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Pokémon card grading: PSA, BGS and CGC grades explained

Grading means sending a card to a company that judges its condition, gives it a number from 1 to 10, and seals it in a tamper-evident plastic case (the "slab") with a label. A slab settles the condition argument between buyer and seller, which is why a high grade on a sought-after card sells for a large premium over the same card raw. Three companies dominate Pokémon grading: PSA, Beckett (BGS) and CGC. SGC and TAG grade Pokémon too, and PokeClaw reads all five from eBay listing titles for the graded price tables on each card page.

What every grader checks

  • Centering: how evenly the borders frame the art, front and back. A top grade needs the front borders close to even, roughly 55/45 or better side to side and top to bottom; the back is allowed more.
  • Corners: sharp and square, with no rounding, fraying or white showing.
  • Edges: clean, with no chipping or whitening along the coloured border (the dark blue back shows it first).
  • Surface: no scratches, print lines, dents, stains or fingerprints; the foil on holos is where most scratches hide.

PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator)

The largest grader and usually the highest resale prices for Pokémon. One overall grade, no subgrades on the label, whole numbers with half grades from 1.5 to 8.5.

PSA grade scale
GradeNameIn short
10Gem MintVirtually perfect: four sharp corners, sharp focus, full gloss, near-even centering.
9MintOne minor flaw, such as a slightly off centering or a tiny print imperfection.
8Near Mint-MintA slight wear on a corner or a little edge whitening.
7Near MintSlight surface wear visible on close look, minor corner fraying.
6Excellent-MintVisible wear at the corners and edges.
5ExcellentNoticeable corner rounding and edge wear.
4 to 1Very Good-Excellent to PoorIncreasing wear, creases, heavy rounding, stains; still authentic.

PSA can also return a card as "Authentic" (real but not given a number, for example when altered or trimmed) and adds qualifiers such as OC (off-center) or ST (staining) when one flaw drags a card down.

Beckett (BGS)

Beckett grades in half points and prints four subgrades on the label (centering, corners, edges, surface), so you can see why a card got its grade. The top is 10 Pristine; a 10 with all four subgrades at 10 gets the rare Black Label, the most prized slab in the hobby. 9.5 Gem Mint is Beckett's usual top grade and trades close to a PSA 10; 9 Mint follows.

CGC Cards

CGC also grades in half points, from 1 to 10, with optional subgrades. It separates Pristine 10 (flawless under magnification) from Gem Mint 10, then Mint+ 9.5, Mint 9, NM/Mint+ 8.5 and NM/Mint 8. CGC slabs usually sell below PSA at the same number, but CGC has grown quickly in Pokémon and its Pristine 10s carry a premium of their own.

Which grades are worth what

The gap between grades is not even: on a modern chase card a 10 often sells for several times a 9, while for older cards a 9 or an 8 is already scarce and valuable. The graded price table on each card page shows the graded copies listed on eBay right now by grade and company; check sold listings for the exact grade before you decide.

When grading pays

  1. Look up the card's ungraded market price and the sold price of the grade you can realistically expect (be strict: most raw cards that look perfect come back 8 or 9).
  2. Subtract the grading fee, shipping both ways and insurance.
  3. Grade if what is left clearly beats the raw price, or if you want to keep the card protected and verified.
Before you buy a slab, look up its certificate number on the grader's own website: the card, grade and photos must match. Fake slabs and swapped cards exist; see how to spot fakes.
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