The wear is on the backplate only. As I recall from my previous Alembic that I bought new and owned for a long time, the brass has some kind of a finish that gets rubbed off, and then oxidation can occur. So no, the plate is not mint. However, certainly not belt buckle of rivet scratches.
This close up of the area shows it's only on the plate, not surrounding wood. Of course there is wear here and there, and anyone who is seriously interested, I can send more pix, and take specific ones on request.
If you look at the pick of the back, you'll notice there was a drop D added to the E tuner as well.
For 1990, if it's not mint, it's at least minty, and it looks minty, too.