Card Grading Scales Explained: PSA, Beckett and CGC
The same number means different things at different companies. Here is what each grader's own page says, and what to check before you compare slabs.
A card graded 9 by one company and 9 by another is not necessarily the same card in the same condition. Each company writes its own standard, uses its own names for the steps, and decides for itself how much weight to give a soft corner or an off-center image. Before you compare slabs, read the standards. This guide walks through what PSA, Beckett and CGC Cards say on their own pages, and what we could not confirm.
A grade is the company's judgment, not a measurement
Graders look at the card and apply a written standard. Two skilled people can land a half point apart, and two companies can disagree more than that. PSA's own certification page says it does not "warrant" that a listing is a genuine PSA item, and tells buyers that verifying a cert number "does not eliminate risk." Beckett's grading page, for its part, describes a grade as turning condition "into a fact." Treat both as marketing positions and keep your own eyes in the process: a grade is useful context, not a replacement for looking at the card.
PSA: 10 down to 1, with half points in the middle
PSA's grading standards page defines each grade in words. For the top grade it says "A PSA Gem Mint 10 card is a virtually perfect card," with "four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus and full original gloss," and centering "not to exceed approximately 55/45 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse." Lower grades loosen each of those tolerances. A copy of the page captured in November 2025 gives these centering limits, front and back:
| PSA grade | Name | Centering stated on the page |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Gem Mint | about 55/45 front, 75/25 back |
| 9 | Mint | about 60/40 or better front, 90/10 or better back |
| 8 | NM-MT | about 65/35 or better front, 90/10 or better back |
| 7 | NM | about 70/30 or better front, 90/10 or better back |
| 6 | EX-MT | 80/20 or better front, 90/10 or better back |
| 5 | EX | 85/15 or better front, 90/10 or better back |
The page continues down through VG-EX 4, VG 3, Good 2, Fair 1.5 and Poor 1, and adds a rule about half points: "Cards that exhibit high-end qualities within each particular grade, between PSA 2 and PSA 9, may achieve a half-point increase," with "a clear focus on centering." Read the exact wording on the live page before you assume which half-point grades exist.
PSA also lists reasons it will not assign a numeric grade at all. The page says PSA "will not grade cards that bear evidence of trimming, re-coloring, restoration, or any other forms of tampering," and it describes qualifiers such as "MK" for marks. A card can therefore come back with a note instead of a number, which is worth knowing before you pay for a submission.
Beckett: four subgrades and a 10 that comes in two flavors
Beckett's page says each card is "analyzed in several key areas and assigned an overall grade based upon the accumulation of the individual characteristics." Those areas are centering, corners, edges and surface, and Beckett reports a subgrade for each. Beckett grades in half-point steps. Its page says "Cards that are assigned a grade with a half-point increment typically share characteristics from both the level above and the level below the actual grade given."
The top two grades are where readers get confused. Beckett's grading page, as captured on October 29, 2026, says labels are color-coded: "Black for perfect 10s, Gold for Gem Mint, Silver for all others," and its chart heading reads "Pristine 10 - Black Label." A separate list on the same page puts Pristine 10 and Gem Mint 9.5 in the gold group and "perfect Pristine 10's" in the black group. The pages we could load do not spell out in one sentence exactly what makes a 10 "perfect," so if a Black Label is what you are buying, read the live Beckett page and the subgrades printed on the slab.
Beckett's two pages also differ in small ways. The scale page, captured May 3, 2026, lists Pristine 10 centering as "50/50 all around on front. 60/40 or better on back." The grading page captured in late October lists "50/50 all around on front. 55/45 or better on back." That is a good reminder that standards get revised, and that a grade from 2018 and a grade from 2026 may not rest on identical text. Both pages describe a Gem Mint 9.5 and a Mint 9 as stepping down from there, with a few specks of print or wear permitted under close inspection.
CGC Cards: a 10-point scale with a Pristine 10 label
CGC Cards says on its grading scale page that it "uses a highly accurate 10-point grading scale to evaluate TCGs, sports cards and non-sports cards." The scale runs from Poor 1 through Fair 1.5, Good 2 and 2.5, and so on in half-point steps up to Mint+ 9.5, Gem Mint 10 and Pristine 10. The page describes Pristine 10 as "a virtually flawless card to the naked eye" and says the Pristine 10 label is reserved for the top tier of cards. For Gem Mint 10 it says only that the card "has received a 10 grade overall." The page we read does not mention subgrades. It also states that the scale "has been updated to reflect current industry standards," which, again, means the text you read today may not match an older slab.
What we could not confirm: SGC
We tried to read SGC's grading scale page, including how it treats 10, 10 Pristine and its half grades, and the site returned an access error each time. Rather than describe it from memory, we are leaving SGC's definitions out. Open SGC's own scale page before you compare an SGC slab to anything else.
How to compare slabs without fooling yourself
- Match the company first, then the number. A PSA 9 and a Beckett 9 sit on different written standards.
- Look at the subgrades where they exist. Beckett prints four. A 9 with a 10 on every line except centering tells you something a bare 9 does not.
- Check centering claims against the card. Each company states tolerances in ratios like 55/45; measure the borders yourself on a scan.
- Read the qualifier or note. A mark or an alteration note changes what the number means.
- Verify the cert number on the company's own lookup page, and keep in mind PSA's warning that verification "does not eliminate risk."
- Remember the standards move. Compare the date of the slab to the date of the standard you are reading.
What to do next
Pick one card you own, open the grade definitions from the company you are thinking of using, and grade it yourself in writing, corner by corner. If your notes match the language on the page, you will read a stranger's slab with more confidence. If they do not, you have learned something before spending a fee.
Sources
- PSA Grading Standards, grade definitions (read from an archived copy captured Nov. 25, 2025; the Gem Mint 10 text matches a copy captured Oct. 18, 2026), checked 2026-11-10
- PSA Cert Verification (archived copy captured Oct. 29, 2026), checked 2026-11-10
- Beckett Grading Scale (archived copy captured May 3, 2026), checked 2026-11-10
- Beckett Grading (archived copy captured Oct. 29, 2026), checked 2026-11-10
- CGC Cards Grading Scale, checked 2026-11-10
General information only, not legal, tax, appraisal or investment advice. Prices, fees and policies change; confirm with the company or a qualified professional before you act.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a PSA 10 the same as a Beckett 10?
- Not necessarily. PSA's page describes a Gem Mint 10 with centering of about 55/45 on the front, while Beckett's chart describes a Pristine 10 as 50/50 on the front and uses four subgrades. They are different written standards.
- Does PSA give half-point grades?
- PSA's grading standards page says cards with high-end qualities between PSA 2 and PSA 9 may achieve a half-point increase, with a clear focus on centering. Read the live page for exactly which half grades exist.
- What is a Beckett Black Label?
- Beckett's grading page says labels are color-coded, with black for perfect 10s, gold for Gem Mint and silver for all other grades. Check Beckett's live page and the subgrades on the slab for the exact criteria.
- Does verifying a cert number prove a slab is real?
- No. PSA's certification page says verifying a number does not eliminate risk, because criminals have counterfeited inserts using real certification numbers. Inspect the holder and buy from sellers you can check.
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