Record Collectors, Goldmine - what are the differences between the vinyl record grading scales?

Here at Atlas Records, we grade any vinyl that comes in to us against what is known as the ‘Record Collectors Grading System’. This system is predominantly used in the UK and is often the go-to grading scale for many online and high-street stores.

 The Record Collectors Grading Scale was introduced as part of the Record Collector Magazine which was originally published back in March of 1980 and was initially designed to help collectors identify and value the rarer records of the time.

The magazine then adapted and evolved this regular feature into what is now the Record Collector Grading Scale. In terms of the actual scale itself, it offers grades of ‘Mint’, ‘Excellent’, ‘Very Good’, ‘Fair’, ‘Poor’, and ‘Bad’. 

Many sellers using the Records Collector System will also include 'plus' or 'minus' additions which can allow an indication of whether the record is closer to the top of the grade, or the bottom.

You won't find grades lower than Very Good (VG) on our store. The damage to records at Very Good Minus (VG-) and lower can often be too much for many to want to collect or listen to them. So, on our website every record you'll see will be graded as either ‘Mint’, ‘Near Mint’, ‘Excellent’, ‘Very Good Plus’ or ‘Very Good’.

The other most typically seen grading scale is the ‘Goldmine Grading System’ which was created by the Goldmine Record Magazine (originally published in 1974). This scale differs from the Record Collectors System in that it allows for gradings of ‘Mint’, ‘Near Mint’, ‘Very Good Plus, ‘Very Good’, ‘Good’, ‘Good Plus’, ‘Poor’, and ‘Fair’. This scale is used more by stores and online resellers who are based in the USA (like Discogs, for example), and carries with it a broader definition of some grades, like ‘Very Good Plus’.

 The fact that the standard Goldmine Grading System allows for more grading options can mean that records are graded more accurately, however, the downside to this system is that it can sometimes be quite challenging to discern between gradings.

One of the key differences between the two scales is both the inclusion and omission of the ‘Excellent’ and ‘Very Good Plus’ gradings in each scale. As we have alluded to before with the Record Collectors Grading Scale being very much a UK standard, it chooses to adopt the ‘Excellent’ grade where the Goldmine Grading Scale does not.

The ‘Excellent’ grade that appears on the Record Collector Scale is considered to be very similar (if not the same as) a ‘Very Good Plus’ grade on the Goldmine Grading System. This means that ‘Excellent’ does not appear on the latter list as its own grade. However, more and more collectors are becoming accustomed to ‘Excellent’, as it is appearing more frequently on sites like Discogs from users who are wanting a clearer line drawn between a ‘Near Mint’ and a ‘Very Good Plus’ grade. You can read more about the specifics of each grade in the Goldmine Grading System via Discogs.

Our years of experience and 100,000 second hand records safely delivered mean that we feel confident in how we grade our records. Accurately grading records is a difficult thing to master, especially when selling to customers across the world with a whole host of different prior experience and knowledge.

We take a great deal of care to ensure that we continue to keep up with each other and our customers to maintain a high grading standard. We also offer all important free returns on all of our products, as we believe that no one should be left with a record they aren't completely happy with.

Using multiple clear grades between Mint and Very Good (NM, Ex, VG+) allows us plenty of nuance and accuracy in our grading. If you are thinking about placing an order with us and would like to read more about the specific meanings of each grade we use, take a look at our Grading Guide.