Fair PSA grade?

bradcros · January 22, 2026 9:02PM

Was thinking of picking up this PSA 5 Koufax. Can get it for a solid price for a 5. It has great eye appeal but the centering is a bit rough especially on the back. Is this card accurately graded a 5 or should it have been graded lower? It is a relatively new cert so would it have been graded under PSA's newer standards?

bradcros · January 22, 2026 9:09PM

Was thinking of picking up this PSA 5 Koufax. Can get it for a solid price for a 5. It has great eye appeal but the centering is a bit rough especially on the back. Is this card accurately graded a 5 or should it have been graded lower? It is a relatively new cert so would it have been graded under PSA's newer standards?

ElMagoStrikeZone · January 22, 2026 9:11PM

Accurate and very nice for the grade. I could see it potentially in a NEAR MINT 7(OC) as well as it barely gets past being a miscut. Go for the solid price.

bradcros · January 22, 2026 9:12PM

Thank you I really appreciate the input. Good to know.

gemint · January 22, 2026 10:15PM

@ElMagoStrikeZone said:
Accurate and very nice for the grade. I could see it potentially in a NEAR MINT 7(OC) as well as it barely gets past being a miscut. Go for the solid price.

It does? It looks like it has no border on the reverse near the top. To me it doesn't pass the 95-5 requirement to avoid a miscut.

ElMagoStrikeZone · January 22, 2026 10:23PM

@gemint said:

@ElMagoStrikeZone said:
Accurate and very nice for the grade. I could see it potentially in a NEAR MINT 7(OC) as well as it barely gets past being a miscut. Go for the solid price.

It does? It looks like it has no border on the reverse near the top. To me it doesn't pass the 95-5 requirement to avoid a miscut.

I'm assuming that at the time of grading it slid through because of presentation. I like the color and the surface appears to be clean. It IS a nice looking card. I don't dispute what you're saying. The bottom cut beneath red boxes tapers off from one corner to the other where it is almost imperceptible. We both know how it goes with PSA grading. Beauty in the eye of the beholder. Requirements be damned.

bradcros · January 22, 2026 10:43PM

@gemint said:

@ElMagoStrikeZone said:
Accurate and very nice for the grade. I could see it potentially in a NEAR MINT 7(OC) as well as it barely gets past being a miscut. Go for the solid price.

It does? It looks like it has no border on the reverse near the top. To me it doesn't pass the 95-5 requirement to avoid a miscut.

Would you not buy then because you think the grade is inaccurate? Or do you think it presents nice enough to be a 5? It’s hard to see in the pictures but there is a slight border present on the top left of the reverse and I know on PSA’s grading standards they say that a grader can give leeway for centering if the eye appeal is good so.

CardGeek · January 22, 2026 11:12PM

You can't really tell if a card is accurately graded with pics like this. You can't see at all what's going on with the surface. Even what you can see in these pictures, you can't really see well enough to judge.

It is true that sometimes you can see defects that are so obvious that you can tell if a card is over graded though.

bradcros · January 23, 2026 3:27AM

@CardGeek said:
You can't really tell if a card is accurately graded with pics like this. You can't see at all what's going on with the surface. Even what you can see in these pictures, you can't really see well enough to judge.

It is true that sometimes you can see defects that are so obvious that you can tell if a card is over graded though.

Do you think that from what you can see the centering puts a 5 out of the question though or does it still have 5 potential?

1982FootballWax · January 23, 2026 5:55AM

In the past the card would have receivedban O/C designation which was usually the kiss of death.

Sure could be a 5 if rest is as sharp as the pics show. Years back it might have been a 7 O/C

Chicago1976 · January 23, 2026 6:44AM

Based on the photo, a PSA 5 seems accurate. The centering is poor, there is some minor corner wear, and there may be some surface issues (scuffing?) near his signature, on the steps. Beautiful card with nice color, registration, bright white borders.

jay0791 · January 23, 2026 6:46AM

Agree on O/C designation. IMO this is a generous grade. I would give it a 4 but have no problem with the 5. Nice card for sure.

bradcros · January 23, 2026 8:38AM

Thank you guys for the feedback that helps a lot. So I’m getting the impression a 5 is fair. It may have gotten an OC designation in years past but nowadays it fits within a 5.

BaltimoreYankee · January 23, 2026 8:43AM

I'm surprised it did not get a MC designation. It looks to be missing a little bit of the bottom red line on the reverse under the box that says 'life'. Nevertheless, that's a nice Koufax rookie.

bradcros · January 23, 2026 8:51AM

@BaltimoreYankee said:
I'm surprised it did not get a MC designation. It looks to be missing a little bit of the bottom red line on the reverse under the box that says 'life'. Nevertheless, that's a nice Koufax rookie.

Yeah that’s what I’m wondering about. If it is cut off it’s barely because there definitely is at least some border there. And the rest of the card looks great so I wonder if PSA gave it a little bit of a pass because of that. Value wise would u still look at it like a 5?

Raptormaniacs · January 23, 2026 10:02AM

I would give it a 5 (most). I think you’re lucky that it’s not an OC.

bradcros · January 23, 2026 10:05AM

@Raptormaniacs said:
I would give it a 5 (most). I think you’re lucky that it’s not an OC.

I agree it should not be higher. But do you think it is fair to be a 5 or should it have been lower/qualifier?

Raptormaniacs · January 23, 2026 10:18AM

@bradcros said:

@Raptormaniacs said:
I would give it a 5 (most). I think you’re lucky that it’s not an OC.

I agree it should not be higher. But do you think it is fair to be a 5 or should it have been lower/qualifier?

I think you’re asking me about my preference. I will say that it’s a fair grade…lol.

picklepete · January 23, 2026 11:48AM

Fair grade... If I was looking for a five I think that's a nice one at least, eye appeal..

bradcros · January 23, 2026 2:19PM

@picklepete said:
Fair grade... If I was looking for a five I think that's a nice one at least, eye appeal..

Gotcha. Thanks for the input!

1959 · January 23, 2026 7:38PM

I think it's accurately graded.

Stone193 · January 23, 2026 8:03PM

It's a really nice card - the printing/color on the obverse is attractive.

The back centering isn't consistent with their written criterion IMO. Tho if the price was right? I'd want it.

PSA 5
On PSA 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.

bradcros · January 23, 2026 8:58PM

@Stone193 said:
It's a really nice card - the printing/color on the obverse is attractive.

The back centering isn't consistent with their written criterion IMO. Tho if the price was right? I'd want it.

PSA 5
On PSA 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.

It is a good price for a 5. Would you still consider it the value of a 5 because the rest of the card is so nice?

ElMagoStrikeZone · January 23, 2026 9:30PM

Here's a nice raw example for which I'd not expect better than an EX 5 in a PSA holder. I like the features enough to keep it out of a holder, though. It's a very crisp card, rarely handled with nice registration, color & centering. I've seen prices of PSA 5s and it would be tough to pry that much cash out of my hands now. I'm glad I acquired this one when I did way back when...

Chicago1976 · January 23, 2026 10:12PM

Uh, why are there 2 separate discussion threads on this card? The other thread answered the question: Most collectors here think it looks like a 5.

Stone193 · January 24, 2026 12:42PM

@Chicago1976 said:
Uh, why are there 2 separate discussion threads on this card? The other thread answered the question: Most collectors here think it looks like a 5.

I missed that. What would be interesting is - if I answered in both? Did I contradict myself? 😎

Stone193 · January 24, 2026 12:51PM

@bradcros said:

@Stone193 said:
It's a really nice card - the printing/color on the obverse is attractive.

The back centering isn't consistent with their written criterion IMO. Tho if the price was right? I'd want it.

PSA 5
On PSA 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.

It is a good price for a 5. Would you still consider it the value of a 5 because the rest of the card is so nice?

Hard to say.

In general, especially with that kind of money involved - it's "buy the card..."

The centering club would probably not be excited about the card - especially with the back.

I'm no expert on cards - so people who buy regularly and watch the market will have more authority on this for sure.

olb31 · January 24, 2026 2:38PM

I think it's a really nice 5, just not centered which hurts it right much for value. But the condition of the card is nice.

Fair PSA grade?

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