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Authentication

Authentication is a check that a card, an autograph or a graded holder is genuine, separate from grading, which judges condition, though CGC backs both authenticity and grade on the cards it certifies.

Buying and sellingGrading
Authentication beside grading Three drawings: a card under a magnifying glass, a card in a graded holder, and a sleeved card confirmed genuine with no grade. Authentication: A check that a card, an autograph or a holder is genuine; Grading: Judges condition, with a number; Authentic, no grade: Confirmed genuine; its condition not assessed. The tile for Authentication is outlined. Authentication A check that a card, an autograph or a holder is genuine Grading Judges condition, with a number Authentic, no grade Confirmed genuine; its condition not assessed

In more detail

eBay's Authenticity Guarantee sends eligible cards through an authenticator before they reach the buyer. As eBay's page read on October 12, 2026, it covers individual cards of $200 and above bought in the US, raw or graded by one of the companies it accepts. The seller ships the card to an authentication facility, and eBay says the process involves no grading or re-grading.

Some cards are authenticated but not graded. Fanatics Collect explains that a card labeled Authentic by a grading company has been confirmed genuine but carries no numeric grade, so its condition has not been assessed, and it accepts no refunds over condition on those cards. CGC backs the cards it certifies with a guarantee of authenticity and grade.

Makers authenticate too. Upper Deck says an Upper Deck Authenticated representative must witness each autograph its high-profile athletes sign, and each signed memorabilia piece carries a serial-numbered hologram you can look up in its database. Ask how a signed card was authenticated, and by whom, before you buy.

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