The grading of baseball cards is an important part of the hobby for collectors and investors. Over the decades, various grading scales have been developed to assign a condition grade to a card to indicate its state of preservation and value relative to other graded examples. The two largest and most prominent third-party grading services for sportscards are Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and Beckett Grading Services (BGS). Both use a 1-10 point scale to grade the condition or quality of a card, with 10 being the highest mint grade and 1 the lowest grade for a very poor quality card.
The current PSA/BGS 10-point scale has become the industry standard, but it was not always the case. In the early days of the hobby in the 1980s, there was no universal grading system used. Collectors would describe a card’s condition in general terms like “near mint”, “very good”, or “poor”. In the 1990s, Beckett introduced their monthly magazine which included population reports that listed how many examples of particular cards had been graded by BGS at each level. This helped bring more consistency and objectivity to condition assessment.
In 2000, PSA launched a similar population reporting service and their grading quickly became the most recognized. On the PSA/BGS 10-point scale, the grades are defined as follows:
PSA/BGS 10 – Designates a flawless card, often referred to as “gem mint”. Corners are sharp, surfaces are clean and smooth with no print defects or flaws of any kind under close inspection.
PSA/BGS 9 – Considered near mint (NM) or “mint” condition. May have a slight production flaw or imperfection but nothing significant enough to detract from eye appeal. Corners remain sharp.
PSA/BGS 8 – Still near mint but edges could be a touch more rounded. Surfaces remain smooth with light print flaws possible.
PSA/BGS 7 – Edges will start to show slight rounding but card faces remain clean. Very minimal wear.
PSA/BGS 6 – Designated as an “excellent” grade. Edges will show more rounding and surfaces could have minor print defects or light scratches. Still displays nice color and detail.
PSA/BGS 5 – Called “very good”. Definite rounding of edges with scratches or print lines on surfaces now acceptable. Color and details still clear.
PSA/BGS 4 – Edges will be dull or rounded. Scratches and print lines or spots now expected on surfaces. Slight discoloration possible. Designated a “good” grade.
PSA/BGS 3 – Edges rounded and worn down significantly. Heavy scratches, stains or discoloration on surfaces lowering eye appeal. Designated a “fair” grade.
PSA/BGS 2 – Edges severely worn and rounding. Heavily scratched surfaces with color loss. Designated a “poor” grade.
PSA/BGS 1 – Considered ungraded. Severe surface damage and edges completely worn down. Staple holes, tears, pieces missing.
In addition to the numeric grade, PSA and BGS also designate special labels for attributes like centering, corners and edges which can affect value. A “black label” from PSA signifies a true “gem mint” quality card that is not only a PSA 10 but has perfect centering, corners and edges as well. This is the pinnacle grade and cards achieving it gain a substantial premium.
Other third party graders also use variations of the 10-point scale. SGC, for instance, uses a similar definition of grades but labels them as “pristine”, “gem mint”, “excellent”, etc. instead of numbers. CGC, the main comic book grading company, does use numeric scores of 1-10 that correspond closely to the sportscard scales.
In the raw, ungraded market, conditions are still generally described verbally as “near mint”, “very good”, etc. But the consensus is the PSA/BGS numeric scale provides collectors the most objective way to compare graded cards and understand relative condition and scarcity. As the population of a certain vintage card increases at the top grades over time, it also affects perceived value and demand. The grading scale allows for a standardized condition assessment that the modern hobby is now built upon.
