Condition Question

lahmejoon

Hi All,

Getting back to some sports cards topics, I have a general question on condition. Having never submitted a card for grading, I would assume that the guideline for determining condition is similar to what is posted in Beckett magazines. As it pertains to centering, 80/20 centering seems to be a common barrier when it comes to determining EX, EXMT, NM condition, depending on a combination of other imperfections.

My question is, assuming there are no other defects (corners, borders, surfaces are all strong) and ignoring qualifiers, what would the condition of a card be if the centering was just better than 80/20 versus just under 80/20? Would an otherwise perfect card with centering 80/20 or worse be EX at best?

Thanks in advance!
Aaron

Dboneesq

FROM THIS WEBSITE:

PSA Card Grading Standards



GEM-MT 10: Gem Mint
A PSA Gem Mint 10 card is a virtually perfect card. Attributes include four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus and full original gloss. A PSA Gem Mint 10 card must be free of staining of any kind, but an allowance may be made for a slight printing imperfection, if it doesn't impair the overall appeal of the card. The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 to 60/40 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse.

MINT 9: Mint
A PSA Mint 9 is a superb condition card that exhibits only one of the following minor flaws: a very slight wax stain on reverse, a minor printing imperfection or slightly off-white borders. Centering must be approximately 60/40 to 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

NM-MT 8: Near Mint-Mint
A PSA NM-MT 8 is a super high-end card that appears Mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the card can exhibit the following: a very slight wax stain on reverse, slightest fraying at one or two corners, a minor printing imperfection, and/or slightly off-white borders. Centering must be approximately 65/35 to 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

NM 7: Near Mint
A PSA NM 7 is a card with just a slight surface wear visible upon close inspection. There may be slight fraying on some corners. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. A minor printing blemish is acceptable. Slight wax staining is acceptable on the back of the card only. Most of the original gloss is retained. Centering must be approximately 70/30 to 75/25 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.

EX-MT 6: Excellent-Mint
A PSA EX-MT 6 card may have visible surface wear or a printing defect which does not detract from its overall appeal. A very light scratch may be detected only upon close inspection. Corners may have slightly graduated fraying. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. Card may show some loss of original gloss, may have minor wax stain on reverse, may exhibit very slight notching on edges and may also show some off-whiteness on borders. Centering must be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

EX 5: Excellent
On PSA EX-5 cards, very minor rounding of the corners is becoming evident. Surface wear or printing defects are more visible. There may be minor chipping on edges. Loss of original gloss will be more apparent. Focus of picture may be slightly out-of-register. Several light scratches may be visible upon close inspection, but do not detract from the appeal of the card. Card may show some off-whiteness of borders. Centering must be 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.

VG-EX 4: Very Good-Excellent

A PSA VG-EX 4 card's corners may be slightly rounded. Surface wear is noticeable but modest. The card may have light scuffing or light scratches. Some original gloss will be retained. Borders may be slightly off-white. A light crease may be visible. Centering must be 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.

VG 3: Very Good
A PSA VG 3 card reveals some rounding of the corners, though not extreme. Some surface wear will be apparent, along with possible light scuffing or light scratches. Focus may be somewhat off-register and edges may exhibit noticeable wear. Much, but not all, of the card's original gloss will be lost. Borders may be somewhat yellowed and/or discolored. A crease may be visible. Printing defects are possible. Slight stain may show on obverse and wax staining on reverse may be more prominent. Centering must be 90/10 or better on the front and back.

GOOD 2: Good
A PSA Good 2 card's corners show accelerated rounding and surface wear is starting to become obvious. A good card may have scratching, scuffing, light staining, or chipping of enamel on obverse. There may be several creases. Original gloss may be completely absent. Card may show considerable discoloration. Centering must be 90/10 or better on the front and back.

FR 1.5: Fair
A PSA Fair 1.5 card's corners will show extreme wear, possibly affecting framing of the picture. The surface of the card will show advanced stages of wear, including scuffing, scratching, pitting, chipping and staining. The picture will possibly be quite out-of-register and the borders may have become brown and dirty. The card may have one or more heavy creases. In order to achieve a Fair grade, a card must be fully intact. Even though the card may be heavily worn, it cannot achieve this grade if it is missing solid pieces of the card as a result of a major tear, etc. This would include damage such as the removal of the back layer of the card or an entire corner. The centering must be approximately 90/10 or better on the front and back.

PR 1: Poor
A PSA Poor 1 will exhibit many of the same qualities of a PSA Fair 1.5 but the defects may have advanced to such a serious stage that the eye appeal of the card has nearly vanished in its entirety. A Poor card may be missing one or two small pieces, exhibit major creasing that nearly breaks through all the layers of cardboard or it may contain extreme discoloration or dirtiness throughout that may make it difficult to identify the issue or content of the card on either the front or back. A card of this nature may also show noticeable warping or another type of destructive defect.

lahmejoon

So, based on how this reads, an otherwise perfect card whose only flaw is that it has 85/15 centering would automatically be considered EX. Is that a fair statement?

Thanks!

grote15

<< <i>So, based on how this reads, an otherwise perfect card whose only flaw is that it has 85/15 centering would automatically be considered EX. Is that a fair statement?

Thanks! >>



A card like that would almost certainly grade 8OC or 9OC.

lahmejoon

Thanks, Tim. Without qualifiers, would this be a 5 at best because of the centering?

grote15

<< <i>Thanks, Tim. Without qualifiers, would this be a 5 at best because of the centering? >>



If centering was worse than 85/15, probably so. They automatically downgrade a perfect card to EX 5 for any sign of a surface wrinkle, however slight, so I would think that would be the case. I never request no qualifiers for that reason~a PSA 9OC will command a better price than a NM 7 almost every time, and certainly an EX 5.

Example in point--I have submitted 75 mini Brett rookies with 90/10 centering and have gotten a 9OC, which is much more favorable than the straight grade for a card like that. If card is too badly OC, you may get MC qualifier, but even that is better than net grade, imo.

lahmejoon

Sounds good. I'm just thinking in terms of how I'm building my raw sets. There are occasions where I come across a really sharp card, but the centering is 80/20 or 85/15. My goal is to be EXMT or better, but I've included some cards that are very sharp, but very OC and I'm concerned that they would actually be EX because of the centering.

Thanks for all the input!