Baseball cards are assigned numeric grades by professional grading services to indicate their state of preservation and quality. The two largest and most well-known services are Beckett Grading Services (BGS) and Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA).
When a collector submits their cards to be graded, the grading company will first inspect the card closely under high magnification lenses and bright lighting to analyze its condition. Graders look at several different aspects of the card that could impact its grade, including the centering, corners, edges and surface.
Centering refers to how perfectly centered the photograph or illustration on the front of the card is within the borders. A card where the image is far off-center to one side would receive a lower grade. Corners are inspected for any rounding, chipping or tears that have occurred over time. Sharp, undamaged corners contribute to a higher grade. Edges are graded based on how smoothly the corners meet the sides and for any nicks or flaws. The surface is analyzed for any scratches, flecks, spots or other blemishes on the front or back that were accumulated since the card was printed.
Once all these different physical attributes are assessed, the grader will take all the relevant condition factors into account to determine an overall grade for the card on a numerical scale. For most major modern sport cards, the two largest companies PSA and BGS use a 1-10 point scale. A “1” grade signifies a card in ruined or nearly ruined condition, while a perfect “10” grade card would be in pristine mint condition, having just come straight from an unopened pack.
In between the extremes, the middle grades have the following typical guidelines:
PSA 5 – Noticeable wear, very good card
PSA 6 – Light wear, above average condition
PSA 7 – Some wear visible on closer inspection, generally sharp corners
PSA 8 – Very slight wear, all corners sharp, nearly flawless surfaces
PSA 9 – Like new, only wear discernible under closest inspection
PSA 10 – Gem Mint, pristine card in publishable condition
BGS uses a similar numeric scale but adds additional plus/minus qualifiers after some grades, such as BGS 9.5. This provides extra granularity in separating top-tier cards. Cards graded by PSA or BGS are securely sealed in a clear plastic holder that displays the grade on the front for verification and protection of the card during shipping/selling.
Once a card is officially graded, its assigned grade then becomes an important factor that helps determine its monetary value in the collecting marketplace. Higher grades of 8 and above especially add significant premiums, as collectors are willing to pay top dollar for scarce top-pop cards in pristine preserved condition. The grading process helps bring consistency, objectivity and transparency to the condition assessment process that is so important for collectors and dealers. It allows matched grading between services and easier price comparisons across different graded samples of the same card issue and player.
As the valuable vintage and modern sports card market has boomed in recent years, third party grading has taken on even greater significance. With so much money at stake in high-value transactions, grading provides collectors assurance that the condition of their purchase meets an agreed-upon industry standard based on the assigned numeric grade. It is a system that has become central to the modern collecting Scene.
The baseball card grading process undertaken by professional services like PSA and BGS brings standardization, trust and liquidity to the marketplace by applying numeric condition assessments that collectora can rely on when buying, selling or trading their collections.
