Use this page as a quick reference when reading grading guides, evaluating cards, or interpreting results from CardGrading.app.
PSA Professional Sports Authenticator. The most popular grading company for Pokemon cards. PSA uses a 1-10 whole-number grading scale, with PSA 10 (Gem Mint) being the highest grade.
CGC Certified Guaranty Company. A grading company that uses half-point increments and includes sub-grades on every label at no extra cost. Generally more affordable than PSA.
BGS Beckett Grading Services. Known for their sub-grading system and the coveted BGS 10 Black Label (perfect 10 across all four sub-grades). Popular for Magic: The Gathering and sports cards.
PSA 10 (Gem Mint) The highest grade PSA assigns. Requires virtually perfect condition: centering within 60/40 on front and 75/25 on back, sharp corners, clean edges, and a flawless surface.
PSA 9 (Mint) Near-perfect condition with one minor flaw. Allows centering up to 65/35 on front and 90/10 on back. One tiny corner whitening or minor surface imperfection permitted.
PSA 8 (NM-MT) Near Mint to Mint. A very attractive card with only slight wear. Allows centering up to 70/30 on front. Minor corner or edge whitening may be present.
PSA 7 (NM) Near Mint. A card with slight surface wear, minor corner whitening, or a print defect. Still attractive but with noticeable imperfections under close inspection.
Centering The position of the printed image relative to the card edges. Measured as a ratio (e.g., 55/45, 60/40). Perfect centering is 50/50. PSA 10 requires 60/40 or better on front and 75/25 or better on back.
55/45 Centering A centering ratio where the borders on opposite sides are 55% and 45% of the combined width. This is well within PSA 10 tolerance (which allows up to 60/40 on the front).
60/40 Centering The maximum centering ratio allowed for a PSA 10 on the front of the card. Borders can differ by no more than this ratio. Anything worse (e.g., 61/39) disqualifies the card from PSA 10.
Back Centering Centering measured on the back of the card. PSA allows much more lenient tolerances for back centering: 75/25 for PSA 10 and 90/10 for PSA 9.
Corner Whitening A condition defect where the colored layer at a card's corner chips away, revealing the white cardstock core beneath. The most common condition issue that prevents PSA 10 grades.
Edge Whitening Similar to corner whitening but occurring along the edges of the card. The colored border layer wears or chips away, revealing white cardstock. Often visible on the back edges of played cards.
Silvering A defect on holographic/foil cards where the foil layer shows a silvery sheen along the edges of the card. This is a manufacturing issue common on vintage holo cards. PSA counts silvering against the grade.
Print Lines Thin lines visible on the card surface, caused by printing press rollers during manufacturing. Not damage from handling, but PSA still counts print lines against the surface grade.
Slab The hard plastic case that grading companies seal a graded card inside. The slab displays the grade, certification number, and card details. It is tamper-evident and designed to protect the card.
Raw Card A card that has not been professionally graded. "Raw" means the card is loose (possibly in a sleeve or toploader) but not encapsulated in a grading slab.
Sub-Grades Individual scores for each of the four grading criteria (centering, corners, edges, surface). CGC and BGS include sub-grades on every label. PSA offers sub-grades as an additional paid service.
Gem Mint The condition descriptor for PSA 10. A Gem Mint card is in virtually perfect condition with no visible defects to the naked eye.
Near Mint (NM) A condition where the card shows only very slight wear. Near Mint cards may have tiny imperfections visible under magnification but appear perfect at normal viewing distance. Corresponds to PSA 7.
Toploader A rigid plastic sleeve used to protect raw cards. Thicker and more protective than penny sleeves. Some grading companies accept cards submitted in toploaders.
Card Saver A semi-rigid plastic holder used for submitting cards to PSA. Card Savers are required by PSA and provide protection during shipping while allowing easy removal for grading.
Penny Sleeve A thin, flexible plastic sleeve that provides basic protection for trading cards. Cards should be placed in penny sleeves before insertion into toploaders or card savers.
Holo / Holographic A card with a holographic (shiny, rainbow-reflecting) pattern on part or all of the card surface. Holographic areas are more prone to visible scratches than non-holo surfaces.
Full Art A card where the artwork extends across the entire card face with no standard border frame. Full art cards often command higher values and are popular targets for grading.
Alt Art / Alternate Art A special illustration variant of a card, typically featuring unique artwork by a guest artist. Alternate art Pokemon cards are among the most valuable modern cards.
AI Card Grading Using artificial intelligence to evaluate a trading card's condition from a photograph and predict its professional grade. AI card grading is a pre-screening tool, not a replacement for official grading from PSA, CGC, or BGS.
Pre-Screening Evaluating a card's condition before submitting it for professional grading. The goal is to identify which cards are likely to grade PSA 9-10 (worth the grading fee) versus those that would grade lower.
WOTC Wizards of the Coast. The company that published the original English Pokemon TCG cards from 1999 to 2003. WOTC-era cards are considered "vintage" and are known for inconsistent centering and print quality.
Black Label A BGS grade where all four sub-grades are perfect 10s. BGS 10 Black Label is the rarest and most prestigious grade in the trading card hobby. The label is printed in black instead of gold.