Centering

Centering is the measurement of the position of the cards image. A perfectly centered card is where the card's image is aligned exactly where the card company intended it to be. Centering can be quickly judged by the naked eye.

Slightly Off-Center (60/40): A slightly off-center card is one that, upon close inspection, is found to have one border bigger than the opposite border. This degree once was offensive to only purists, but now some hobbyists try to avoid cards that are anything other than perfect.

Off-Center (70/30): An off-center card has one border that is noticeably more than twice as wide as the opposite border.

Badly Off-Center (80/20 or worse): A badly off-center card has virtually no border on one side of the card.

Miscut: A miscut card actually shows part of the adjacent card in its larger border and consequently a corresponding amount of its card is cut off.

Corner Wear

Along with centering, the corners are one of the most important areas of a card when grading. These are the major categories of corner wear:

Slight touch of wear: The corner is still sharp, but there is a slight touch of wear showing. On a dark-bordered card, this shows as a dot of white.

Fuzzy corner: The corner still comes to a point, but the point just begun to fray. A slightly "dinged" corner is considered the same as a fuzzy corner.

Slightly rounded corner: The fraying of the corner has increased to where there is only a hint of a point. Mild layering may be evident. A "dinged" corner is considered the same as a slightly rounded corner.

Rounded Corner: The point is completely gone. Some layering is noticeable.

Badly rounded corner: The corner is completely round and rough. Severe layering is evident.

Creases

A third common defect is the crease. Creases can be categorized as to severity according to the following scale:

Light Crease: A light crease is a crease that is barely noticeable upon close inspection. In fact, when cards are in plastic sheets or holders, a light crease may not be seen. A light crease on the front is much more serious than one on the back only.

Medium Crease: A medium crease is noticeable when held and studied at arm's length by the naked eye, but does not overly detract from the appearance of the card. It is an obvious crease, but not one that breaks the picture surface of the card.

Heavy Crease: A heavy crease is one that has torn or broken the card's picture surface, e.g., puts a tear in the photo surface.

GRADING GUIDE

The act of card grading is extremely subjective. If you show two collectors the same card, there is a good chance that they'll each give it different grades. If you want to grade your own cards, here is a guide on how to determine what condition your cards are in:

Mint (MT): A card that is in perfect condition, with no flaws and no wear. A card in MT condition has four sharp corners, perfect centering, smooth edges, and the original gloss. This is usually reserved for cards from a just-opened pack, and/or have been handled very lightly.

Near Mint-to-Mint (NrMT-MT): A MT card with one "minor flaw". Most cards from 1981-present are priced in NrMT-MT condition. Some collectors consider "MT" cards to actually be in NrMT-MT condition, because they have been handled to some extent.

Near Mint (Nr-MT): A card that may have one "micro defect". Most vintage cards (1948-80) are priced in this condition.

Excellent-to-Mint (EX-MT): A card that may have two or more micro defects. Most Pre-War cards are priced in EX-MT condition.

Excellent (EX): A card with one minor defect. A card with four fuzzy but definitely not rounded corners and centering no worse than 80/20. The card may have a small amount of original gloss lost, rough edges, slightly discolored borders and minor print spots, color or focus imperfection.

Very Good (VG): A card with one major defect or multiple minor defects. Generally, most vintage cards graded VG and lower are sold as "set-fillers." A set-filler is a card that is on a collector's Want List, but will be dispensed of once he/she finds a copy in better condition.

Good (G): A card with multiple major defects.

Fair (F): A card with one catastrophic defect.

Poor (P): A card with multiple catastrophic defects.

DEFECTS:

A "Minor Flaw" is a slight touch of wear on one corner, barely visible print spots, or flaws in color or register (picture focus).

A "Micro Defect" is a fuzzy corner, a slightly off-center border (60/40), barely noticeable printer's lines and printer's spots, a slightly out of focus register, or a slight loss of the original gloss.

A "Minor Defect" is heavy corner wear or slight rounding, an off-center border (70/30), a light crease on the back, wax or gum stains on reverse, the loss of original gloss, writing or tape marks on back, and rubber band notch.

A "Major Defect" are multiple rounded corners, badly off-center borders (80/20), severe crease(s), deceptive trimming, deceptively retouched borders, pin and staple holes, incidental writing or tape marks on front, warping, water stains, or sun fading.

A "Catastrophic Defect" is the worst kind and would include badly rounded corner(s), mis-cutting, heavy crease(s), obvious trimming, punch hole, tack hole, tear(s) etc...

Any sort of tape marks, pen marks, etc. make the card Defaced. An autograph on a card technically defaces the card. In most cases, selling the card would depend on what the buyer would be willing to pay. People who like autographed cards will likely pay a premium if the card is autographed.