The scale
| Grade | Label | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | GEM MT (Gem Mint) | Sharp corners, clean surface, centering roughly 55/45 or better on the front; a virtually perfect card. |
| 9 | MINT | One minor flaw: a slightly off-centre print, a tiny corner touch or a faint print spot. |
| 8 | NM-MT (Near Mint to Mint) | Light wear on close inspection; corners slightly soft or centering a little off. |
| 7 | NM (Near Mint) | Minor wear visible on a couple of corners or a small surface mark. |
| 6 | EX-MT (Excellent to Mint) | Visible wear on corners or a small print or surface flaw, still clean overall. |
| 5 | EX (Excellent) | Noticeable corner wear and some surface loss, no creases. |
| 4 | VG-EX (Very Good to Excellent) | Rounded corners, light scratching, possibly a slight crease. |
| 3 | VG (Very Good) | Rounded corners, creases and surface wear. |
| 2 | GOOD | Heavy wear, creases and scuffing; the card is complete. |
| 1.5 / 1 | FR (Fair) / PR (Poor) | Major damage: writing, tears, missing pieces or heavy creasing. |
PSA also issues Authentic (genuine, not graded, often because the card has been trimmed or altered) and Authentic Altered. Neither carries a number.
Half grades
PSA awards half grades from 1.5 up to 8.5 when a card sits between two grades. There is no PSA 9.5. That single fact shapes the market: the step from 9 to 10 is the biggest in the scale, and on many modern cards a PSA 10 sells for several times a PSA 9 of the same card. Vintage cards tend to hold more of their value in the middle grades, because a clean 7 or 8 of a 1990s card is itself scarce.
Qualifiers
A qualifier is a two-letter code after the grade that names one flaw PSA chose not to fold into the number. A “PSA 8 OC” is a card that would otherwise be an 8 but is off-centre beyond the standard for that grade.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| OC | Off-centre |
| ST | Staining |
| PD | Print defect |
| MC | Miscut |
| MK | Marks (writing or ink) |
| OF | Out of focus |
Qualified cards usually sell for less than the unqualified grade and often for less than the grade below. Assetra records the grade label as printed on the slab, so a qualified sale shows its code in the ledger and is not mistaken for a clean copy.
How value steps between grades
Each card has its own curve. The gap between grades depends on how hard the card is to find in top condition (its gem rate), how many copies exist at each grade (its population) and how many buyers want it. Assetra’s card pages put the latest sale at every grade on one ladder, so you can read the curve for your card rather than guess it. Start from the price hubs or search the sales ledger.
Related guides
See the numbers: the graded card price hubs, the sales ledger and how Assetra builds its figures.