Nova | Smart Gun (Minimal Wear)

Skin overview

The recognisable part of this Nova is the glowing purple stock and receiver with a brain motif set into the metal, contrasted by a long gunmetal barrel and ribbed pump. Minimal Wear keeps that contrast almost intact, with only faint marks that are hard to spot outside close inspection. It shows nearly the same artwork as the cleanest grade at a lower step.

Item type: shotgun. Restricted sits in the middle of the rarity scale: noticeably rarer than Mil-Spec, yet not truly rare.

Gunsmith: several techniques combined on one item; some parts rub off, others only dull.

Appearance in Minimal Wear

The barrel, magazine tube and ribbed pump are finished in dark metallic grey-blue with a light sheen along the top surfaces. The rear of the receiver and the stock carry the main artwork: violet, magenta and pink tones with curved lines that wrap around the grip.

Small specks may appear on the pump ribs and the bottom edge of the stock. The purple artwork and the brain remain fully intact. In game the difference from Factory New is practically invisible. The receiver and stock sides still look clean.

Minimal Wear wear: float 0.07–0.15

The whole float range of Nova | Smart Gun is 0–1; Minimal Wear takes the 0.07–0.15 segment (8% of the scale). Within the range, copies with a lower float look cleaner and are valued higher.

Origin of the skin

Nova | Smart Gun belongs to The Spy Tech Collection, which holds 17 skins. It does not drop from a case: the collection has none — such skins come from operation drops, souvenir packages or the market.

What it costs in each quality

Compared with the Minimal Wear quality, the others go like this:

• Factory New — 1.9× dearer
• Field-Tested — 2× cheaper
• Well-Worn — 2.1× cheaper
• Battle-Scarred — 2.1× cheaper

The comparison uses our cheapest listing of each quality; where there is none, the market reference.

By price this skin is 6th of 13 skins Restricted Nova in this quality (the first being the dearest).

Souvenir version

There is also a the Souvenir version with tournament stickers.

Which stickers suit it

Holo and foil stickers in violet, pink or blue tones match the neon rear of the gun. Placing them on the dark barrel keeps the brain and stock artwork uncovered, while silver or chrome accents echo the metallic front.

What to look at before you buy

• Check where the float sits within the chosen wear, since lower values keep the brain and stock edges cleaner.
• Inspect the brain near the rear sight, as it is the focal point and loses detail on more worn copies.
• Look at the stock edges and pump ribs, which show wear first.
• Note any stickers or name tag already applied, and whether they fit the purple artwork.

Who should buy Minimal Wear

• Players who want a near-perfect look while saving compared to the cleanest grade.
• Crafters for whom tiny edge specks do not matter.
• A smart balance of appearance and price.