How to check a card before grading: a checklist

To check a card before grading, look at four things: centering, corners, edges and surface. Judge each one against the grading company’s own published scale, under bright light and a 10-times loupe, and price the card at the grade the worst flaw allows, not the grade you hope for. CGC and SGC both publish what each grade permits, and they do not always agree.

What do CGC and SGC look at?

Both scales cover the same four areas: centering, corners, edges and surface. The surface covers print spots, surface marks, gloss breaks, stains and creases. Not every grade’s description mentions all four.

Two details matter before you start:

• Magnification. CGC keeps its Pristine 10 label for cards that are flawless under 10-times magnification, and its Gem Mint 10 asks for corners that look perfect to the naked eye and, under 10-times magnification, grade Mint+. A 10-times triplet loupe, corrected for color and distortion, is the standard tool for professional graders.
• Card type. On CGC’s scale, the centering figures from 9 down are stated for sports and non-sports cards. For TCG cards, such as Pokémon, CGC instead describes the handling or manufacturing defects that several of those grades allow.

SGC’s descriptions are guidelines, and other factors not written into them can affect the final grade. Treat any check you do at home as an estimate.

How do you measure centering?

Centering compares the borders on opposite sides of the card. Measure the left and right borders, add them together, and divide the wider one by the total. Do the same for the top and bottom.

Say a card has a 1.5 mm border on the left and a 2.5 mm border on the right. The total is 4 mm, and 2.5 divided by 4 is 62.5%, so the split is 62.5/37.5. That misses the 60/40 that SGC, and CGC for sports cards, ask for at 9, but it fits the 65/35 both allow at 8. Our centering checker works out both splits from your measurements and finds the highest CGC and SGC grade whose centering figure your card meets.

Check the back too. CGC gives back limits at two grades: 75/25 for Gem Mint 10 and 90/10 for a 9. SGC gives one centering figure per grade and does not separate front from back.

Where both scales give a figure for the same grade, they differ only at 7.5. A card sitting at 68/32 is inside SGC’s 70/30 limit for a 7.5 but outside CGC’s 65/35 limit for the same grade. Neither company gives a centering figure for its 9.5, so a card that misses 55/45 still has no stated number to aim for between 9 and 10.

What corner wear does each grade allow?

Look at each corner with your eyes first, then under the loupe.

• Top grades. SGC’s 10 Gem and 9 both call for four sharp corners, and its 9 lets one minor flaw through, such as a slight nick to one corner. CGC’s 9 describes four sharp corners with only minor wear showing.
• The 8 range. CGC’s 8.5 and 8 permit one very minor flaw, and corners that look sharp to the naked eye but show slight imperfections under magnification are one of the options. SGC’s 8 allows corners that look sharp to the naked eye with slight wear under closer examination, and its 8.5 still asks for four sharp corners.
• The 7 range. CGC’s 7.5 allows a little wear on two or three corners, and its 7 on three or more. SGC’s 7 allows slight wear on some corners.
• Below 7. Fuzzy corners appear at SGC’s 6 and CGC’s 6.5 and 6, where CGC also allows one dinged corner. A ding is corner damage from a drop or a knock that bends the corner. Rounding first appears at CGC’s 5.5 and SGC’s 5.

What should the edges look like?

CGC’s 9 allows slight minor flaws on the edges, and its 8.5 and 8 ask for fairly smooth edges showing only light wear. Slightly rough edges are allowed at CGC’s 7.5 and 7. Chipping appears at CGC’s 5.5 and 5, and SGC’s 5 allows roughness or chipping along an edge, but no layering.

Notches are a separate flaw. SGC’s 6 allows slight notching. Notches on an edge come from a stack of cards held together with a rubber band. If your cards were stored that way, check every edge.

Which surface flaws cost the most?

Tilt the card under a bright light so it catches surface marks, print lines and breaks in the gloss. The two scales differ on some of the small flaws:

On SGC’s scale, a print line or refractor line is not allowed at 10, and a minor one is allowed at 9.

That last row matters most. On the wording of both scales, a crease, however faint, puts a card at about the middle of the scale. CGC’s 4 allows one or more light creases, and SGC’s 4 allows a light hairline crease on one or both sides.

Can you fix a flaw before you send the card?

No. CGC treats trimming, pressing, recoloring, power erasing, stock restoration and corner rebuilding as alterations. CGC gives a card that is authentic but altered, with recoloring and trimming as examples, an Authentic Altered label in place of a number. Send the card as it is.

How do you turn your notes into a grade estimate?

Write down every flaw, then find the highest grade each one allows on each scale. Your working estimate is the lowest of those grades. One off-center back or one soft corner can cap the grade for the whole card.

Then decide whether grading makes sense at that grade:

1. Look up recent sales of the same card at the grade you estimated, with the same company. Our guide to finding what a card sold for sets out the method, and how to value a sports card covers sports cards.
2. Look up what grading costs. Rip.fan’s grading cost calculator takes a card’s declared value and the number of cards, and shows each company’s cheapest and fastest service level with its estimated wait and the day each price was read.
3. Compare the raw price with the graded price at your estimated grade. Our guide to card condition explains the raw labels sellers use.

How should you pack the card?

CGC asks for a protective sleeve first, then a semi-rigid sleeve sturdy enough for the card to come out safely. The cards go between two pieces of cardboard larger than the cards, in the order they appear on the packing slip. Rubber bands hold the cardboard together, but CGC warns against tight bands, and the bundle goes into a sturdy box with packing material around it. CGC adds that its packing steps are suggestions and the customer is responsible for safe packing.

Once the card comes back, the slab carries a cert number you can look up. The grading scale, centering, CGC and SGC entries in the glossary define the terms used here, and our guide to storing graded cards covers what to do next.

Frequently asked questions

Does TAG use the same centering limits as CGC and SGC?

Not at the top. For a TAG Pristine 10, front centering generally cannot pass 51/49 on any single measurement, and back centering 52/48 on TCG cards or 54.5/45.5 on sports cards.

Does off-center count against a raw card's condition?

At TCGplayer, not up to 70/30. Past that split a raw card counts as Damaged, though a Listing with Photos can describe it at the condition it would have if centered.

Can a card be too small to grade?

Yes. CGC gives no numeric grade to a card its graders find below measurement tolerance or with unnaturally wavy edges. A card below the minimum size gets the Authentic designation instead.

Does CGC grade a cleaned card?

No. CGC gives no numeric grade and no holder to a card it finds cleaned or restored, the same treatment it gives counterfeit and replica cards.