MARS RECORDS GRADING STANDARDS FOR 33 RPM,
45 RPM, AND 78 RPM VINYL RECORDS

The following are the grading standards used by Mars Records for 33 RPM, 45 RPM, and 78 RPM records. Note that album covers are graded separately (see "GRADING STANDARDS FOR EP AND LP COVERS").

GEM MINT (GEM-MT 10): Vinyl has no imperfections. Vinyl gloss is 100% full and blazing. Label has no wear. Label has no noticeable imperfections. Label displays ultra bright, original color.

MINT (MT 9): Vinyl has no noticeable imperfections. Vinyl gloss is full. No label
wear should be evident. Label has no major imperfections. Label should display full,
original color, but may have a spindle mark or two.

NEAR MINT (NM 8 or "M-"): Vinyl has a few minor imperfections. Vinyl gloss
nearly full. Label wear, if any, should be barely dectectable. May have a few minor
label imperfections. Label should display full, original color, although it may be
somewhat subdued. Record should play without surface noise.

EXCELLENT (EX 7 or "VG++"): Vinyl has a few noticeable imperfections. Vinyl
should display some gloss. May have slight label wear. May display some label
imperfections, but nothing major. May exhibit slight fading of label color. Record
may play with some very slight surface noise, but nothing distracting.

VERY GOOD to EXCELLENT (VG-EX 6 or "VG+"): Vinyl has noticeable, but not
major, imperfections. May display some original gloss. Label can show some wear,
but cannot have large areas of wear. Can have some noticeable label imperfections. Record may play with some slight surface noise, but nothing that impedes the sound.

VERY GOOD (VG 5): Vinyl has several moderate and/or one or two major flaws.
Vinyl gloss may not be evident. Label may show wear. Label has several moderate
and/or one or two major imperfections, such as writing, tears, stains, etc. Record
may play with some slight surface noise, but nothing that overwhelms the sound.
Label may be somewhat faded or discolored. May have some writing, tears, tape or
seam splits.

GOOD to VERY GOOD (GD-VG 4 or "VG-"): Vinyl has some major imperfections.
Label may be very worn. Label may have some major imperfections. Label may
exhibit definite fading or discoloration. Record will play with noise but no skips.

GOOD (GD 3): Vinyl has major scratches. Label may be well worn. Some of the
lettering or label design may be worn away. Label may have major flaws. Record
will play through, but may be rather noisy.

FAIR (FR 2): Both vinyl and label exhibit major abuses to the surfaces. Major
portions of the lettering and label design may be missing. Record may barely play
through.

POOR (PR 1): Vinyl has so many imperfections that the record may not be
playable. Label may be barely readable.

PICTURE SLEEVES

GEM-MT 10: All pictures and printing will be bright, clear and sharp. Sleeve will be
free of all but the most minuscule printing/ manufacturing flaws.

MT 9: All pictures and printing will be fresh, clear and sharp. There will be no
discoloration or fading. May exhibit some very minor printing/manufacturing or
storage flaws. May have one or two unobtrusive creases about the periphery.

NM 8: Picture will be clear and sharp. No readily detectable ring wear will be
present. Corners should be relatively sharp. May exhibit some very minor bending
or creasing. Other minuscule defects may be present but nothing distracting.

EX 7: Some light "ring" friction may be seen. Corners should be intact but not
necessarily sharp. Can show some creasing and bending but nothing excessive.
Sleeve will be free of any but the most minute, nearly undetectable tears. Staining
or discoloration will not be present.

VG-EX 6: Will show "ring" wear but nothing major. Bending and creasing will be
more prominent. There may be some fraying at the corners. Some minor tears
especially at the top opening may be present. May have some very minor staining
or slight
discoloration. Can have some pin holes.

VG 5: Heavy "ring" wear and scuffing may be present. May exhibit serious
wrinkling and creasing. Corners may be frayed and/or torn. There may be other
tears but nothing serious enough to compromise the structural integrity of the
sleeve. Some minor writing, staining, discoloration or sticker tearing will be
tolerated.

GD-VG 4: Serious "ring" wear and scuffing present. Fraying and tears more
serious. Writing, discoloring, and staining major but not defacing. Corners may be
very frayed and rounded.

GD 3: Major wear and tears present. Writing, discoloring, staining short of total
defacement. Corners may be gone. Structural integrity may be compromised.

FR 2: Many tears and defects adding up to defacement. Sleeve may be barely
intact.

PR 1: Identifiable.

GRADING STANDARDS FOR EP AND LP COVERS

The following are the grading standards used by Mars Records for covers of
Extended Play (EP) and Long Playing (LP) record albums. Note that there are
two grades for every EP and LP; the cover grade appears first, followed by
the record grade.

GEM MINT (GEM-MT 10): Cover is brand new! Cover artwork is virtually perfect with no noticeable manufacturing defects.

MINT (MT 9): Cover is new with no visible wear. Cover artwork colors are full and
bright. There will be no serious manufacturing defects.

NEAR MINT (NM 8 or "M-"): Cover appears new at first glance. There will be some
barely noticeable wear. Cover artwork colors are full, but may be subdued. White
areas may show some very slight mellowing.

EXCELLENT (EX 7 or "VG++"): Cover shows some very minor wear, but no
serious defects. Cover artwork colors are complete, but may show some minor
friction or light flaking. The corners will still be relatively sharp. May show some age mellowing of the white and colored areas.

VERY GOOD to EXCELLENT (VG-EX 6 or "VG+"): Some moderate wear will be
noticeable on artwork, but there will be no serious problems. There will be no major
fraying of the corners.

VERY GOOD (VG 5): Cover will show obvious signs of wear. Portions of the artwork colors may be flaked off. There may be writing, non-major tears, stains, or other abuses. Corners may be somewhat frayed.

GOOD to VERY GOOD (GD-VG 4 or "VG-"): Cover shows heavy wear. Portions of
the cover artwork may be almost worn off and may show some scratches, or other
major abuses. Corners may be very tattered.

GOOD (GD 3): Cover shows very heavy wear. Some portions of the cover artwork
may be worn off. Corners may be rounded. There may be some serious scratches,
tears, splits, or serious problems.

FAIR (FR 2): Cover shows extreme wear and major portions of cover artwork may
be missing. Cover may have very serious scratches and tears, or other disfiguring
defects.

POOR (PR 1): Mutilated, but identifiable.

Special Record Abbreviations

SS. Still Sealed This is a record that is still sealed in its original packaging, such
as an album which has never been opened.

SW: Shrink Wrap This is an album that has been opened but still retains its
original wrapper.

LW: This is an album that has been opened but is in a loose bag used prior to
shrink wrap.

AC: Autographed cover.

ABC: Autographed back cover.

AL: Autographed label.

Grading Qualifiers

Noticeable defects on records and covers are designated by Mars Records
by the use of the following grading qualifiers. Where there is more than one defect
on the record or cover, the most noticeable defect is listed. Records/covers/sleeves that are VG 5 or lower do not require qualifiers. Here are the defect abbreviations we use:

chp: Edge Chip
sp: Seam Split
cchp: Center Hole Chip
stc: Stain On Cover
ct: Cover Tear
stl: Stain On Label
cr: Crack
soc: Sticker On Cover
co: Cut-Out
socr: Sticker On Cover Removed
dsh: Dish
solr: Sticker On Label Removed
dh: Drill Hole
sol: Sticker On Label
fv: Flaw In Vinyl
ts: Taped Seam
fd: Label Fade
tpc: Tape On Cover
fl: Label Flaking
tpl: Tape On Label
lt: Label Tear
wrp: Warp
lam: Lamination
wob: Writing On Back Cover
nc: No Cover
woc:Writing On Front Cover
noc: Number On Cover
wol: Writing On Label
nol: Number On Label
xol: X On Label
nr: No Record
ph: Pin Holes