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Slab

A slab is the sealed, tamper-evident plastic holder a grading company puts a card in, with a label that shows the grade and a certification number.

Also called graded card, slabbed card.

Grading
The parts of a slab, on a generic holder A drawing of a generic graded-card holder: a sealed hard case with a label band at the top and the card in a well beneath it. The label: Names the card, the grade and a certification number; Sealed hard case: Tamper-evident: the card cannot be touched or swapped without breaking it; The graded card. Generic holder The label Names the card, the grade and a certification number The graded card Sealed hard case Tamper-evident: the card cannot be touched or swapped without breaking it

In more detail

Once a card is graded, the company seals it in a hard case so it cannot be touched or swapped without breaking the case. The label at the top names the card, the grade and a certification number, which ties that exact card to the company's own record of it.

Collectors call graded cards slabs, and some rip sites sell packs made only of slabbed cards. A slab protects the card in the mail and in a vault, but the grade is not fixed forever: a card can be cracked out of its case and sent to another company, which may give it a different number.

When you buy a slab, look up the certification number before you pay, and compare the photo in the company's record with the card in front of you. A cracked case, a label that does not match, or a number with no record are all reasons to walk away.

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