We've been working on something fun at Coffee & Fun: an AI-powered grading estimator for Pokémon cards. The idea is simple. You snap a photo of your card, and our tool gives you a rough idea of what grade PSA might assign it.
To actually build that, we needed to understand exactly how PSA grades cards. Not just the marketing version on their website, but the real nitty-gritty. So we ordered three professionally graded cards, a PSA 10, a PSA 9, and a PSA 8, and started studying them side by side.
This post is everything we've learned so far about how the grading process works, updated with the latest info heading into 2026.
The Four Things PSA Cares About
PSA evaluates every card on four criteria: centering, corners, edges, and surface. Each one gets assessed independently, and your final grade is essentially the lowest score across those four categories. A card with perfect corners, edges, and surface but bad centering? That centering score is what you're stuck with.
Let's break each one down.
Centering
Centering is about how well the artwork sits within the card's borders. PSA measures this as a ratio, comparing the thickness of opposite borders. If your left border is slightly wider than the right, that gets expressed as something like 55/45.
They check both the front and back, though the front matters more since that's what everyone looks at.
What the numbers actually mean
For a PSA 10 (Gem Mint), you need centering of 55/45 or better on the front and 75/25 or better on the back. That's a pretty tight window. A PSA 9 (Mint) loosens it to 60/40 on the front and 90/10 on the back.
Here's the full breakdown:
- PSA 10: Front 55/45, Back 75/25
- PSA 9: Front 60/40, Back 90/10
- PSA 8: Front 65/35, Back 90/10
- PSA 7: Front 70/30, Back 90/10
Once you get past 70/30, the card starts looking noticeably off-center to the naked eye. Modern Pokémon cards from recent sets tend to have decent centering out of the pack, but Japanese cards and older WOTC era prints can be all over the place.
One thing we noticed comparing our graded cards: the PSA 9 had centering that looked fine at a glance but measured around 58/42 on the front. You really do need to measure it, not just eyeball it.
Corners
Corners take the most abuse during handling, and PSA knows it. They examine all four corners under magnification looking for any sign of wear: whitening, fuzziness, rounding, bends, or dings.
For a PSA 10, all four corners need to look sharp and clean even under 10x magnification. That's a high bar. The tiniest bit of whitening or softness on one corner, the kind you'd never notice just holding the card, can knock you down to a PSA 9.
Our PSA 8 card had very slight rounding on two corners that was barely visible without a loupe. It's wild how small the differences are between grades at the top end.
Tip from experience: corners are the easiest thing to damage when sleeving and unsleeving cards. If you think a card might be worth grading, sleeve it once and leave it alone.
Edges
Edges are the thin borders running along all four sides of the card. PSA checks for chipping, whitening, fraying, and any rough spots.
Dark-bordered Pokémon cards are especially tricky here. Cards with black or dark blue edges show whitening way more obviously than lighter cards. If you've ever looked at a Base Set Charizard under a bright light and noticed tiny white specks along the border, that's edge whitening, and PSA will catch it.
For holo cards, PSA also checks for foil separation or damage near the edges where the foil layer meets the card stock.
A PSA 10 needs edges that look crisp and clean, essentially flawless to the naked eye and near-perfect under magnification. Any visible chipping or whitening and you're looking at a PSA 9 or below.
Surface
This is the one that catches most people off guard. The surface includes everything visible on the front and back of the card: scratches, print lines, stains, dents, creases, and even the card's original gloss.
What they're looking for
Scratches are the most common issue, especially on holographic cards. That shiny foil layer is basically a scratch magnet. Even pulling a card out of a penny sleeve can leave micro-scratches that show up under the right lighting.
Print lines are thin lines baked in during manufacturing. They're not your fault, but PSA still counts them against the grade. This is one of the more frustrating parts of grading. You can pull a card straight from a sealed pack and it already has print lines.
Creases and dents are grade killers. Even a light crease usually caps you at PSA 6 or below, no matter how perfect everything else looks.
Gloss matters too. The card's original finish should still be intact. If the surface looks dull or worn compared to a fresh card, that's a sign of handling wear.
For a PSA 10, the surface needs to be essentially perfect: no visible scratches, no print lines, no loss of gloss, nothing. Our PSA 10 card looked flawless under normal light and only showed the faintest hint of a manufacturing mark under harsh angled lighting.
Other Things PSA Checks
Beyond the big four, PSA also looks at:
Authenticity. Every card gets checked to make sure it's not counterfeit, trimmed, or altered in any way. If they suspect the card has been tampered with, it gets rejected outright, not graded lower. This has become more important as the value of vintage Pokémon cards has skyrocketed and fakes have gotten better.
Card dimensions. If a card doesn't match standard Pokémon card measurements, that's a red flag. Factory miscuts do happen and PSA will either grade them lower or give them a "miscut" qualifier depending on the severity and collector demand.
Print quality. Faded ink, discoloration, or printing errors all factor into the grade. Some misprints are actually sought after by collectors, and PSA grades those based on the card's overall condition.
PSA Grading Scale Quick Reference
| Grade | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 | Gem Mint | Virtually perfect in every way |
| PSA 9 | Mint | A tiny flaw, maybe slight off-centering or one soft corner |
| PSA 8 | NM-MT | Minor wear visible on close inspection |
| PSA 7 | Near Mint | Light wear, small corner fuzz or surface scratches |
| PSA 6 | EX-MT | Moderate wear, maybe a small crease or multiple minor flaws |
| PSA 5 | Excellent | Obvious wear, noticeable edge and corner issues |
| PSA 4 | VG-EX | Major flaws starting to show, multiple creases |
| PSA 3 | Very Good | Heavy creases, rounded corners, clear damage |
| PSA 2 | Good | Significant damage but the card is still complete |
| PSA 1 | Poor | Severe damage, tears, missing pieces |
What Actually Happens When You Submit a Card
Here's the process from the inside:
Receiving and logging. Your package arrives, gets logged into their system, and your cards are matched to your submission form. PSA has massively scaled up their operation over the past few years. They went from grading about 15,000 cards a day in 2021 to roughly 90,000 cards a day now, with plans to push that even higher in 2026.
Independent examination. Multiple graders evaluate your card separately. They each assess centering, corners, edges, and surface under different lighting conditions and magnification levels. This isn't one person making a snap judgment.
Consensus and review. If graders disagree, a senior grader steps in to make the final call. This is why PSA grades are generally consistent, though not everyone agrees with every grade they get back.
Encapsulation. Once the grade is finalized, the card gets sealed in a tamper-proof plastic holder with a label showing the grade, certification number, and card details. The holder is sonically sealed, meaning you'd have to crack it open to get the card out.
What It Costs in 2026
PSA pricing has gone up over the years, and 2025 saw another round of increases. Here's where things stand heading into 2026:
| Service Level | Price Per Card | Max Declared Value | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value/Economy | $25 | $499 | 45-65 business days |
| Regular | $50 | $999 | 20-30 business days |
| Express | $75 | $2,499 | 5-10 business days |
| Super Express | $200 | $9,999 | 5-7 business days |
Bulk submissions can bring the per-card cost down to around $19-22, which is worth looking into if you have a stack of cards to submit.
One important thing: PSA checks your declared values. If your card comes back as a PSA 10 and the market value is clearly above your declared tier, expect an upcharge. Don't try to save money by under-declaring.
Is it worth grading?
The honest answer: it depends on the card. A PSA 10 can sell for 5 to 10 times what a raw near-mint copy goes for, sometimes way more for chase cards. But when you're paying $25 minimum to grade a card that's worth $5 raw, the math doesn't work even if it comes back perfect.
Our general rule of thumb: consider grading if the raw card is worth $75 or more, or if you're confident it could hit PSA 10 and the graded price makes the cost worthwhile.
Tips for Submitting Cards
We've submitted enough cards at this point to have some opinions on what makes the process go smoother.
Inspect before you submit. Grab a loupe or magnifying glass and check corners, edges, and surface under good lighting. There's no point paying $25 to confirm a card is a PSA 7. Focus your submissions on cards that have real PSA 9 or 10 potential.
Use the right supplies. PSA wants cards in penny sleeves or semi-rigid card savers. Don't send them in toploaders, magnetic cases, or screw-down holders. Remove the card from any non-standard holder before shipping.
Handle with care. Wash your hands before handling cards you plan to submit. Use the card's edges to hold it, not the surface. Sleeve it once and don't keep pulling it in and out.
Clean gently if needed. A soft microfiber cloth can remove light dust or smudges from the surface. Don't use any liquids or cleaning products. And be careful, you can add micro-scratches if you press too hard.
Photograph everything. Take detailed photos of your card before shipping, front and back, under good lighting. This protects you if there's any shipping damage or dispute about the grade.
Ship securely. Use a padded mailer or small box with cards sandwiched between cardboard. A tracking number is a must. Don't cheap out on shipping for cards worth hundreds of dollars.
Where Our AI Project Stands
We're still in the early stages of building our grading estimator. The three graded cards we ordered have been incredibly useful for understanding what separates a 10 from a 9 from an 8. The differences are small but they're real and measurable.
The plan is to use image analysis to evaluate the same four criteria PSA uses: centering, corners, edges, and surface. Centering is the most straightforward since it's literally a measurement. Corners and edges are trickier but doable with the right training data. Surface is the hard one, especially detecting things like print lines and micro-scratches from a photo.
We'll share more as the project progresses. If you're interested in following along or have graded cards you'd be willing to photograph for our training data, drop us a line.