Regardless of whether you are a die hard fan of sports or just looking to increase your collection of baseball trading cards, you should know that there is a wide variety of options available to you on eBay when it comes to buying graded baseball trading cards. Grading cards is serious business because having a trustworthy system for grading cards is an important thing when it comes to the baseball cards collecting hobby.
The most common grading system that is used when it comes to buying and selling baseball trading cards is the Professional Sports Authenticator or PSA system. If you are looking for assistance in grading your baseball trading cards, then this is a good authentication system on which to base your findings. It ranges from 10 down to 1, with the following specifications:
Grade 10 – Gem Mint Grade - This grade is for baseball trading cards that are as perfect as they can possibly be. Their corners are still sharp, their colors are still glossy, and there is no staining on marks on the card at all. Another characteristic of baseball trading cards that are Gem Mint grade is that their image is properly centered.
Grade 9 – Mint Grade - With this grade, the baseball trading cards only possess minor flaws, such as a slight imperfection in printing or an image that is slightly off center, but the card is otherwise in excellent condition.
Grade 8 – Near Mint-Mint Grade - In this grade, you have baseball trading cards that are excellent but they may have slight fraying or borders that are slightly off-white.
Grade 7 – Near Mint Grade - In this grade, a close inspection of the baseball trading card may reveal slight wear to the surface or corners that are slightly frayed. The image should be mostly glossy.
Grade 6 – Excellent-Mint Grade - Baseball trading cards receiving this grade may have surface wear that is visible or some sort of printing defect without costing any overall appeal.
Grade 5 – Excellent Grade – The baseball trading cards that receive this grade are in excellent condition but may have some minor corner rounding or chipping around the edges, and some noticeable but minor surface scratches may be present.
Grade 4 – Very Good-Excellent Grade - The baseball trading cards in this category may have slight surface wear and some slightly rounded corners but some of their original gloss intact.
Grade 3 – Very Good Grade - The baseball trading cards in this category may have some rounding of the corners and some slight scratching of the surface or scuffing.
Grade 2 – Good Grade - The baseball trading cards in this category may have apparent creases or rounded corners and gloss that is no longer present.
Grade 1 – Poor to Fair Grade - Finally, the baseball trading cards that fall into this category generally show advanced signs of wear including rounded corners, chipped and fraying edges, chipping, pitting and scuffing as well as a lack of gloss on the surface.
Photo Credits: Adam Jones, Ph.D.
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