What's the difference between a PSA Graded 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10?
yojimbosan
Posts: 16 ✭
PSA 10 1975 Topps #279 Milt May - https://youtube.com/shorts/Gr0boHoYFfA?feature=share
PSA 9 1975 Topps #319 Johnny Oates - https://youtube.com/shorts/_vKIMMku3r4?feature=share
PSA 8 1975 Topps #88 Tom Egan - https://youtube.com/shorts/61amegrUHjc?feature=share
PSA 7 1975 Topps #649 Jack Heidermann - https://youtube.com/shorts/kwlFy6V4oGg?feature=share
PSA 6 1975 Topps #341 Hal Breeden - https://youtube.com/shorts/OxETvg1_nBo?feature=share
PSA 6 1975 Topps #448 Frank Duffy - https://youtube.com/shorts/kU7-CMmarJE?feature=share
What makes these graded as they are? I ask because to my untrained eyes, the lower graded cards sometimes look as good as the GEM MINT 10 does. What am I missing?
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In short: a lot. I don’t mean that in a snarky way, since we all had a lot to learn at some point. If you couldn’t tell the difference between a PSA 9 and a 10 that would be understandable, but the differences between a PSA 10 and a 6 should be quite obvious. Probably the best thing to do would be to visit psacard.com and study the grading standards there. Also keep in mind that there’s a difference between technical grade and eye appeal. Good luck.
Yaz Master Set
#1 Gino Cappelletti master set
#1 John Hannah master set
Also collecting Andre Tippett, Patriots Greats' RCs, Dwight Evans, 1964 Venezuelan Topps, 1974 Topps Red Sox
Totally agree Dan.
Good idea - Grading Standards LINK.
Tho. For some reason there's missing scans right now?
This is a very helpful link. Thank you!
Wow, I hear you. I'm a noob as well, but here are my comments:
The 6's are undergraded. Thery're off center a bit but nothing outrageous.
The 7 is off center and has some spots/eyes. and that's more likely a 6 that the others.
The 8 has a few stains and is slightly off center. A fair grade.
The 9 has the worst centered reverse of the bunch.
The 10 has a few minor spots on the lower part of the obverse.
There should be more 8s and 9s and no 6s or 10s. JMHO. I can see why you're confused and this submission is puzzling. What we can't see are the cuts on the sides and any breaks or marks in the cardboard that you can't see in a photo.
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/2819
I personally think the PSA 10 grade is given too often to vintage cards. The majority of 10s I see look no different than well-centered 9s. Some don’t look as nice as the nicest 9s. I’d prefer it if the 10 grade were reserved for cards that really look nearly flawless….like this one for example…
(Edited to add “nearly” because it does have one tiny fisheye 🙂)
(Edited again to add: I just noticed the last four digits of the cert are the year and Ray’s uniform number! 😁)
Don't forget to check the back too. That's also part of the grading review.
hey PaulMaul,
if we ever went for lunch I'm paying with cash -- there's no way I'll never let you see my bank card...
7333 that's a good eye my man...
I'm still learning, but I've found that a "trained eye" at a grading company with magnification and really good lighting can see surface and edge issues (dents, creases, chipping, etc,) that I often miss. If I get a "6" when I thought it would be a "7" or "8", its usually because I missed a surface issue. Novices can usually pick up centering and corner issues, but surface issues are easy to miss. Color and fading issues are also tough to spot if you don't have a exemplary copy to compare it to.
As recommended by others here, check out PSA and SGC grading standards and look at graded examples. Just takes time to train your eye.
Spot on that the surface is usually the culprit.
Yaz Master Set
#1 Gino Cappelletti master set
#1 John Hannah master set
Also collecting Andre Tippett, Patriots Greats' RCs, Dwight Evans, 1964 Venezuelan Topps, 1974 Topps Red Sox
It is the very nature of grading that there will be some confusion. The very best cards of any grade must be very, very close to the very worst of the next grade up. For example, let's say that a shipment of 1000 cards arrives, and 20 of them are very close to the boundary of a 9 and a 10. If we determine that the best 8 are 10s and the worst 12 are 9s, cards number 7-10 must be very, very close.
Now, understand that grading is done by humans (otherwise there would be no benefit to reconsideration), so that on a good day all 20 might receive 10s and on a bad day, all 9s. Same cards, all very close to the boundary. But human variation is wider than that, so a card which is a 9 90% of the time still has an 8% chance at a 10 and a 2% chance of an 8. And any honest assessment of a card will have that type of percentages attached.
Next we come to another thing impossible to avoid: gradeflation. Simply put, there is a great likelihood that a card will end up in the highest possible, or at least highest plausible holder. Consider the card above, but now let it be slightly lower quality, say 8-90-2 instead of 2-90-8. Now, assuming the card is sufficiently valuable that a one point difference is a significant (perhaps tens of thousands) different in price. If it is submitted and receives an 8, it goes back to PSA. Again and again until it finally gets flipped to a new owner who just knows it's a 9. When it gets into a 9 holder, some owners may be satisfied, but others will think it a solid 9 and, figuring there is little to lose, submit trying for a 10. If the first time it comes back in a 10, and remember that there is one chance in 50 that that is exactly what happens, the card never goes back.
Now, what happens with a less clear cut case, and there is a card that is maybe 10% 7, 30% 8, 40% 9, and 10% 10?
What Casey said.
I know I'm not a pro at this and consistently over-grade cards I send in. So my general rule of thumb is:
In short, I suck at grading and just assume the worst. LOL.