Reference
Grading Standards
What each house looks for, side-by-side, across the full grading scale. Centering shown as front · back (larger half / smaller half); a dash means the house doesn't publish a centering threshold at that tier.
10Gem Mint / Pristine
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Gem Mint | 55/45 · 75/25 | Four perfectly sharp corners; no fraying | Smooth, no fraying or chipping | Full original gloss; no scratches, print lines, or defects |
| BGS | Pristine | 50/50 · 50/50 | Perfect to naked eye; virtually flawless under scrutiny | Perfect to naked eye; virtually flawless under scrutiny | No print spots; flawless color; no scratches or metallic print lines |
| SGC | Gem Mint | 55/45 · 55/45 | Four perfectly sharp corners | Crisp, no fraying or chipping | Unbroken gloss; sharp focus; no scratches or print defects |
| CGC | Gem Mint | 55/45 · 75/25 | Appear perfect to naked eye | Appear perfect to naked eye | Print-spot free; full perfect gloss; no defects |
| TAG | Gem Mint | 55/45 · 65/35 | Four sharp corners with minor fill or fray artifacts | An edge may display minor fill or fray | Extremely attractive; one slight print imperfection OK |
CGC: Pristine 10 has no published centering spec and is not listed here.
TAG: Point range 950–989. Back centering shown for TCG; Sports is ~70/30.
9Mint
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Mint | 60/40 · 90/10 | Sharp corners; microscopic wear under magnification OK | Clean, no visible whitening | Retains original gloss; one minor printing imperfection or flaw OK |
| BGS | Mint | 55/45 · 70/30 | Mint on close inspection; speck of wear under magnification OK | Virtually mint; unobtrusive chipping specks OK | Handful of print specks or one minor spot; one faint metallic line OK |
| SGC | Mint | 60/40 · 60/40 | Four sharp corners | Clean | One minor flaw allowed; very minor surface wear OK |
| CGC | Mint | 60/40 · 90/10 | Four sharp corners; minor wear visible | Slight minor flaws may be visible | Minimal specks or one minor defect; original gloss retained |
| TAG | Mint | 60/40 · 75/25 | Sharp and square; up to two very light corner touches | Visible but minor edge surface wear on 1–2 edges | 2–3 small pits OK; one larger or deeper pit may be present |
TAG: Point range 900–949. Back centering shown for TCG; Sports is ~90/10.
8Near Mint–Mint
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Near Mint–Mint | 65/35 · 90/10 | Slightest fraying on 1–2 corners; most gloss retained | Sharp; minor issues acceptable | Minor printing defect OK; slight wear visible only on close inspection |
| BGS | Near Mint–Mint | 60/40 · 80/20 | Sharp to naked eye; slight imperfections under magnification OK | Smooth; specks of visible chipping OK | Few minor print spots; solid gloss with minor scratches on close inspection |
| SGC | Near Mint–Mint | 65/35 · 65/35 | Sharp; slight imperfections under magnification OK | Smooth; chipping only visible on close inspection | Few minor print spots; solid gloss with minor scratches on close inspection |
| CGC | Near Mint–Mint | 65/35 · — | Sharp; slight imperfections allowed | Slightly rough edges allowed | A few minor print spots; slight gloss variation |
| TAG | Near Mint–Mint | 65/35 · 95/5 | A corner may start to show minor wear | Edge surface wear and minor chipping on all four edges | Several minor defects present |
CGC: No back-centering spec published.
TAG: Point range 800–849. Back centering shown for TCG.
7Near Mint
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Near Mint | 70/30 · 90/10 | Slight fraying on corners | Light fraying; some wear visible | Very light scratch detectable only on close inspection; most gloss retained |
| BGS | Near Mint | 65/35 · 90/10 | Minor wear on 2–3 corners | Slightly rough; minor chipping; minor border discoloration OK | Minor print spots; minor gloss loss |
| SGC | Near Mint | 70/30 · 70/30 | Slightly rounded corners | Minor chipping; very minor border discoloration OK | Minor scratches; some gloss loss |
| CGC | Near Mint | 70/30 · — | Touch of wear on 3+ corners | Slightly rough | Slight misregistration; minor reverse wax staining OK |
| TAG | Near Mint | 70/30 · — | Still square but multiple corners display fraying | Minor notch may be visible; lifting on all four edges | Minor dent may impact both front and back |
CGC: No back-centering spec published.
TAG: Point range 700–749.
6Excellent–Mint
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Excellent–Mint | — · — | Slight rounding visible to the naked eye | Minor whitening or roughness | Minor wear; reduced gloss; minor print imperfections OK |
| BGS | Excellent–Mint | — · — | Slight rounding to all four corners | Minor whitening; chipping visible to the naked eye | Several minor print spots; minor wear; reduced gloss |
| SGC | Excellent–Near Mint | — · — | Slight rounding on all four corners | Minor wear; slight whitening acceptable | Minor surface wear; reduced gloss; minor print defects OK |
| CGC | Excellent–Mint | — · — | Slight rounding visible to the naked eye | Minor whitening or wear | Some print defects; reduced gloss; minor wear |
| TAG | Excellent–Mint | 75/25 · — | One corner may show slight rounding | Minor notches on three or more edges | Longer, more visible wrinkle on the back |
TAG: Point range 600–649.
5Excellent
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Excellent | — · — | Some rounding; no longer sharp | Light fraying or notching | Minor scratching or scuffing; visible loss of original gloss |
| BGS | Excellent | — · — | Some rounding visible to the naked eye | Light fraying or chipping | Visible scratching; major loss of original gloss |
| SGC | Excellent | — · — | Some rounding; minor wear visible | Light fraying or notching acceptable | Light scratching; visible loss of original gloss |
| CGC | Excellent | — · — | Visible rounding; not sharp | Light fraying or notching | Visible scratching or scuffing; gloss reduction |
| TAG | Excellent | 80/20 · — | Rounding of one or two corners becomes more significant | Notches and chipping visible on the same edge or edges | Multiple small wrinkles present on the front |
TAG: Point range 500–549.
4Very Good–Excellent
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Very Good–Excellent | — · — | Light to moderate rounding on all corners | Light fraying; minor border discoloration acceptable | Surface wear visible; possible faint crease; gloss reduction |
| BGS | Very Good–Excellent | — · — | Moderate rounding; minor chipping possible | Light fraying; border discoloration acceptable | Surface wear visible; possible faint crease |
| SGC | Very Good–Excellent | — · — | Moderate rounding on all corners | Light chipping; minor border discoloration | Visible wear; possible faint crease; gloss reduction |
| CGC | Very Good–Excellent | — · — | Moderate rounding on all corners | Light fraying; possible minor chipping | Surface wear; possible faint crease; significant gloss loss |
| TAG | Very Good–Excellent | 85/15 · — | Two or three corners are clearly rounded | Edge surface wear is evident | Wrinkle spanning approximately half the card |
TAG: Point range 400–449.
3Very Good
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Very Good | — · — | Rounding visible on all corners | Rough; minor chipping acceptable | Surface wear obvious; light creasing OK; significant gloss loss |
| BGS | Very Good | — · — | Noticeable rounding on all corners | Rough; minor chipping | Surface wear; light creasing OK; significant gloss loss |
| SGC | Very Good | — · — | Noticeable rounding | Rough; minor chipping | Surface wear; light creasing acceptable; major gloss loss |
| CGC | Very Good | — · — | Noticeable rounding | Rough; minor chipping | Visible surface wear; light creasing acceptable |
| TAG | Very Good | 90/10 · — | Four rounded corners, bordering on extreme | All edge defects continue to worsen | Heavier wrinkles or creases may be present |
TAG: Point range 300–349.
2Good
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Good | — · — | Heavy rounding; possible minor chipping | Visible chipping or fraying | Major surface wear; visible creases; minor staining possible |
| BGS | Good | — · — | Heavy rounding or chipping | Visible chipping or fraying | Major wear; visible creases; minor staining |
| SGC | Good | — · — | Heavy rounding; minor chipping possible | Visible chipping or fraying | Heavy surface wear; creases possible; minor staining |
| CGC | Good | — · — | Heavy rounding; chipping possible | Visible chipping or fraying | Major wear; visible creases; minor staining |
| TAG | Good | 95/5 · — | All four corners showing extreme rounding | Defects creeping deeper from multiple edges; minor tear possible | Multiple full-length wrinkles or heavier creases |
TAG: Point range 200–249.
1Poor
| House | Label | Centeringfront · back | Corners | Edges | Surface |
|---|
| PSA | Poor | — · — | Severely rounded or chipped | Major chipping; rough edges | Heavy creasing or staining; major damage; card still identifiable |
| BGS | Poor | — · — | Severely rounded or chipped | Major chipping or fraying | Heavy creasing or staining; major damage; identifiable |
| SGC | Poor | — · — | Severe rounding or chipping | Major chipping or fraying | Major creases or staining; significant damage |
| CGC | Poor | — · — | Severely damaged corners | Major chipping or fraying | Heavy damage; major creases or staining |
| TAG | Poor | — · — | Misshapen; parts may be torn off | Larger tears present; portions of image worn away | Tape or glue may be present on the front |
TAG: Point range 100–149. "Tiny sliver of border, but may not be miscut."
Centering numbers are the published thresholds for each grade. Corners, edges, and surface descriptions are summarized from each house's public grading standards — not legal text. Always check the grader's official scale before submitting. TAG also publishes half-grades (8.5, 7.5, …) and a Pristine 10P tier on a 1–1000 point scale; those are used for eligibility above but not shown in this whole-tier table.