PSA Grading: A Complete Guide about Sports Cards Grading

There was a time when collecting cards was child’s play, but over time it has become a business. This business has expanded so much that the Sports Trading Card market size was USD 7,878.16 million in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 20,480.66 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.01% from 2023 to 2030. As the business grew, counterfeiting also increased, and many certification companies came into being to reduce counterfeiting, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) being one of them. In this article, we will discuss PSA and its grading Authentication.

What is a Sports Trading Card?

A sports trading card (collectible card) is a small card made of paperboard or thick paper, usually with a picture of a player, place, or object and accompanied by other text such as statistics or trivia. Trading cards are primarily associated with sports.

Baseball cards are one of the most common and Pioneer (around 1886) sports cards. The card’s front side contains the player’s photo with identification details, such as the player’s name and team affiliation. The digital integration of sports trading card games and online portals, such as eBay, which is emerging as the largest platform for selling sports trading cards, has led to a renewed interest in the sports trading card market. Autographed sports cards have led to this collectible’s most significant increase in market share.

What is PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator)

Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) is the world’s largest and most trusted third-party trading card authentication and grading company. Since its inception in 1991, PSA has certified over 40 million cards and collectibles with a cumulative declared value of over one billion dollars.

PSA is the largest division of Collectors Universe, with offices in California, New Jersey, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo.

PSA claimed it is the only third-party grading service to offer a guarantee on its services; PSA has emerged as the clear leader in authentication and grading for trading cards and other collectibles.

What is PSA Authentication and Grading?

PSA gives buyers and sellers an independent opinion of the condition of cards in the world for trading cards and memorabilia.

Authentication, as the word implies, is the process of verifying the authenticity or genuineness of a commercial card. PSA Grading evaluates the quality and condition of sports trading cards using PSA’s 10-point grading scale. Grading can only apply if the trading card has passed the authentication process.

The grading process is divided into three steps:

Step 1: Authentication

A series of PSA evaluators review your cards for genuineness. If genuine, PSA looks for evidence of doctoring, such as re-coloring or trimming.

Step 2: Grading

If your cards are validated in the first step, PSA rates the condition of each card on a scale of 1-10.

Step 3: Encapsulation

PSA encapsulates each card in its condition. The card’s grade and certification number are displayed on the PSA LightHouse™ label.

PSA Grading Scales

PSA grading scales are divided into 1 to 10 numbers.

1. GEM-MT10 (Gem Mint)

GEM-MT 10 is the top grade in PSA grading; it’s a virtually perfect card.

Physical Condition

• All four corners must be perfectly sharp.
• The card must be stain free with full original gloss.

Printing Condition

• Only a slight printing imperfection is allowed.
• Image must be centered on the card (not exceeding 55/45 to 60/40 percent tolerance on front and 75/25 percent on back)

2. MINT 9 (Mint)

MINT 9 grade is on 2nd in PSA grading; it’s a superb condition card with only one flaw allowance.

Physical Condition

• All four corners must be perfectly sharp.
• The card must be stain free with full original gloss. Only a very slight wax on the back is allowed

Printing Condition

• Only a minor printing imperfection or slightly off-white border is allowed
• Image centering must be approximately 60/40 to 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 on the back.

3. NM-MT 8 (Near Mint-Mint)

NM-MT8 grade is on 3rd in PSA grading; it’s a super high-end card. It appears Mint 9 at first look but on closer inspection can reveal the following:

Physical Condition

• A very slight wax stain on the back is allowed.
• Slight fraying at one or two corners is allowed.

Printing Condition

• Minor printing imperfection or slightly off-white borders is allowed.
• Image centering must be 65/35 to 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.

4. NM 7 (Near Mint)

NM 7 grade is on 4th in PSA grading; closer inspection can reveal the following:

Physical Condition

• Slight surface wear and corner fraying are allowed, but most of the original gloss must be retained.
• Slight wax stains on the back are acceptable.

Printing Condition

• Picture focus may be slightly out-off-register, and a minor printing blemish is also acceptable.
• Image centering must be approximately 70/30 to 75/25 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.

5. EX-MT 6 (Excellent-Mint)

EX-MT 6 grade is on 5th in PSA grading with under mentioned physical and printing condition.

Physical Condition

• Card may have visible surface wear which does not detract its overall appeal.
• A very light scratch which is detected only upon close inspection is allowed.
• Only a minor wax stain on the back with some loss of original gloss is accepted.
• Only slight fraying and notching on corners are allowed.

Printing Condition

• Minor printing defect which does not detract the card’s overall appeal is allowed.
• Slightly out-of-register picture focusing with borders off-whiteness is allowed.
• Image centering must be 80/20 or better on front and 90/10 or better on the back.

6. EX 5 (Excellent)

EX 5 grade is on 6th in PSA grading with under mentioned physical and printing condition.

Physical Condition

• EX 5 grade cards have a very minor rounding of the corner with visible surface wear.
• The loss of the original gloss is more prominent with several light scratches

Printing Condition

• Cards with more visible printing defects fall in EX5 grade.
• Slightly out-of-register picture focusing and borders off-whiteness is allowed.
• Image centering must be 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.

7. VG-EX 4 (Very Good-Excellent)

VG-EX 4 grade is on 7th in PSA grading with under mentioned physical and printing condition.

Physical Condition

• VG-EX 4 grade cards have slight rounding of the corner with noticeable but modest surface wear.
• Only a light crease is allowed.
• VG-EX 4 grade cards have light scuffing or light scratches but some original gloss must be retained.

Printing Condition

• Cards with more visible printing defects fall in VG-EX 4 grade.
• Slightly out-of-register picture focusing and borders off-whiteness is allowed.
• Image centering must be 85/15 or better on front and 90/10 or better on the back.

8. VG 3(Very Good)

VG 3 grade is on 8th in PSA grading with under mentioned physical and printing condition.

Physical Condition

• VG 3 grade cards have normal rounding of the corner with noticeable edges wear.
• Light scuffing or scratches on the surface is allowed
• Cards have no original gloss with yellowed and/or discolored borders fall in this grade.
• Slight stains, normal crease, and wax staining on the back are allowed

Printing Condition

• Printing defects are allowed
• Image centering must be 90/10 or better on the front and back.

9. Good 2 (Good)

Good 2 grade is on 9th in PSA grading with under mentioned physical and printing condition.

Physical Condition

• Good 2 card’s corners show accelerated rounded and surface wear
• Scratches, stains, and scuffing are more obvious
• Chipping of enamel on the obverse, discoloration, and several creases are allowed

Printing Condition

• Printing defects are allowed
• Image centering must be 90/10 or better on the front and back.

1/5. FR 1.5 (Fair)

FR 1.5 is an additional grade between PR 1 and Good 2.

Physical Condition

• FR 1.5 card’s corners will show extreme wear.
• Cards with one or more heavy creases fall in FR 1.5 grade but the card must be fully intact.
• The card may include damage such as the removal of the back layer of the card or an entire corner
• The surface of the card will show advanced stages of wear, including scuffing, scratching, pitting chipping, and staining.

Note: Even though the card may be heavily worn, it can’t achieve this grade if it is missing solid pieces of card as a result of a major tear, etc

Printing Condition

• Printing defects are allowed, like the framing of picture and focusing.
• Image centering must be approximately 90/10 or better on the front and back.

10. PR 1 (Poor)

Poor grade is on 10th in PSA grading. PR 1-grade card qualities are almost the same FR 1.5 but the defects are at an advanced stage and the eye appeal of the card has nearly gone.

Physical Condition

• A card that has one or two small pieces missing, with major creasing that nearly breaks through all the layers of cardboard.
• Card with front or back extreme discoloration or dirtiness throughout that makes it difficult to identify the issue or content of the card on either the.

Printing Condition

• Printing defects are allowed, like the framing of the picture and focusing.
• Image centering must be approximately 90/10 or better on the front and back.

NO (Authentic only)

This is not any grade; it’s just an authenticating mark. This means that PSA is only certifying that the item is genuine, without a numerical grade. There can be many reasons for this, it may be due to an alteration, one with malice or otherwise, a major defect, or the original submitter may have requested that PSA encapsulate the card without a grade. The authentic label means that the item is real but nothing more.

AA (Authentic altered)

Once again this is not any grade; it’s just an authenticating mark. The term altered means that the card shows evidence of alteration like trimming, re-coloring, restoration, or cleaning.

Half-Point Grades

Half-Point Grades is not a grade, it’s a bonus point. A card that shows high-end qualities within a particular grade (It’s only for PSA Good 2 to PSA mint 9), may get an extra half-point. However, PSA card graders will evaluate all of the attributes, and if the card is eligible, there will be a clear focus on image centering.

Note:

1. Remember that qualifiers will not apply to grades that receive a half-point increase, as by definition, these cards must demonstrate the highest level of characteristics within the grade to warrant consideration.
2. Only cards are eligible for half-point grades. Coins, pins tickets, and packs are not eligible for a half-point grade.

Final Words

This is all about sports cards and PSA grading, hope you enjoyed it and learned a lot. Visit our blogs for such types of informative articles.