When it comes to collecting baseball cards, the term “graded” refers to a card that has been professionally analyzed and given a grade by one of the major third-party grading services. There are a few such companies that are considered the authorities when it comes to baseball card grading, including Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), Beckett Grading Services (BGS), and Hockey Card Grading (HCG).
These professional grading companies will analyze a card submitted to them and assign it a numerical grade based on its condition and quality of preservation. The highest grade a card can receive is gem mint (GM) or mint (MT) 10. A mint 10 designation means the card is in absolutely pristine condition with no flaws. As the grades go lower, they indicate slight flaws in the centering, edges, surface, or corners of the card. The lowest grade a card can get is poor (PR) 1, which would mean the card is damaged or in very rough shape.
Grading a card serves several important functions for serious collectors. First, it provides an objective analysis of a card’s condition from a trusted third party authority. This allows buyers and sellers to clearly understand the quality and value of a graded card. Without grading, condition issues like centering, edges or surface flaws might be subjectively described but hard to truly quantify. Grading eliminates ambiguity.
Grading also greatly enhances a card’s liquidity and value. By slabbing a card in a hard plastic holder with the grade clearly displayed, it makes the card much easier to sell or trade. Buyers can be confident in the assessed grade without having to closely inspect the raw card itself. This opens the potential market considerably. Studies have shown graded cards typically sell for a strong premium over raw, ungraded versions of the same card in similar condition.
Perhaps most importantly, grading helps preserve the card long-term. Once slabbed by the grading service, the card is protected from physical damage, fingerprints or accidental wear-and-tear that could diminish its condition over time. This allows serious collectors, especially of high-value vintage cards, to guarantee optimal preservation for decades into the future. Some of the most expensive baseball cards ever sold were graded mint specimens over 100 years old.
The grading process itself is exacting and standardized. Submitters pay a fee and shipping costs to send cards to the grading service. Multiple human graders will then carefully analyze each card under specialized lighting and magnification tools. They assess criteria like centering, corners, edges and surface quality against official photographic guides. Statistical data ensures grading consistency over time. Any restoration, alterations or damage factors into the final grade assigned.
Once graded, the card is encased within an inert polypropylene holder or slab branded with the grading company’s logo. The front of the slab prominently displays the card image along with its numerical grade. Information like the card’s year, set and sport are noted on the back along with unique alphanumeric certification codes. This makes a graded card instantly verifiable as authentic.
While bringing various benefits, the grading process does have some potential downsides that collectors should be aware of as well. The cost of submitting multiple cards can add up significantly over time. Resubmitting a card to try achieving a higher grade re-incurs submission fees. There is also possibility of human grading errors despite quality control efforts. And once slabbed, a card cannot be physically examined in the same way again.
The term “graded” when used in reference to baseball cards denotes a card that has undergone the rigorous authentication and condition assessment process of a professional third-party grading service. Receiving an official assigned grade helps validate a card’s quality, enhances its value in the marketplace, aids in long-term preservation, and removes ambiguity about its condition that is inherent with raw, ungraded cards. For serious vintage card collectors and investors, grading has become essentially indispensable to properly understand and establish value.
