Our grading system for records
The gradintg system should give you an impression as accurate as possible of the condition of the record and the cover. The terms we use are based on the US-Goldmine system. The condition of the record is always given first, followed by the condition of the cover.
Explanation of the abbreviations
(M) - Mint
Record or cover are in an absolutely new condition. We use this rating only if the record is still sealed or the record is still statically charged when it is pulled out and not a single hair scratch, however small, can be detected even with the most precise inspection.
(M-) - Near Mint
Record and/or Cover are also here in an absolutely new condition. Because the record was played, one or two small hair scratches are allowed. As a rule, however, these are difficult to detect and cannot be heard at all.
(VG+) - Very Good +
Records of this rating level have already been played a few times and may occasionally show slight extraneous noises or barely audible hair scratches. Any defects here are purely visual and should not cause any hearing impairment.
Minimal signs of wear are visible on the record sleeve. There may also be a so-called ringwear on the record sleeve or it may be slightly faded. Records used to be devalued by adding a cutout. This can be a punched hole or a cut corner. These covers also fall into the VG+ category. Usually it can be said to be a very well preserved record cover with some minor flaws.
The value of a VG+/VG+ rated record is about 50% of an M/M record.
(VG++) - Very Good ++
Sometimes a record is simply too well preserved to fall into the VG+ category, but instead of one or two small hair scratches there may be 4 or 5 and the record no longer belongs in the M- category. For this reason we have introduced the VG++ rating level to mark these records.
With covers this marking normally means that the corners are minimally worn and otherwise it would fall into the category M-.
The value of a VG++/VG++ rated record is about 75% of an M/M record.
VG - Very Good
Records of this rating level have already been used extensively and may occasionally show extraneous noises and many hair scratches. If we have records with this rating, we have listened to them to make sure that they do not show any jumps or deep scratches. If we find that there are cracks or deep scratches, the plate will be taken out of circulation.
The cover also shows clear signs of wear. It is also possible that the cover has been inscribed and shows residues of a sticker as well as its removal. Sometimes it happens that old records have a seam split. Also these covers are marked with VG.
The value of a VG/VG rated record is about 25 % of an M/M record.
For further questions...
In addition to the US gold mine system, other standards have been established, such as the German oldie market system or the British record collector system. Although all evaluation systems work with the same terminology, they sometimes interpret it differently.
For this reason you are welcome to contact us at any time to find out more about the condition of a record.
We are currently working on providing all records with an evaluation. If there is no evaluation available, it will follow in the next few weeks. Also in this case we are always willing to give you more information about the records you are interested in.
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