Founded in 1986 by Steve Grad and John Jordan, PSA pioneered the collectibles authentication and grading service that has become the standard for the industry. PSA representatives would travel around the United States attending card shows to pick up submissions directly from collectors to grade. Over the decades, PSA has certified millions of collectibles valued at billions of dollars.
When collectors submit their sports cards, coins or other collectibles to PSA, the items will be examined closely by experienced graders. For sports cards, this includes inspecting the centering, corners, edges and surface quality under bright lighting to determine the condition and grade. The grades range from 1 to 10, with 10 being flawless “gem mint” condition. After grading, the item is then sealed in a hard plastic holder to protect and authenticate the grade. This helps assure potential buyers that the grade is legitimate should the item be sold.
Some key aspects that determine a PSA grade for sports cards include:
Centering – How perfectly centered the image is front and back within the card borders. Off-center cards grade lower.
Corners – Are the corners sharp and undamaged or are there signs of wear like rounded edges? Sharp corners grade higher.
Edges – Is the edge smooth all around or are there dings, chips or other damage? Smooth edges are better.
Surface – Is the surface clean and scratch free? Flaws like scratches, clouding or print defects lower the grade.
By authenticated and assigning a universally understood grade, PSA helps bring liquidity and transparency to the collectibles marketplace. When an item is encapsulated and branded with the iconic PSA holders, it provides buyers confidence in what they are purchasing. This gives collectors reason to invest more in higher graded PSA items.
Over the decades, PSA has expanded greatly and now has offices and grading facilities around the world. While originally focused only on sports cards, PSA now also grades coins, comic books, vintage photographs, stock certificates, stamps and more. Not only does PSA grade modern collectibles, but they also provide expertise in assigning grades to antique and historic items.
As the collectibles market has boomed in recent years, PSA has scaled up operations to keep pace with rising demand. In 2020, PSA reported having graded over 2 million collectibles worth a total declared value of $2.4 billion submitted by collectors around the world. For valuable vintage sports cards, comic books, coins and other extremely high-end collectibles – a PSA grading is often seen as essential to establishing provenance and market value.
A PSA certification has become an expected standard for serious vintage sports card collectors and dealers. The PSA authentic hologram and holder assures buyers that the grade, condition and authenticity has been verified by the most respected third party grading service. While other grading companies exist, PSA remains the ultimate authority recognized within the collectibles industry due to their pioneering role and longstanding reputation of integrity and expertise in authentication and analysis. PSA certification adds perceived and monetary value for collectibles by providing a dependable and well-defined system that brings greater confidence to buyers and sellers.
