Centering
How evenly is the card cut? We measure the borders on front and back. A clear offset lowers the grade – a centred card looks more premium.
Centering, Corners, Edges & Surface explained
Behind every grade are four subgrades: centering, corners, edges and surface. Together they form the overall grade from 1 to 10. In this guide we explain the four criteria simply and clearly – so you understand how your card is rated.
The 4 criteria
How the grade is composed
Corners
Are the corners sharp and clean? Whitening, dents or chipped corners count negatively – a common issue on heavily played cards.
Edges
Edges are checked for wear, tears and colour chipping. On holos, foils and Alt Arts they are especially sensitive.
Surface
Scratches, print lines, dents, clouding or fingerprints all factor in – often the decisive criterion on modern foils.
How four values become one grade
Each of the four areas is rated individually. From these subgrades the overall grade from 1 to 10 is derived as a weighted average: the surface counts double, centering only counts from a potential 9.0. In the upper range we also use half grades (9.5, 8.5, 7.5 and 6.5; below that we give full grades) to capture the condition even more precisely.
The absolute highlight is the Gold Label: if a card scores 10 in all four subgrades, it receives this exclusive distinction. How the full scale is built is explained on the grading scale; the entire inspection workflow is shown on the grading process page.
How to judge your card in advance
With some practice you can roughly estimate the likely grade of your card yourself – which helps you decide whether sending it in is worth it. Start with the centering: hold a ruler against it or compare the border widths visually. Even a ratio of around 60/40 is often borderline for top grades. Ideally view the corners under a loupe – fine whitening that's barely visible to the naked eye shows clearly there.
For the surface, move the card slowly under a point light source: scratches, print lines and – on foils – clouding become visible. Check the edges for wear and small tears. Remember that the surface counts most because it is weighted double. A dinged corner does not automatically cost the 10: with 10 on surface, edges and centering and a 9 on corners the formula gives 9.80 - still Gem Mint 10 (the Gold Label requires four 10s). How the final grade is formed from the four subgrades is explained in detail on the grading scale.
Read more: Is grading worth it? · Protection in a slab · All guides
Transparent rating across 4 subgrades
Traceable, fair and detailed – that's how PGS rates your cards.