Grade The Condition of the Card

The grade of a card is determined by weighing the condition or quality of four basic aspects of the card. Sometimes, it's easy to grade a card because one aspect is defective, and it's generally recognized that if that particular aspect is defective in a certain way, the card should get a certain grade. Other times it is harder to grade a card, since the relative condition of several aspects of the card must be taken into account. In most cases, a card is graded based upon its worst feature. If other features of the card are particularly good, the grade of the card might lift a little, and if several of the card's features are bad, it might lower a bit.

Cards are graded by four aspects, these are: corners, edges, surface and centering.

Centering is a major factor in the grade of vintage cards. The presses of the time did not hold registration like modern presses do and almost all cards had an unprinted border around them. Modern presses hold registration very well and most are bleed printed meaning the printing goes right off the edge of the card. For these modern cards centering is not a factor.

There are, unfortunately, several different grading scales; however, they are similar enough to keep confusion to a minimum. The 10 point grading scale is the standard that all the scales are based on.

The 10 point Grading Scale:

Poor (P) or Fair (F) 1: A card that has seen serious abuse or has a hole in it.

Good (G) 2: This grade is usually the result of heavy corner rounding, surface wear or creases. Any card with writing on it falls in this category. (Writing other than an autograph of course).

Very Good (VG) 3: A card that looks good from a distance, but on closer inspection several defects can be seen without magnification. This is the highest rating possible on a creased card.

Very Good / Excellent (VGEX) 4: This is the highest grade that a card can have with a small wrinkle. A wrinkle is a crease that can be seen on only one side of the card.

Excellent (EX) 5: This grade is for cards that look really good, but show some wear.

Excellent / Mint (EXMT) 6: A card that looks mint, but upon close examination defects can be seen without magnification.

Near Mint (NM) 7: A card that looks mint, but upon examination with magnification, defects can be seen usually on edges and corners. This grade is often given to cards that are new right out of the packages. This is the best grade I would assume any "raw" card is in unless it has been professionally graded higher. Many sellers will tell you the card they are selling is a higher grade, but unless the card is professionally graded higher, that is just so much seller verbiage. I would always assume any new card right out of the package is Near Mint when making a buying decision. I would be a bit skeptical of any dealer who tells you his new raw card is better than Near Mint. The best dealers describe new raw cards as Near Mint. When collecting autographed non-sports cards you should strive for all your cards to be Near Mint or better.

Near Mint / Mint (NMMT) 8: A card that looks mint, but upon examination with strong magnification and bright light, very small defects can be detected usually on edges and corners. This is another grade common to new cards right out of the package and professionally graded. Grades higher than Near Mint / Mint are rare. The main reason a new card is not mint is that the cutting blades leave marks on the edges and corners. To consistently get mint cards the blades would have to be sharpened often and the surface of the blades polished to avoid any blade marks.

Mint (MT) 9: Mint basically means very nearly prefect in every regard.

Gem Mint or Perfect (GEM) 10: A mint card with extra appeal. This usually means a brighter than usual surface.

Some graders give in between grades like NM+ to indicate these are cards at the higher end of the grade.

Professional grading companies are service companies that provide consistent and impartial grading of cards. Professional grading has changed the card market tremendously. The cards have become commodities and it is possible to buy and sell them sight-unseen with much more confidence. Professionally graded cards command good prices, because people will trust a professional grade and are often willing to pay more for these cards. It is now true that if someone is trying to sell a non-graded premium card, people will wonder why it isn't professionally graded. There is the concern that if it is not professionally graded, there might be something wrong with it. This is a special concern with autographed base cards that were autographed after distribution from the card company where the possibility of a forgery exists. Professional grading virtually eliminates that risk. The rather small premium paid for professionally graded cards is generally well worth it. PSA/DNA offers a special autograph authentication service for cards and most other autographed items.

Just as a point of interest, comic books and coins use a system of grading that is very similar to the one used for cards. Comic books and coins can also be professionally graded in much the same way that cards are. Miniature figures use a scale with 5 grades. They are Poor, Fair, Good, Near Mint, Mint. Other collections use a condition "C" scale that rates condition on a 1 to 9 scale. Poor = C1 or C2, Fair = C3 or C4, Good = C5 or C6, Near Mint = C7 or C8, Mint = C9. As you can see except for the words used, the "C" scale is about the same as the scale used for trading cards. Some other collectibles can be professionally graded using holograph labels although authentication is more common than actual grading.

by George V. Schubel

A Little History of the Card Collecting Hobby

The hobby of collecting is of course an ancient one. Card collecting is a hobby that attracts a large number of people, with substantial numbers of collectors of all ages. One can start and build a collection for relatively little or one can spend a fortune and own some of the greatest cards ever made. There is a hobby for everyone.

The first kind of cards that were collected were trade cards. A trade card is about the size of a 3x5 inch index card and typically has a nice picture with an advertising slogan on the front side and full advertising text on the back side. They were popular between the 1880-1900 time period of the Victorian era. Local merchants and street walking advertisers would hand them out for free as a cheap and effective way to advertise products and services. A local store would sometimes stamp their name on the back. Some trade cards were beautiful, some funny, some had puzzles and some were risqué. Thousands of different trade cards were produced for the American public, from many types of manufacturers and merchants. These were mainly done in chromo lithographic instead of engraved, and because of the coloring, they became highly desirable. Because of their attractiveness many people, mostly ladies, started to collect them. One can think of these people as the first card collectors. So you see the first card collectors were non-sports collectors and they were women. Over the years the term trade card evolved into trading cards, the term we use today. Trade cards are still being collected today.

Most sports cards were originally promotional items given out by tobacco companies to promote their products. In the 1930's, the tobacco was replaced by gum and the cards became more of the focus, as companies such as Goudey and Play Ball produced cards. It wasn't until after the Second World War that cards began to be produced by companies on a regular basis, first with Bowman in 1948, then with Topps in 1951. Topps was the only sports card company from 1956 through 1980 after it acquired Bowman. In 1981, Fleer and Donruss entered the market, as did Upper Deck in 1989.

Picture cards have been issued in many different products such as cigars, cigarettes, tobacco, tea, gum, cereals, magazines and chocolate, covering most subjects including all sports, military, airplanes, cars, animals, dinosaurs, plants, movies, TV, Sci-Fi, nostalgia, and many more. The majority of the cards have full color pictures. Topps began making non-sports cards in 1948. Since 1970 several companies entered the non-sports part of the card collecting hobby. The main companies making non-sports cards are: Artbox Entertainment, Benchwarmer, Cards Inc, Comic Images, Dynamic Forces, Futera, Hero Factory, TimeTraders, Ikon Collectables, Inkworks, Monsterwax Trading Cards, NostalgiCards, Rittenhouse Archives Ltd., Stellar Collectibles, Strictly Ink Limited, Topps and Upper Deck. Another form of card collecting is collecting business cards and still another is collecting playing cards.

The main companies making autographed non-sports cards are: Benchwarmer, Inkworks, Rittenhouse Archives Ltd. and Topps. Most autographed non-sports cards are on the subjects of movies, TV, Sci-Fi, models or nostalgia.

by George V. Schubel

Professional Card Grading Companies

Professional grading companies are service companies that provide consistent and impartial grading of cards. Someone with a card sends it to the card grading company, and that company's expert graders assign the card a grade. The card is encapsulated in a tamper-proof container often called a "slab" or labeled with a tamper-proof holographic label that identifies the grade given to the card, and it is returned to its owner. The fee paid to the grading company, per card, is typically between $4 and $20 plus the cost of shipping it by insured mail. Cards are either "raw" meaning not professionally graded or "graded" meaning professionally graded. If a dealer inspects a card, no matter how expert he may be, the card is not graded because dealers have a conflict of interest due to being a seller of cards. Thus his opinion is not impartial.

Professional grading has changed the card market tremendously. The cards have become commodities and it is possible to buy and sell them sight-unseen with much more confidence. Professionally graded cards command good prices, because people will trust a professional grade and are often willing to pay more for these cards. It is now true that if someone is trying to sell a non-graded premium card, people will wonder why it isn't professionally graded. There is the concern that if it is not professionally graded, there might be something wrong with it. This is a special concern with autographed base cards that were autographed after distribution from the card company where the possibility of a forgery exists. Professional grading virtually eliminates that risk.

There are five grading companies that are well known and respected in the industry. Those companies are: PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), SGC (Sportscard Guaranty Authority), BGS (Beckett Grading Service), SCD (SCD Authentic), GAI (Global Authentication). Cards graded by these five companies tend to sell easier and for higher prices than those graded by lesser know companies.

Among the lesser know professional card grading companies are: AGS (Advanced Grading Specialists), ASA (Accugrade), CGS (Champs Grading Service), CEX (Certified Express), CSA (Certified Sports Authentication), CTA (CTA Grading Experts), FGA (Foremost Grading Authority), HGA (Holographic Grade Authenticator), KSA (KSA Sports Card Authenticator), MINT (Mint Grading Service), PRO (PRO Sports Grading), PGS (Professional Grading Services), TFA (The Final Authority), USA (Ultimate Sports Authority), WCG (World Class Grading).

All the companies listed above except HGC use tamper proof slabs to encapsulate their graded cards. HGC uses a tamper proof and copy proof hologram to seal and label their grading in a regular top loader protector. Many collectors like this because the graded cards fit right in with the rest of their collection. I have found HGC conservative in their grading and they do not use in between grades like NM+ 7.5.

Although it is true that cards graded by the five well known companies tend to sell easier and for higher prices than those graded by lesser know companies, I have seen no difference in the consistency or quality of the grading of the cards. They all do an excellent job of giving reliable grades to the cards. I believe professional grading is a wonderful thing for the consumer. It assures they are getting what they pay for.