Grade your sports cards with TrueGrade

Use the app. No third party.  No hassle. 

The sports card hobby has recently seen a surge in interest, partly due to the pandemic quarantine. With more enthusiasts submitting their cards for grading, traditional card-grading companies are backlogged for months. True Grade will fill this need with its auto-grading service built on AI.

Grade your sports cards with TrueGrade

Use the app. No third party.  No hassle. 

The sports card hobby has recently seen a surge in interest, partly due to the pandemic quarantine. With more enthusiasts submitting their cards for grading, traditional card-grading companies are backlogged for months. True Grade will fill this need with its auto-grading service built on AI.

Grading sports trading cards can increase their value

In calculating the value of sports cards, condition is crucial. Many people looking to sell their cards are not quite sure how to grade them, or more importantly, how others will grade them. Therefore, determining the condition, and in turn, value of your cards can be a daunting task.

While grading sports cards is subjective, there are widely established standards that most people in the industry follow.

Modern and vintage cards alike are treated equally when being evaluated or graded. Although a vintage card may be over 100 years old, it is still subjected to the same rigorous standards as a card manufactured today.

Grading sports trading cards can increase their value

In calculating the value of sports cards, condition is crucial. Many people looking to sell their cards are not quite sure how to grade them, or more importantly, how others will grade them. Therefore, determining the condition, and in turn, value of your cards can be a daunting task.

While grading sports cards is subjective, there are widely established standards that most people in the industry follow.

Modern and vintage cards alike are treated equally when being evaluated or graded. Although a vintage card may be over 100 years old, it is still subjected to the same rigorous standards as a card manufactured today.

How it works

True Grade also gives grades—numerically—for centering, corners, edges and surface, and an overall grade, such as the 9.5 Gem Mint given a 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan. It, too, utilizes AI as part of its grading process.

Check out the video to see how it’s done!

How it works

Check out the video to the right to see how it’s done!

How a trading card is graded

Cards are graded based on these factors: Centering, Corners, Edges, and Surface. They give each attribute a grade of 1-10, then combine those to give the card a final grade of 1-10. Anything above a 9 is worth book value or greater, as BGS 9 (known as a “Mint 9”) is the condition expected of the card out of the pack.

1

Corner Sharpness

With rounded corners, sharp corners, soft corners and so on, there are many terms to describe the condition of corners, another crucial factor in determining trading card condition. A card can display great centering, but flawed corners can mean a big hit to a card’s grade.

2

Straightness of Edge

The four edges of a card also play an important role in its grade. Are the edges rough and worn? Do they show dings, dents or other forms of damage? Are the edges black? Colored edges of any sort are notorious for showing wear and incurring chips, especially black edges. Don’t fail to inspect the edges of any card, for they too are crucial in determining a card’s overall condition.

3

Card centering

How does the card’s image align, with respect to its four edges? Ideally, a card is centered from top to bottom and left to right. When centering is discussed, graders use percentages to describe how a card’s main design is oriented. According to the PSA Grading Scale, ideally centered cards feature a tolerance that does not exceed 55/45 to 60/40 percent on the front and 75/25 percent on the reverse.

4

Surface flaw detection

From scratches to creases, “surface” refers to the condition of the cardboard that comprises the card. Some surfaces, like the reflective surfaces of Pokémon cards or certain modern sports cards like Bowman Chrome, are more apt to incur scratches. Vintage cards, meanwhile, are susceptible to condition issues such as the wearing of the gloss from the front of the cards. Creases can either be very light and touch just one surface of the card or much deeper and affect both surfaces.

5

Overall card grade

Each overall percentage range is translated into a 0-10/10 grade

  • GEM-MT 10 (Gem Mint)
  • MINT 9 (Mint)
  • NM-MT 8 (Near Mint-Mint)
  • NM 7 (Near Mint)
  • EX-MT 6 (Excellent-Mint)
  • EX 5 (Excellent)
  • VG-EX 4 (Very Good-Excellent)
  • VG 3 (Very Good)
  • GOOD 2 (Good)
  • PR 1 (Poor)

How trading cards are graded

Cards are graded based on these factors: Centering, Corners, Edges, and Surface. They give each attribute a grade of 1-10, then combine those to give the card a final grade of 1-10. Anything above a 9 is worth book value or greater, as BGS 9 (known as a “Mint 9”) is the condition expected of the card out of the pack.

1

Corner Sharpness

With rounded corners, sharp corners, soft corners and so on, there are many terms to describe the condition of corners, another crucial factor in determining trading card condition. A card can display great centering, but flawed corners can mean a big hit to a card’s grade.

2

Straightness of Edge

The four edges of a card also play an important role in its grade. Are the edges rough and worn? Do they show dings, dents or other forms of damage? Are the edges black? Colored edges of any sort are notorious for showing wear and incurring chips, especially black edges. Don’t fail to inspect the edges of any card, for they too are crucial in determining a card’s overall condition.

3

Card centering

How does the card’s image align, with respect to its four edges? Ideally, a card is centered from top to bottom and left to right. When centering is discussed, graders use percentages to describe how a card’s main design is oriented. According to the PSA Grading Scale, ideally centered cards feature a tolerance that does not exceed 55/45 to 60/40 percent on the front and 75/25 percent on the reverse.

4

Surface flaw detection

From scratches to creases, “surface” refers to the condition of the cardboard that comprises the card. Some surfaces, like the reflective surfaces of Pokémon cards or certain modern sports cards like Bowman Chrome, are more apt to incur scratches. Vintage cards, meanwhile, are susceptible to condition issues such as the wearing of the gloss from the front of the cards. Creases can either be very light and touch just one surface of the card or much deeper and affect both surfaces.

5

Overall card grade

Each overall percentage range is translated into a 0-10/10 grade

  • GEM-MT 10 (Gem Mint)
  • MINT 9 (Mint)
  • NM-MT 8 (Near Mint-Mint)
  • NM 7 (Near Mint)
  • EX-MT 6 (Excellent-Mint)
  • EX 5 (Excellent)
  • VG-EX 4 (Very Good-Excellent)
  • VG 3 (Very Good)
  • GOOD 2 (Good)
  • PR 1 (Poor)

Download the app and start grading your cards!

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