Trading Card Grading Guide

A PSA Gem Mint 10 card is a virtually perfect card. It has four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus, and full original gloss, and must be free of staining. A slight printing imperfection is allowed if it does not impair the overall appeal. The image must be centered within approximately 55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the back.

A PSA Mint 9 card is a superb-condition card that exhibits only one minor flaw (for example, a very slight wax stain on the back, a minor printing imperfection, or slightly off-white borders). Centering must be approximately 60/40 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back. It retains almost all original gloss and has four sharp corners and sharp focus.

A PSA NM-MT 8 card is a very high-end card that appears Mint at first glance but may have a few very small flaws visible under close inspection (such as a very slight wax stain on the back, tiny fraying at one or two corners, a minor printing imperfection, or slightly off-white borders). Centering must be approximately 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back. Most original gloss is retained, and edges are sharp.

A PSA NM 7 card shows only slight wear. The corners may have slight fraying, picture focus may be slightly off-register, and a minor printing blemish is acceptable. A slight wax stain on the back is allowed. Most of the original gloss is retained. Centering must be approximately 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.

A PSA EX-MT 6 card may have visible surface wear or minor defects that do not detract from its overall appeal. Corners may show slight softening (very light fraying), and there may be small print spots or a very light scratch visible under close inspection. The card may exhibit some loss of gloss and very slight border discoloration. Centering must be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.

A BGS Pristine 10 (Black Label) card is flawless to the naked eye and virtually flawless under magnification. Its corners and edges are perfect, and there are no print spots, scratches, or surface imperfections. The image is perfectly centered (50/50) on the front and essentially perfect on the back (55/45).

A BGS Gem Mint 9.5 card is virtually flawless at first glance, with only minute imperfections visible under magnification (such as tiny print spots or very slight corner touches). Centering is nearly perfect: the image should be 50/50 in one direction and 55/45 the other on the front, and at least 60/40 on the back.

A BGS Mint 9 card appears flawless upon close inspection but may have extremely minor flaws (e.g., tiny edge chipping or one or two minuscule scratches). The front should be centered 55/45 or better, and the back 70/30 or better.

A BGS 8.0 card has sharp, smooth edges and corners to the naked eye, with only minor imperfections allowed. A few tiny print spots or light scratches on the gloss are acceptable. Centering should be 60/40 or better on the front and 80/20 or better on the back.

A BGS 7.0 card may have minor notches, chipping, or speckling and minor wear on two or three corners (with possibly a small wax stain on the back for baseball cards). Centering should be 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 on the back.

A CGC Pristine 10 card is flawless under 10× magnification and virtually flawless to the naked eye. Centering is 50/50 on the front, and the card has perfect color and registration.

A CGC Gem Mint 10 card is essentially perfect but misses one criterion of a Pristine card (such as a tiny imperfection). Corners appear perfect naked-eye and Mint+ under magnification. The surface shows no print spots and full gloss. Centering must not exceed about 55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the back.

A CGC 9.5 Mint+ card has premium eye appeal for a 9. Minor attributes like exceptional centering can elevate a card to Mint+. (CGC does not list specific centering, but exceptional centering is implied.)

A CGC 9.0 Mint card has four sharp corners with only minor wear (e.g. one small ding or minor edge wear). The surface has full gloss with at most a few tiny specks or one minor spot. Centering must be 60/40 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.

A CGC 8.5 card has relatively smooth edges with only minor touches of wear, and original gloss. Only very minor flaws are allowed: corners sharp naked-eye with slight imperfections under 10×, a small number of print spots, or subtle focus issues. A slight diamond cut is allowed. Centering must be 65/35 or better.

An SGC Pristine 10 card is virtually flawless. Centering must be 50/50 on both front and back. It exhibits four sharp corners, crisp focus, and uninterrupted gloss, free of stains or wear even under magnification.

An SGC Gem Mint 10 card appears nearly perfect at first glance. It has four sharp corners and crisp surface focus. No breaks in gloss or surface flaws are visible. Centering must be at least 55/45 on the front and 70/30 on the back.

An SGC 9.5 Mint+ card looks like a Mint 10 but has one or two tiny flaws under close scrutiny (such as a minor pit or scratch). Centering must be 55/45 or better on both front and back.

An SGC 9.0 Mint card has four sharp corners. Centering must be at least 60/40 on both front and back. It maintains sharp focus but may have one minor flaw (e.g. a small corner nick, tiny gloss break or print spot) that is only visible up close.

An SGC 8.5 card has four sharp corners and sharp focus. Centering must be 65/35 or better on both front and back. A few minor flaws are allowed (slight corner touch, minor print spot, or very light surface scratch).

A TAG Pristine 10 exceeds industry Gem Mint standards and is extremely rare. To earn this grade, a card must have virtually flawless corners and edges under high-resolution imaging, and a completely flawless surface (only non-human observable defects). Centering must be within about 51/49 on the front and 54/45 on the back (for sports cards).

A TAG Gem Mint 10 card has four sharp corners (only minor fill or fray at microscopic level) and an extremely attractive surface. A very tiny defect (such as a small pit or light scratch not penetrating the gloss) may be present under high-resolution. Centering must be within ~55/45 on the front and ~70/30 on the back.

A TAG Mint 9 card shows up to two tiny corner touches on the front and slight wear on back corners, but remains sharp and square. Surface may have a few small pits, light print lines, or minor scratches. Centering must be around 60/40 on the front and 90/10 on the back.

A TAG 8.5 Near Mint/Mint+ card has sharp corners (with some light touches visible under high-res) and sharp focus. Centering must be about 62.5/37.5 on the front and 95/5 on the back. A few minor surface defects are present (light scratches, scuffing, or print lines).

A TAG 8.0 Near Mint/Mint card allows one corner to show minor wear and light corner touches on the front (back corners slightly more worn). Centering must be ~65/35 on the front. Surface may have several small flaws (scratches, print lines, minor focus issues).