PSA is widely considered the gold standard for third-party grading of sports cards and other collectibles. They have graded hundreds of millions of cards since establishing the modern card grading industry in the mid-1980s. I’ll outline their grading process from submission to finalizing the grade.
When a collector submits their card to PSA, it first goes through a stringent authentication process. PSA experts carefully examine the card under high-powered magnifying lenses and other tools to confirm its authenticity and that there are no signs of tampering or counterfeiting. They check for things like the correct card stock, printing quality, centering, and registration. Any card found to not be authentic is labeled as such and returned without a grade.
If authenticated, the card then moves to the grading stage. PSA uses a numeric 1-10 scale to assign a grade based on the card’s condition and state of preservation. Near mint conditions get 8s, 9s, and 10s while well-worn cards fall in the 6 and under range. The specifics of what qualities earn which grades can vary slightly based on the card’s age and specific issues but generally speaking…
A PSA 10 is the pinnacle – a flawless gem that looks like it just came out of a fresh pack. To earn a prestigious PSA 10 grade, a card must be perfectly cut, have sharp corners without any rounding or whitening, have a clean white backdrop without spots or discoloration, and show no creases, marks, scratches or flaws of any kind under close inspection. The standards are incredibly strict and PSA 10s are extremely rare for most vintage and older cardboard.
A PSA 9 is still superb condition but may have some very minuscule flaws that prevent true gem status. Things like a slight nick/printing imperfection on the corner, a tiny mark or spot on the surface, or centering that is almost perfect but off by a degree are types of flaws that could knock a card to a 9. But rest assured, a PSA 9 is still exceptionally well-preserved.
Continuing down, a PSA 8 is solid near mint but shows more noticeable signs of age/wear. Corners may have light/minor whitening/rounding, edges could have light rubbing/crimps, centering may be noticeably off center, and slight bends/imperfections may be seen on inspection. Still a highly presentable example though.
In the mid-range, a PSA 7 exhibits clear wear but is still very respectable. Heavier corner wear/rounding, whitening on edges, off-color spots or marks, and creases/bends become more evident. Still retains good eyes-appeal despite not quite nearing mint condition anymore.
Condition falls further with lower grades. PSA 6 examples have significant flaws like heavy rounding/whitening, deep creases/crimps/bends. Still intact but starting to show advanced signs of aging/wear. PSA 5s can have tears/pieces of the card missing in addition to advanced flaws. Below a 5 and the card is truly ragged and retains little monetary/collecting value except for the most rare/significant specimens.
So in summary – PSA assignments align condition on the 1-10 scale based on strict standards analyzed under heavy magnification across several variables including centering, corners, edges, surface, and overall appearance/eye appeal. This rigorous process lends their population report data and mint state guarantees incredible integrity and has made PSA slabs the most trusted way to grade and preserve the condition of your longtime baseball card investments. Their attention to detail and consistency in assigning grades over millions of cards is what made PSA the pioneer and continues to be the favored grading service in the hobby.
