Centering checker
Measure the borders on opposite sides of a card and enter them here. You get the left and right split, the top and bottom split, and the highest CGC and SGC grades whose published centering figures the card meets, front and back.
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Front: left and right 63/37, the right border wider (measured 62.5/37.5); top and bottom 50/50. The worse split is the left and right, at 63/37.
No back measurements entered, so only the front is checked.
CGC Cards
- It misses the figure for Gem Mint 10: about 55/45 or better on the front.
- For a TCG card, CGC gives no centering figure from 9.5 to 4, so centering sets no published limit there.
- The next figure down, for 3.5, is 90/10 or better on the front, which it meets.
SGC
- Highest grade with a centering figure it meets: 8.5 (65/35 or better on the front).
- Next grade up with a figure: 9 (60/40 or better on the front), which it misses.
Centering is one factor of several. The grade also depends on the corners, the edges and the surface, which this checker does not see.
How the checker works
Measure each border from the edge of the card to the start of the printed frame: left and right, then top and bottom. A ruler marked in millimetres works, and so does a photo taken straight on, measured in pixels in any image editor. Use one unit for all four borders of a side.
For each pair, the checker divides the wider border by the two together. Borders of 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm make 62.5/37.5, which it writes in whole numbers, as the scales do: 63/37. A split of exactly half a percent goes to the wider side, and each grade is judged on the split as written, so 55.4/44.6 counts as 55/45 and 55.5/44.5 as 56/44. The worse of the two splits is the one that counts.
A grade counts only if its scale gives it a centering figure, and only if the card also meets the figure of every grade below it, since a higher grade never allows a wider split than a lower one. So a back that misses the 75/25 of CGC's Gem Mint 10 keeps the card below the Pristine 10 as well. Where a scale gives no figure for a grade, the checker says so.
Centering is one factor of several. Corners, edges and surface count too, and the lowest of the four sets the grade. Our guide to checking a card before grading covers all four.
Where the figures come from
Every figure comes from the company's own grading scale, read on .
CGC Cards
- Pristine 10: 50/50 on the front.
- Gem Mint 10: about 55/45 or better on the front, 75/25 or better on the back.
- 9: 60/40 or better on the front, 90/10 or better on the back, for sports and non-sports cards only.
- 8: 65/35 or better on the front, for sports and non-sports cards only.
- 7.5: 65/35 or better on the front, for sports and non-sports cards only.
- 7: 70/30 or better on the front, for sports and non-sports cards only.
- 6: 75/25 or better on the front, for sports and non-sports cards only.
- 4.5: 85/15 or better on the front, for sports and non-sports cards only.
- 3.5: 90/10 or better on the front.
No centering figure: 9.5, 8.5, 6.5, 5.5, 5, 4, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1.
- CGC states its centering figures from 9 down to 4.5 for sports and non-sports cards only. For TCG cards, such as Pokémon, it describes handling and manufacturing defects at several of those grades instead.
- CGC gives figures for the back at its Gem Mint 10 and its 9 only.
- The Gem Mint 10 figure is approximate: CGC asks for centering of about 55/45 or better.
Source: Grading Scale, CGC Cards, checked .
SGC
- Pristine 10: 50/50 on the front.
- 10 Gem: 55/45 or better on the front.
- 9: 60/40 or better on the front.
- 8.5: 65/35 or better on the front.
- 8: 65/35 or better on the front.
- 7.5: 70/30 or better on the front.
- 7: 70/30 or better on the front.
- 6: 75/25 or better on the front.
- 5: 80/20 or better on the front.
- 4: 85/15 or better on the front.
- 3: 90/10 or better on the front.
- 2: 90/10 or better on the front.
- 1.5: 90/10 or better on the front.
No centering figure: 9.5, 6.5, 5.5, 4.5, 3.5, 2.5, 1.
- SGC says its grade descriptions are guidelines, and that other factors not written into them can affect the final grade.
- SGC's scale gives one centering figure per grade and does not say whether it means the front or the back. The checker reads it against the front.
Source: The SGC grading scale, SGC, checked .
Frequently asked questions
How do I measure a card's borders?
Measure each border from the edge of the card to the start of the printed frame, with a ruler marked in millimetres or in pixels on a photo taken straight on. Any one unit works, as long as all four borders of a side use it.
Why does the kind of card change CGC's result?
CGC's scale states its centering figures from 9 down to 4.5 for sports and non-sports cards only. For a TCG card, such as Pokémon, it gives figures at its Pristine 10, its Gem Mint 10 and its 3.5, and describes handling and manufacturing defects at several of the grades in between.
Does the back count?
On CGC's scale, yes: its Gem Mint 10 asks for 75/25 or better on the back, and its 9 asks for 90/10 on sports and non-sports cards. SGC's scale gives one figure per grade and does not say front or back, so the checker reads SGC's figures against the front only.
Will a well-centered card get a high grade?
Not on centering alone. Graders also judge the corners, the edges and the surface, and the lowest of the four sets the grade. SGC says its descriptions are guidelines, and that other factors can affect the final grade.