The scale
PSA’s ladder, plus Diamond 10.
Grades 10 down to 1 follow PSA’s standards, including Fair at 1.5. Centering figures are the minimum for that grade, on the weaker axis. Diamond 10 is ours: 50/50 on the front and 55/45 on the back.
| Grade | Name | Front | Back | In short |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond | 50/50 | < 55/45 | Gem Mint, with perfect front centering and fantastic back | |
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Redline only Diamond 10 · DiamondSits above Gem Mint. The card must already be a 10: four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus, full original gloss, and no staining. There is no allowance for a printing imperfection. Centering must be 50/50 on the front and no worse than 55/45 on the back, on the weaker axis, both left-right and top-bottom. |
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| Gem Mint | 55/45 | 60/40 | Virtually perfect. | |
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PSA standard 10 · Gem MintA virtually perfect card. Four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus and full original gloss. Free of staining of any kind. A slight printing imperfection may be 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 reverse. |
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| Mint | 60/40 | 70/03 | One minor flaw. | |
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PSA standard 9 · MintA superb card with only one minor flaw: a very slight wax stain on the reverse, a minor printing imperfection, or slightly off-white borders. Centering approximately 60/40 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. |
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| Near Mint-Mint | 65/35 | 70/30 | Looks like a 9 until you look closely. | |
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PSA standard 8 · Near Mint-MintAppears Mint at first glance. On close inspection: a very slight wax stain on the reverse, the slightest fraying at one or two corners, a minor printing imperfection, and/or slightly off-white borders. Centering approximately 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. |
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| Near Mint | 70/30 | 80/20 | Slight wear, only up close. | |
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PSA standard 7 · Near MintSlight surface wear visible on close inspection. Slight fraying on some corners. Most of the original gloss is retained. Centering approximately 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back. |
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| Excellent-Mint | 80/20 | 80/20 | Visible wear, still appealing. | |
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PSA standard 6 · Excellent-MintVery slight rounding of the corners, slight surface scuffing or edge wear, and slight wax staining. Centering 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. |
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| Excellent | 85/15 | 90/10 | Corners starting to round. | |
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PSA standard 5 · ExcellentMinor rounding of the corners, minor surface scuffing or edge wear. A light crease may be visible. Centering 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. |
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| Very Good-Excellent | 85/15 | 90/10 | Rounded corners, maybe a light crease. | |
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PSA standard 4 · Very Good-ExcellentSlightly rounded corners, slight surface scuffing, edge wear and light creases. Centering 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. |
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| Very Good | 90/10 | 90/10 | Worn, and a crease is common. | |
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PSA standard 3 · Very GoodSome rounding of the corners, visible surface wear and edge wear. A crease may be visible. Centering 90/10 or better on the front and the back. |
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| Good | 90/10 | 90/10 | Obvious wear, several creases. | |
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PSA standard 2 · GoodObvious wear. Corner rounding, surface wear, creases and edge wear are apparent. Centering 90/10 or better on the front and the back. |
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| Fair | 90/10 | 90/10 | Heavily worn, but complete. | |
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PSA standard 1.5 · FairHeavy wear. Extreme rounding, heavy creases and edge wear. The card is complete. Centering 90/10 or better on the front and the back. |
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| Poor | No minimum | No minimum | May be missing a small piece. | |
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PSA standard 1 · PoorMajor creasing and extreme wear. A Poor card may be missing one or two small pieces, no larger than 2mm. It must still be fully identifiable. |
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Redline only
Diamond 10 · Diamond
Sits above Gem Mint. The card must already be a 10: four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus, full original gloss, and no staining. There is no allowance for a printing imperfection. Centering must be 50/50 on the front and no worse than 55/45 on the back, on the weaker axis, both left-right and top-bottom.
- Front centering
- 50/50
- Back centering
- < 55/45
What is actually graded
Every card is held to the weakest of four attributes: centering, corners, edges and surface. A perfect surface does not rescue a soft corner. Qualifiers are not used on Diamond 10 or Gem Mint 10.
- OCOff-centre
- STStain
- PDPrint defect
- OFOut of focus
- MKMarks
- MCMiscut
Qualifiers OC, ST, PD, OF, MK and MC can mark grades below Gem Mint when one defect decides the grade, the same marks PSA uses. A genuine card that has been trimmed or altered can be returned Authentic rather than on this numeric scale.