Declared value

In more detail

You write the number yourself. CGC's policy calls it your best estimate of the card's current fair market value, based on a recent purchase price, a comparable sale, a price guide or another reasonable method. For a raw card, base it on an ungraded copy rather than on the grade you hope for; for a graded card, on a copy at the same grade. The grading company may check it: CGC says that if it decides a card's fair market value is higher than the value stated, it moves the card to the matching higher level and the submitter pays the difference.

A level's limit applies to each card, not to the box. A card declared above a level's limit has to go in a higher one, and a lower declared value does not save money if the company moves the card up anyway.

Base the figure on comps, which are recent sales of the same card: in the same condition for a raw card, or at the same grade for a graded one. Keep your notes, since CGC decides for itself what a card is worth and can move it up a level.