20 Oct 2026 · 6 min
Grading explained: what PSA 8, 9 and 10 really mean
Professional grading puts a card in a tamper-evident case (a “slab”) with a label that records its condition on a 1–10 scale. The big names are PSA, Beckett (BGS), CGC and SGC. A graded card is easier to trust, easier to resell and protected for decades.
What graders look at
Every company checks the same four things: centering (how evenly the borders frame the artwork), corners, edges and the surface (scratches, print lines, dents, holo wear). The lowest of these usually decides the final grade.
The PSA scale in short
PSA 10 Gem Mint is a virtually perfect card. PSA 9 Mint allows one minor flaw. PSA 8 NM-MT is a card that looks near perfect at first glance but shows small wear on closer inspection. PSA 7 (NM) and lower show increasingly visible wear.
Beckett, CGC and the rest
Beckett adds four sub-grades and half points: a BGS 9.5 is called Gem Mint and a BGS 10 with four perfect sub-grades is the famous “Black Label”. CGC uses a similar scale with an extra “Pristine 10”. Values differ per company, so always compare like with like.
Always verify the certificate
Every slab has a certificate number. On each graded item in our shop you will find a button that opens the grader’s own lookup, so you can check that the number, card and grade match.