Grading baseball cards is important if you want to determine the condition and value of your collection. There are several factors that are considered when grading cards such as centering, corners, edges and surface. The main third-party grading companies that provide authentication and numerical grades for cards are PSA, BGS, SGC and HGA.
To start, you’ll want to examine the centering of the card. Centering refers to how evenly the image is spaced within the borders. A perfectly centered card would have equal margins on all four sides. Decentering of just 5-10% in any direction can lower the grade. Checking centering is easy and gives you a good initial idea of the card’s grade.
Next, take a close look at the corners. Corners are one of the areas most susceptible to damage from cuts, bends or wear over time. Lightly rounded corners may receive a 8 or 9 grade while anything deeper would be in the 6 or 7 range depending on severity. Harper edging is also crucial as worn or dirty edges can have a big impact.
The surface or face of the card is critical. Look for scratches, scuffs, dirt, stains or flaws. Light print dots or light surface scratch may get a 9 while deeper scratches or pinholes would lower the number significantly. Try angling the card to better see imperfections under light. Make sure to carefully examine the entire surface front and back.
Now you’ll want to assign your own number grade from 1-10 based on the condition with 10 being Mint/Gem Mint. Cards in the 8-10 range are usually investment quality that hold value well long term. Anything 6 and below is considered to have obvious flaws and usually only of interest to budget collectors.
To get an official grade, you’ll need to submit the card to a professional grading service. They will authenticate, encapsulate for protection and assign an official grade on their scale, which is usually stricter than a simple 1-10 assessment. Be prepared to pay a fee which is usually around $10-20 per card depending on service and turnaround time requested.
Once you receive the card back, it will be sealed in a tamper proof plastic holder with the grade clearly labeled. Holding that certified PSA 10 or BGS 9.5 card in your hand is a great feeling knowing its pristine condition has been verified objectively. Slabbed cards also make for nice display pieces and are ideal for long term investment purposes.
Properly grading cards takes practice but a keen eye and understanding the key factors like centering, corners, edges and surface condition will allow you to assess your collection and decide which pieces are worth the cost of professional grading authentication down the line. With time and experience, you’ll get better at recognizing subtle details that can separate a 9 from a pristine PSA 10 GEM MINT.
