How to read a pop report: CGC's counts explained
How CGC's population report counts graded cards, how to find a card and read each column, why the counts can mislead, and how SGC's report differs.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 6 min read
A pop report, short for population report, is a grading company’s count of the cards it has graded: for each card, how many copies got each grade. To read one, find the card’s row, look at the total, then see how that total is split across the grades. CGC’s report shows the copies CGC has graded at each step from Perfect 10 down to 1, plus the cards it marked Authentic (AU) or Authentic Altered (AA). It counts graded slabs only, and CGC itself warns against reading its counts as a measure of rarity.
What does CGC’s report count?
Only cards CGC has graded. As of October 12, 2026, CGC had graded more than 13.7 million TCG cards, more than 3.8 million sports cards and more than 1.7 million non-sports cards. The report now covers every card type CGC certifies, and slabs from CGC Trading Cards and CSG, the two companies it merged in 2023, appear in it too.
CGC calls its counts “not an indicator of value or rarity” and says they reflect only what CGC has graded. A count tells you how many copies went through CGC, not how many copies exist.
How do you find a card in CGC’s report?
The report for TCGs is laid out by game, then era, then set. Sports cards go by sport, date range and set.
- Pick the game. Each game has its own page, headed by the date of its last update. On October 12 the Pokémon, One Piece, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Lorcana pages all read October 11, 2026.
- Pick the era. Eras differ by game. Magic’s run in numbered stages, such as First Stage for Alpha to Alliances (1993 to 1996), with separate groups for promos, test prints and Secret Lair drops.
- Pick the set. A set’s language can be part of its name, as in Limited Edition (Alpha) - English. A drop-down above the sets filters by one language or all of them.
- Find the card’s row, or use the search box to go straight to a card.
If the card will not turn up, CGC suggests its Verify tool. Enter the cert number, and below the card’s images there is a link to its place in the report.
What do the columns mean?
Each row shows the card name with its year and rarity, then a total, and the table has a column for the card number. The grade columns run across:
| Column | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Perfect 10 | A retired top grade from before the 2023 merger, still shown |
| Pristine 10 | Cards CGC found flawless under 10-times magnification, with a gold label |
| Gem Mint 10 | 10s that fall short of Pristine on one criterion, including old Gem Mint 9.5s |
| 9.5 down to 1 | One column for each half and whole grade, starting at Mint+, down to Poor |
| AU | Genuine, unaltered cards that could not get a number |
| AA | Genuine cards that were altered, such as by trimming or recoloring |
| Total | Every slab in the row, AU and AA included |
That last row is easy to miss. The total includes the AU and AA cards, which have no numeric grade. Our guide to reading a CGC label explains each grade name and code.
How do you read one row?
Take the Black Lotus from Magic’s Alpha set, English printing, as of October 12, 2026 (CGC’s Magic report was last updated October 11, 2026):
| Grade | Copies |
|---|---|
| Pristine 10 | 3 |
| Gem Mint 10 | 5 |
| 9.5 | 4 |
| 9 | 10 |
| 8.5 and 8 | 8 |
| 7.5 to 6 | 26 |
| 5.5 to 3 | 8 |
| AA | 4 |
| Total | 68 |
Three readings follow from this row:
- Count only numeric grades when you work out a share. Four of the 68 are AA, so 64 copies got a number. Eight of those are 10s, which is 12.5% of the numerically graded copies. Divided by the full total, it would look like 11.8%.
- Look at the grade below your target too. Here there are more 9s (10) than Gem Mint 10s (5). The 9 is the most common grade, tied with 7.5.
- Watch how copies are split across the grades. Most of these copies sit between 9 and 6, which tells you what condition graded copies of this card usually show.
CGC’s report shows no share of copies at 10, so work it out from the row as above, and date it as these counts are dated: they change as CGC grades more cards.
Why can the counts mislead?
CGC’s report adds a card when CGC grades it.
- Cracked slabs may stay counted. If you take a card out of its holder, you can send the label back so the card is no longer counted, which makes the report more accurate. Sending the label is up to the owner, so a card taken out without it may still sit in a count.
- Old grades are folded in. Cards graded Gem Mint 9.5 by CGC Trading Cards or CSG appear in the report as Gem Mint 10, so the Gem Mint 10 column mixes two eras of grading.
- One company only. A copy graded by SGC or another company never shows up in CGC’s report, so one company’s count never covers every graded copy.
How many cards has CGC graded in each game?
On October 12, 2026, CGC’s pages for these five games, each last updated October 11, 2026, gave the counts below. Counts are printed by era or group, so the totals for each game are Rip.fan’s sums.
| Card game | Cards graded by CGC |
|---|---|
| Pokémon | 12,467,727 |
| One Piece | 468,460 |
| Magic: The Gathering | 276,246 |
| Yu-Gi-Oh! | 103,172 |
| Disney Lorcana | 45,427 |
Pokémon’s total is more than 100 times Yu-Gi-Oh!’s. In a smaller game, a card’s row can be thin: few graded copies to judge the grade mix from, and fewer graded sales to compare. Our guide to grading Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece cards covers what that means for those games.
How is SGC’s report different?
SGC’s report starts from the set. You type the card set’s name, load the set, then find the card in it. SGC adds its own caveat: with over 28 years of data in the report, inconsistencies may be present, and it asks collectors to email its support team about any inconsistencies or duplicates they find.
How should a pop count feed a grading decision?
Use it as one input, next to prices. Before you grade a card, check how many copies sit at the grade you expect and at the grade below it, then compare the sold prices at each. Our guide to whether a card is worth grading sets out the arithmetic, and the grading cost calculator shows each company’s fees with the day they were read. Rip.fan’s card price lookup gives raw NM market prices for English Pokémon cards, with no graded prices or population counts. The glossary defines a population report and the grading scale.
Frequently asked questions
Should you rely on a CGC count before buying a card?
No. CGC says its report is for hobbyists' information only, should not be relied on to make a purchase, and carries no warranty that its counts are accurate or reliable.
Does TAG publish a pop report?
Yes. A TAG Score report shows the card's count in TAG's population report, where it ranks among every copy TAG has graded, and the order in which it was graded. TAG updates those figures daily.
Is CGC's registry the same as its pop report?
No. The registry is where members add their own CGC slabs to build and track sets, with points set by CGC's grading scale. CGC runs one registry for TCG and non-sports cards and a second for sports cards.
Does TAG have a set registry?
No. TAG had no user registry as of March 31, 2026, and a TAG card bought from someone else cannot be moved into your TAG customer account.