no dings or dents.  It should have none of the signs of everyday use and wear that so many of the things that we as archers use will have.  A vintage bow will not be near-mint if it has stress cracks, or dulling of the finish.  I recently ran across a description of  a RH Pearson Colt and the seller described it as such "The original finish is near-mint. The white glass would rate as very-near-mint if not for one stress line on each riser fade; front and back. This does not affect the function of the bow. The nomenclature is mint. The near-mint Tigerwood riser is gorgeous; ".  This is, word for word how this seller described this bow.  A very near mint bow is NOT MINT.  Don't be fooled by descriptions such as this.  At best I would call this description misleading, at worst I would say he is misrepresenting the bow intentionally. In my estimation there are but a couple of rating categories for collectable archery items.  These would be MINT & EXCELLENT.  That's not to say that there aren't items worth having in good condition, and I would define good condition as still usable with no structural damage and very few cosmetic flaws.  A perfectly good serviceable piece of equipment and something many of us would still desire, but it shouldn't be described as near-mint or near-excellent condition.  It should be described honestly.    

 Judging the condition of older archery equipment can be very subjective.  We individually have our own standards when reviewing these items, some of us tend to be more critical than others and if you buy something, and you are happy with it, that's probalbly all that matters.  Just be forwarned that there are items out there being misrepresented and don't get caught up in the emotional reponse of chasing something that you really want only to be disappointed by it later.