Hi,

Yes these do exist, and you can find them coming up on Ebay from time to time. You just need to be looking at the right time and place. Last year some fellow literally found a bunch of shrink wrapped modules in an attic along with a NEW/MINT set of AD&D books. These books could not have been in better condition if you bought them new from the late 70s. I stumbled across the auctions in the first week and managed to snag them along with some modules before more people noticed the auctions in later weeks and drove the prices up. Aside from a "nick" I also picked up another MINT DM from somewhere else. I don't have the auction listing but there was a MINT Monster Manual for sale last week that I passed on.

As you say you can find lots of NM or VF condition with small flaws.  If you are talking MINT as in NEW with no flaws they do come up as well. How often I can't say in terms of numbers but getting them is more a matter of being able to sort through all the listings week afet week.  I find they sometimes can and do go unnoticed by people occupied with looking for more rare items so you can pick them up for decent prices too!

Cheers!

Agree with the above. It's just a matter of luck and persistence, mostly. Clearly, most DMGs were actually used in gaming sessions ... and, as we all know, all of the 1e hardbacks tended to break down pretty quickly with use (especially the front covers).

However, some were stored, and there's no reason these books shouldn't be nice and crisp. In fact, when you find a nice copy, it will make an unmistakable crack sound when it's opened for the first time.  

Nice 1e hardbacks are out there ... but you'll need some patience.