PSA Grade Visual Guide

📸 How to Photograph Your Card for Best AI Results
✅ Lighting
Use natural window light — never a flash. Position 2-3 feet from a window. Angle card slightly (10-15°) to catch surface reflections that show scratches.
✅ Background
Place the card on a dark, non-reflective surface (black foam board is ideal). This makes borders clearly visible for centering measurement.
✅ Camera Distance
Fill 80-90% of the frame with the card. Use your phone's 1x lens (not zoom). Portrait orientation for vertical cards. Keep the phone steady — use a phone stand or stack of books.
❌ Avoid
Flash photography (causes glare), photographing through a sleeve (adds distortion), dark rooms with overhead lighting (creates shadows), extreme zooming in.
💡 Pro tip: Take 3-4 photos at different slight angles and use the one where surface scratches are most visible. PSA graders look at cards under magnification — the more detail you capture, the more accurate the AI prediction.

What corners, edges, centering, and surface look like at each grade. Know what you're holding before you pay the grading fee.

10
Gem Mint

PSA 10 — Gem Mint

The perfect card. Rarest and most valuable grade.
Centering
55/45 or tighter on both front and back. Dead center is ideal but not required.
Corners
Four sharp, perfect points. Zero fraying, zero wear, zero softening under 10x loupe.
Edges
Clean, smooth, and even on all four sides. No chips, no nicks, no roughness.
Surface
No scratches, no print lines, no hazing, no fingerprints. Both faces perfect under direct LED light.
Submission tip: Use Card Saver I holders, cotton gloves, and ship in a padded box. One surface scratch in transit can drop a PSA 10 to an 8.
9
Mint

PSA 9 — Mint

Excellent card. Strong value, easier to achieve than a 10.
Centering
60/40 or tighter on both sides. Slightly off-center is acceptable — not significantly visible to the naked eye.
Corners
Sharp points with at most one corner showing very slight wear not visible at normal viewing distance.
Edges
Minimal roughness. One or two very minor edge imperfections acceptable — nothing visible to naked eye.
Surface
No major scratches. Very minor surface wear that doesn't affect the overall appearance at normal viewing distance.
PSA 9 vs 10 margin: Usually one imperfection separates them — typically centering that's 63/37 instead of 55/45, or a single soft corner under a loupe. The AI will flag what's holding your card back.
8
NM-MT

PSA 8 — Near Mint–Mint

Good card. Slight visible wear. Grading often not worth it unless it's a high-value card.
Centering
65/35 or better. Noticeable to the trained eye but not severe enough to affect display or resale significantly.
Corners
Two or more corners showing minor wear visible to naked eye. Light fraying detectable without a loupe.
Edges
Light chipping on one or two edges. Slight roughness visible when examined closely.
Surface
Minor surface wear or light print lines. Slight scratching not distracting to the overall appearance.
Run the flip calc: A PSA 8 on most modern cards adds minimal value over raw. Use the Flip Calculator to see if the math works before spending $80.
7
NM

PSA 7 — Near Mint

Visible wear. Sell raw unless this is a vintage card with strong PSA 7 demand.
Centering
Up to 70/30. Clearly visible misalignment to casual observer.
Corners
Some corner wear present, visible without magnification. Light fraying on 2–3 corners.
Edges
Noticeable edge wear. Chipping or roughness on multiple sides.
Surface
Surface wear visible — scratches, scuffs, or light creasing. Holo may show hazing.
Sell raw exception: Vintage cards (pre-1980 baseball/football) with strong collector bases still command a premium at PSA 7. Examples: 1952 Mantle, 1955 Clemente, 1963 Stargell.
≤6
EX or lower

PSA 6 and Below — Sell Raw

Significant wear. Grading adds little to no value on modern cards.
When to submit
Only if the card itself is historically significant — vintage key rookies, T206 Honus Wagner, 1933 Goudey Ruth.
Modern cards
Almost never worth grading. The PSA fee exceeds the grade premium in 95% of modern card cases.
Bottom line: If the Card Colony AI returns PSA 6 or below, the answer is Sell Raw. List on Whatnot or eBay raw and save the grading fee.
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