IRVING BERLIN 45 Record Call Me Madam + Pic Sleeve

NAME

GRADE

DISCUSSION

Mint

M

Vinyl has just left the vinyl pressing machine and does not have any manufacturing flaws. It has never been handled and never played. Unless you work at the record plant, there is no such thing as mint!

Record sleeves just left the pressing machine that made the sleeve. It has never been handled and a record has not been placed inside it which would deform it. Unless you work at the record plant, there is no such thing as mint!

Near Mint

NM

Vinyl is virtually perfect. At most, perhaps a light scuff appears on the record. It should play without any noise or skips of any kind whatsoever.

Record sleeve should look close to perfect with only minor signs of wear. The artwork should have no marks of any kind and there should be no "ring wear" (that is, the outline of the record inside should not show through the sleeve).

Excellent

EX or VG++

Vinyl should play with no skips of any kind. It should sound better than it looks. Often "Excellent" or "VG++" is a conservative version of "Near Mint." Perhaps some very minor surface scuffs, but again no effect on sound quality.

Record sleeve might have some minor "ring wear" but otherwise the artwork should be unaffected. There should be no "ink wear" to the artwork. That is areas where the ink has worn down to the paper underneath. Perhaps some minor creases in the corners but no splits in the seams.

Very Good Plus

VG+

Vinyl will show wear including surface scuffs and some light scratches. Often, minor scuffs will be caused by the inner sleeve rubbing against the vinyl. If held up to a bright light, you will often see many tiny lines on the vinyl. Perhaps a few minor clicks or pops can be heard, but no deep scratches.

Record sleeve should be clean, but slightly more aged. Perhaps some very small writing on the sleeve. The corners may be slightly bent, but not broken. There may be wear to the seams but not tears or holes popping through.

Very Good

VG

Vinyl doesn't necessarily look good, but still plays well. Surface noise will probably be present including pops and clicks. At good volume levels, the music should overpower any pops and clicks present. Flaws should only be heard between tracks or on low volume passages.

Record sleeve will look warn and used. There may be seam splitting, but not complete separation of the sleeve panels from each other. There will be noticeable ring wear on the cover, but most of the cover should still be in good condition.

Good

VG-/G+/G

Vinyl looks well played, dull, and possibly not well taken care of. However, the record should still play without skipping. It will have substantial surface noise, pops and clicks. Loss of various parts of the dynamic range will occur due to worn grooves. This grade depends a lot on the owner and the type of record. A rock record may still sound "good" at high volume whereas a slower styles of music will sound terrible.

Record sleeve may have many problems including seam splits, writing, taped repairs. However some of the artwork will still be visible. There can't be large tears and gouges in the cover.

Fair/Poor

F/P

Doesn't meet the lowest standards for "good". At this point, the vinyl is difficult to listen to. The only reason to keep it would be due to extreme rarity or to fill a good sleeve until a better copy of the vinyl comes along.

Doesn't meet the lowest standards for "good". The sleeve is torn, bent, and shows a very high level of wear. Attempts to tape the sleeve have made it worse. The only reason to keep the sleeve would be due to extreme rarity or to protect a good copy of the vinyl until a better sleeve comes along.