GRADING
What’s our Mission, why Grade, and what are the Grading Parameters?
OUR MISSION
To provide the very best Authentication and Grading Services in the Sports Card Industry
VALUE
We know how valuable your collection is to you, and that’s why we use state of the art technology and meticulous analysis in Grading your Cards. This ensures that your Collection can attain hard Value, and your Cards monetary worth can endure and continue to grow into the future.
PROTECTION
Breathe easy with our hermetically sealed, chemically neutral Card Slabs. They provide excellent protection against the elements for your valuables. Now you can trade, sell, and show off your personal collection in style knowing that it’s Sealed, Durable, and Protected!
SECURITY
Want to ensure that your prized possessions will be archived for future generations to collect, sell, and enjoy? Our custom Labels, unique Certification, and holographic Security Emblems allow you peace of mind knowing that your trophy pieces are Certified, Safe, and Legit!
WHY GRADE YOUR CARD COLLECTION?
LONG TERM THINKING
Having your Cards Authenticated, Graded, and Encapsulated ensures that your prized possessions will be archived for future generations to collect, trade, sell, and enjoy. Having a hard Value for your cards sets the groundwork for getting the highest return on your valuable investment.
TRANSPARENCY
Whether you are just a personal collector, or are involved in a Sports Trading Card business venture…..having a collection Authenticated, Graded, and Encapsulated provides a level of third party transparency and peace of mind when you buy, trade, or sell.
PRESERVATION
Let’s face it, life can be tough. But why have it be tough on your Cards? Everything from rough handling to UV and water damage will lessen the quality and enjoyability of your collection. You can preserve your Cards indefinitely when you Authenticate, Grade, and Encapsulate them.
THE 4 GRADING PARAMETERS
01
CORNERS (COR)
The Corners of a Card are quite easily damaged, and extra care needs to be taken to protect them. Whether it’s opening a new pack and removing the Cards, or storing them for future use, any handling can take it’s toll. Common Corner issues are fraying, bends, creasing, rounding, notching and chipping. The Grading team analyzes the corners for sharpness, integrity, and over all wear to determine the final Corner Grade.
02
EDGES (EDG)
The Edges are also an easily damaged area of a Card, and often show signs of wear. Damage can vary from chipping, fuzziness, discoloration, roughness, notching, imperfect cut, creases, or splitting. The Grading team scrutinizes the Edges for sharpness, alignment, and integrity to derive the final Edge Grade.
03
SURFACE (SUR)
The primary visual area of the Card, the front and back Surfaces can exhibit all kinds of cosmetic and structural issues. While foil and holographic cards are typically the most easily scratched or damaged, all cards are susceptible to Surface complications. Imperfections that can detract from Surface quality can include: wrinkles, warping, scratches, notches or damaged finish, staining, bubbles, lumps, impressions or indents, poor embossing, misaligned finish, coloration spots, image focus, color depth, loss of original gloss, creasing, and print defects such as dots, lines, and streaks. Cards are inspected for all of these possibilities and more to arrive at a final Surface Grade.
04
CENTERING (CEN)
Centering is just one aspect of grading, but it is an essential one. Due to the fact that Centering greatly affects the over all visual appeal of a Card, it therefore plays a more important role in the Card’s final Grade. If a Card is perfect in all other areas but shows off Centering, this will lower it’s over all final Grade. Because it’s essential that Centering be evaluated objectively, the Grading team uses precision technology to measure Centering up to 1000th of an inch. This dedication to precision and accuracy keeps our Centering analysis incredibly consistent. Review the breakdown of our Grading Scale to see the symmetry percentages used for the Centering calculation.
Customized for You
10 POINT GRADING SCALE
For Card Grading we utilize an industry standard 10 Point Grading Scale system with a half point intermediate demarcation. In other words, a Card that is nicer than an 8 but not quite to the standard of a 9 would receive a final Grade of 8.5
To arrive at the final Grade each of the 4 Grading Parameters is weight averaged. For example, a Card that has the following Grading Parameter specs:
Corner = 9.75
Edge = 9.75
Surface = 9.20
Centering = 8
would average to a Grade of 9.18. So, it’s slightly better that a 9, but not good enough to be a 9.5. It’s final Grade would be rounded down to a 9
The Custom Label on the Card Slab will display the final Grade, but also shows the specific 4 Grading Parameters used for that particular Card in determining the final Grade.