Looking back ten years, the changes within the card-collecting hobby are nothing short of spectacular. Insert cards with print runs of 10,000 were all the rage; today a base card numbered to 10,000 is overproduced. Card shops seemingly dotted every intersection; today only a fraction of those are still in operation. Then there is the grading phenomenon, which was just taking roots less than a decade ago, and was hardly a part of the average collector’s vocabulary. Now, with the proliferation of sight-unseen trading via the Internet, professional card grading has become status quo.

At BGS/BVG, we provide a detailed Report Card on the back of the label to identify the best and worst categories of each particular card. It is important to note that the overall grade is not simply an average of the four subgrades. Each of these four subgrades is factored into the overall grade of the card using a complex algorithm, with the lowest subgrade being the most important factor in the formula. It is rare for a card to receive an overall grade more than 0.5 above the lowest subgrade (if that low grade is in centering or corners), or 1.0 (if the low grade is in edges or surface). Two equally low subgrades will typically hold the overall grade from receiving any bump at all.

So what can one expect when submitting an order for grading? And just what were those graders looking at when they labeled that prized Mark McGwire RC a NM-MT 8? In this article, we’ll break down the grading process here at Beckett Grading Services to give readers a glimpse of BGS/BVG standards. For our illustration, we will observe a 1985 Topps #30 Cal Ripken as it glides through the process. This Ripken card emerged from BGS with subgrades of 7 centering, 6 corners, 7.5 edges, and 7.5 surface, resulting in an overall grade of 6.5 (EX-MT+). Had our worst flaw of corners been half a point better, the card would have inched into the Near Mint (7) category. Let’s take a close look at each of the subgrade areas.

Centering
 
The first category is that of centering. Along with corners, centering is the most heavily-weighted category in arriving at a final overall grade. Centering is a crucial aspect because of the importance it serves aesthetically. With the exception of borderless cards, it is the most instantly visible.

Centering can be judged quickly by the naked eye. A border that is just slightly less than even on both sides is 55/45. If one border is twice the size of the other, that equates to approximately 65/35. Dropping below 65/35, we are talking about a very unattractively centered card. Card back centering is weighted less heavily than the front.  Also, keep an eye out for diamond cutting (the image of the card is tilted to varying degrees) or miscuts (the card was not cut straight). Either of these will hold the centering grade to less than an 8. Always measure at the worst point of centering each direction.

The easiest method of deducing exact centering uses a ruler and calculator. Using a very finely marked ruler (decimals, points, etc.), measure both sides of a border, and write these numbers down. On our Ripken card, the top side measured 16 (0.16 decimal inches), and the bottom side measured 8. Add these numbers together for a total of 24, and divide each of the first two measurements by this total. In our case, 16 divided by 24 equals 0.67, and 8 divided by 24 is 0.33, giving us top-bottom centering of about 65/35. The right-left centering on this card measures approximately 55/45, resulting in a centering grade of 7.

Corners

The other heavily-weighted category is that of corners. A slight edge flaw, a light surface scratch, or 55/45 centering can be more easily accepted, but a dinged corner drops a card’s aesthetic value like a rock. To achieve a superior corner grade of 9.5 or 10, each one of those corners, front and back, better be blazingly sharp. If you can study the corners under magnification (between 4X and 10X) and in bright light, and see that each of them comes to a sharp point, then you are in good shape. If the corners are all sharp to the naked eye, you are probably safe with a 9 or higher subgrade. But once a speck of wear is visible, or a bump can be seen, the grade starts dropping fast.

Always look very carefully around the whole corner – not just the very tip. Often there may be an actual crease or bump across the corner, which may be difficult to detect at first, but once seen, becomes painfully obvious. If any corner shows a bend or crease or other noticeable wear, the corner grade will likely drop to a 7.5 or lower.

The Ripken example is made out of a soft cardboard stock that makes truly mint corners very difficult to come by. Looking carefully at each of the front corners reveals wear, but particularly the top left and the bottom two corners all show lightly noticeable dings. With these problems, the corners are the worst flaw on the card, and a grade of 6 is in order.

 
Edges

Unless heavily damaged, edges are often treated with general disregard by collectors. In reality, edges reveal more than just a grade – they are usually the key area in determining trimming or other alterations. 
The edges are also the one area that tells us how well the card was cut at the factory. While allowances are certainly made for certain types of factory-cut edges (such as O-Pee-Chee and Topps Tiffany sets), the quality of the cut does need to be taken into account to some extent.

When it comes to actual after-market damage, though, the grading process is not as lenient. Chipping and notching that occurs after the card has been cut and packaged at the factory is weighed more heavily in determining edge grades than factory problems. Any large chip or notch in an edge is quite distracting and can lower the grade proportionately. To earn Mint or better grades, these edges have to be clean and sharp.

The sample card in question has strong edges on the back, but the white borders on the front cause chipping on this card to stand out. The right edge is the most chipped, but there are no major notches on the card. Because some of the chipping is light after-market damage and not factory-created, the edges add up to grade of 7.5.

 
Surface

The final subgrade is certainly the most frustrating. It cannot be overstated how critical it is to examine the front and back surfaces closely before submitting cards. It seems so easy to look at the corners for any wear, measure up the centering, and look for chipping on the edges, but many surface flaws can seem rather hidden at first glance. It is upon closer scrutiny that scratches, creases, print dots, blisters and stains become obvious. Often, we believe that pulling a card fresh from a pack or factory set means there will be no major surface problems. On the contrary, never assume the surface is free of defects.

The best way to examine the surface is to inspect the cards without a holder and held close to a bright light source. A simple 75-watt desk lamp will work fine. Using only the naked eye, rotate the card to catch all of the angles in the light. You might be amazed to find scratches and scuffs leap to life that you might have otherwise overlooked. Aside from catastrophic damage (thumb-tack holes, tape, staples, etc.), creases and heavy stains are often the most crippling to a card’s grade. Even the smallest crease will usually lower the surface grade to a 4 or less, and most typically closer to a 2. Other forms of surface damage include machine indentations and roller marks, paper flaws/wrinkles, print dots or streaks, and blisters or pockmarks. The peskiest problem of all, in terms of being the most common, is that of scratches.

There are no distracting scratches on our sample, and not a crease or wrinkle to be found. However, a handful of obvious print dots are scattered across the front photo. Besides three distracting pink print dots in the background, there is also a white dot in the black background just above Ripken’s name. These four print spots are easily the most distracting surface issue, and hold the surface subgrade to a 7.5.  

Beckett Grading Service (BGS) is a division of Beckett Media, a well recognized authority on sports cards. It uses a 10-point scale with half grades, with a 9.5 Gem Mint and 10 Pristine as the top grades. BGS provides subgrades for corners, edges, centering and surface, and also offers a protective inner sleeve, distinctive foil labels, a free online Population report and Registry, and a money-back guarantee on turnaround times. Beckett Media also launched BVG, or Beckett Vintage Grading, in 2001. It is the only grading service dedicated exclusively to vintage cards, while still offering the a leader in grading vintage cards. Many people believe that BGS and BVG grade more strictly than their competitors, but this results in higher average resale values on Beckett graded cards. eBay also teamed with Beckett to develop a "Value Guide" for sports cards, available at Beckett's Web site.

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