Grading LPs (help!) [Archive]

Patrick M

03-17-2002, 11:08 AM

Needs some opinions.

If a record has:

great luster
no marks on the label
no marks in the runout area
one side absolutely perfect, under a bright light

The other side is also visibly perfect except for one thing:

It has a ligh scratch on the second side, maybe 2" long, which cannot be felt, and can only seen under good light with the record facing a certain way.

How would you grade the record overall?

trhunnicutt

03-17-2002, 03:59 PM

For me, that would be Mint Minus. Others would probably grade it as Mint. My rule of thumb is what would I feel is the grade if I was the purchaser of the record.

Tom H

Tristan

03-17-2002, 04:38 PM

Patrick,
I would say the proof is in the playing. If it plays cleanly, and the scratch on side 2 is totally inaudible, then perhaps considering grading it VG++ to NM-. Its also important to mention the inaudible scratch when selling the LP. IMO, that should put you close to current Goldmine standards. Good Luck!

Patrick M

03-17-2002, 05:33 PM

Thanks for the feedback. I was having an ulcer because this one mark essentially keeps the record from being about as close to (visually) perfect as you could imagine.

My question was whether to call it NM or VG+. I hate to call it VG+, cause it's really much nicer than VG+ implies to me. Because this is a fairly valuable record, though, I want to be very honest about its condition.