Grading

In general, I try not to assign a grade to cards because it’s not an exact science that is open to interpretation. However, sometimes I feel compelled to do so given the nature of the lot. This grade should be taken only as a rough guideline. Please base your purchasing decisions on your review of the photos and not the grade I assign. In the case I do assign a grade, I use the following guidelines:

Mint – I’ll probably never call an ungraded card mint.

Near Mint – A truly outstanding example. 60/40 centering or better. Near-perfect corners. No other flaws.

Excellent MT – Corners can have minor to moderate wear. No significant surface, edge or printing issues. Centering should be 80/20 or better. No other major problems on the card.

Excellent – A decent mid-grade card. Centering 90/10 or better. Corners can have moderate wear but are not rounded. No creasing or other major flaws are present.

VG/EX – Borders on mid and lower grade. Corners show wear and may have slight rounding. No major creases, writing, pinholes or serious damage. This card can be way off center, but not miscut.

Very Good – A good solid card that is lower grade. This card maintains good eye appeal but may have some creasing. The card could be miscut of other flaws are not present.

Good – This is a low-grade card. The card has significant flaws that hurt the appeal. It may have writing, pin holes, severe creasing, etc. The whole card is intact, but that’s about all it has going for it.

Fair – This is a completely beat card that could serve as a filler

Poor – Can have anything and everything described above. Entire card is not intact.