Card grades from 1 to 10
What graders are looking at, level by level. This follows PSA's scale and is written in our own words. Collectors Card Hub doesn't grade cards, and this page can't tell you what a card would get.
The scale
PSA 10 (GEM-MT)
- Corners
- Flawless
- Edges
- —
- Surface
- No damage, blemishes or other imperfections
- Centering
- Very well centered
- Front range
- 55/45 or better
- Back range
- 75/25 or better
PSA 9 (MINT)
- Corners
- —
- Edges
- —
- Surface
- One small flaw is allowed, such as a small printing fault
- Centering
- Can be very slightly off
- Front range
- 60/40 to 65/35 or better *
- Back range
- 90/10 or better *
PSA 8 (NM-MT)
- Corners
- Slight fraying on a corner or two
- Edges
- —
- Surface
- Passes for a 9 at first look, with small flaws up close
- Centering
- Can be very slightly off
- Front range
- 65/35 to 70/30 or better *
- Back range
- 90/10 or better *
PSA 7 (NM)
- Corners
- Light fraying
- Edges
- —
- Surface
- Light wear or a small printing blemish
- Centering
- Can be off-center
- Front range
- 70/30 to 75/25 or better *
- Back range
- 90/10 or better *
PSA 6 (EX-MT)
- Corners
- More obvious fraying, some rounding
- Edges
- —
- Surface
- Visible wear, perhaps a light scratch
- Front range
- 80/20 or better *
- Back range
- 90/10 or better *
PSA 5 (EX)
- Corners
- Light rounding
- Edges
- —
- Surface
- More visible wear or printing faults
- Front range
- 85/15 or better *
- Back range
- 90/10 or better *
PSA 4 (VG-EX)
- Corners
- —
- Edges
- —
- Surface
- More visible wear, or several light scratches
- Centering
- Can be more noticeably off-center
- Front range
- 85/15 or better *
- Back range
- 90/10 or better *
PSA 3 (VG)
- Corners
- Rounding
- Edges
- —
- Surface
- Clear wear. Borders may have yellowed, and creases or other damage can show
- Front range
- Not confirmed
- Back range
- Not confirmed
PSA 2
- Corners
- Faster, heavier rounding
- Edges
- Chipping is possible
- Surface
- Obvious wear, and possibly several creases
- Centering
- Can be more clearly off-center
- Front range
- Not confirmed
- Back range
- Not confirmed
PSA 1
- Corners
- —
- Edges
- —
- Surface
- Major creases, missing pieces, heavy discoloration, warping or other destructive damage
- Front range
- Not confirmed
- Back range
- Not confirmed
* From PSA's older “Grading Your Cards” article. The PSA 10 range is from PSA's grading standards. The level summaries draw on PSA's trading card grading page. PSA calls its centering figures approximate, and says graders can make a judgment call on eye appeal.
Half grades
PSA added half grades in 2008, one within each number from 1 to 10 except 9.5, so PSA card grades go 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and so on up to 8.5, then 9 and 10. That announcement is the source for this section, and we couldn't confirm whether anything has changed since.
- A half grade isn't the midpoint between two grades. It marks a card that's strong for its number.
- Centering counts most. The card needs to beat its grade's centering figure by at least five to ten points.
- A card with an off-center qualifier (OC) can't get a half grade, however strong the rest of it is.
We couldn't confirm a separate description of PSA 1.5, so it isn't described above.
Other graders
Other companies use their own scales and standards, so a number from one doesn't carry over to another.
- Beckett: grades from 1 to 10 in half-point steps, and scores centering, corners, edges and surface separately. That makes a 9.5 possible there, unlike on PSA's card scale. We haven't listed its centering figures, because we could only find them secondhand.
- SGC: another long-running grader. We couldn't confirm the details of its scale, so we've left them out.
Checking a card yourself
Every card page in the collection has an Examine button for measuring centering and looking closely at the color and surface. It estimates from a scan and isn't a grade. The “Value by grade” table on a card page shows market prices for that card at each grade, not the grade of that copy.