An age class for rugs that are no longer new but not yet antique, in trade usage typically no older than about 60 to 70 years, though dealers' cut-offs vary, some counting from about 50 years or stretching the class toward 100 years, and the looser label vintage, applied to rugs of roughly 20 to 90 years, overlaps it. They are priced on the same factors as new rugs (material, design, colors, weaver skill, straightness) plus condition: repairs, color run and how evenly the pile has worn. Because material and labor costs rise every year, a comparable semi-antique rug usually costs less than a new one.
The degree to which a hand-knotted rug holds true, parallel edges and a width that stays nearly the same at the top, middle and bottom. A machine-made rug almost always measures identical at every point, but a handmade one never does exactly, because wooden looms expand and contract over time, and wool foundations, which also react to humidity, do so more than cotton ones; village and tribal weavings are especially prone to being crooked. A difference of an inch or two (2.5 to 5 cm) is acceptable, while major differences count as a flaw that lowers quality and value. It is checked by eye from a distance, against the lines of a hard floor, or by measuring the top, middle and bottom with a tape.