If you mostly collect already-graded cards, you don’t need to know much about assessing card condition. That work has been done for you (for better or worse), and you buy your graded 5 (“excellent”) or 7 (“near mint”) and go about your day. But for those of us who collect raw cards, or who submit cards for grading, understanding card condition is paramount. The Ultimate Vintage Sports Raw Card Condition Guide is here to help you assess raw cards like a pro.
The Lost Art of Assessing Raw Cards
One pet peeve of mine is when people list nice-looking raw cards for sale and describe them as in “good condition!” when they clearly mean “excellent” or “near mint.” On any reputable card condition scale, “Good” translates to “Bad.” People also cede way too much authority to graded cards, and hesitate to assess their own cards. “Please see pics for condition, as I am not a card grader!” Back in the good old days, before graded cards, we were all card graders!
Of course, the opposite scenario is also very common: you will often see beat-up cards listed as “Excellent.” Either way, we can do better!
These days in the hobby, it seems as though assessing raw cards is a lost art. This is ironic and sad, since the jargon and practices of assessing raw card condition predate “professional” grading by a generation. It is the language of the hobby, and essential for any serious collector. So let’s review or learn it.
Cardhound has written about related topics before: assessing card condition is an important aspect of our Guide on Grading, and of course, card condition is a very important factor in Understanding Vintage Baseball Card Values. But it is an essential topic that deserves its own deep dive. So let’s jump in.
Card Condition Terms
The 10-point scale adopted by card grading companies has been in place since the dawn of collecting. The most common terms used are:
- Poor
- Fair
- Good
- Very Good (VG)
- Excellent (EX)
- Near Mint (NM)
- Mint, and
- Gem Mint
There are some “half steps” in between to fill out the scale. For example, a card that is listed as “VG-EX” straddles the line between Very Good and Excellent condition.
The PSA Grading Standards Guide is an excellent visual resource for learning card condition terms and the basics of how they should be applied. It combines the terms with helpful visuals such as the following:
Why This Matters
Two cards can look “pretty good” and very similar to an outsider, but an experienced collector might see an “excellent” card and a “near mint” card. In terms of value, the difference can be tens or hundreds or thousands of dollars.
The biggest “rookie mistake” when buying or especially selling is to overestimate the condition of the cards in question–and thus overestimate their value. This can result in wasted money and time and lost sales. Frankly, most raw cards listed for sale on eBay are “overgraded,” with cards listed as EX-MT that are obviously VG at best. Knowledge is power when shopping.
Assessing card condition is part art, part science. While there is no substitute for hands-on experience assessing cards yourself, understanding some of the basics of how the process works can speed up the learning curve, and can prevent costly mistakes.
Equipment Needed / How to Examine Raw Cards
Before you start assessing your own cards, it’s important to have a couple of very basic tools on hand:
- A jeweler’s loupe or some form of magnification
- A good, bright light source
- Optional: calipers, ruler, a centering tool to gauge approximate centering ratio
- Useful: Other raw cards to compare for sizing
That’s it! You don’t need to wear gloves, and in fact, you should not wear gloves in my opinion. You risk more damage from gloves than from bare hands (though, wash your hands).
Personally, I use a desk light / magnifier combination unit and it works fine for my purposes. Hold the card under the light, and move it around at different angles so that every bit of the card surface is clearly illuminated at some point. The idea is to “sheen” the card under good light, to look for even the finest of wrinkles, creases, scratches, abrasions, stains, or other defects. Quite often, a card will look great “head on” but viewing from an angle will reveal a small wrinkle or other defect.
The 4 Criteria for Assessing Raw Cards
A card’s overall condition rating (raw or graded) should take all four of the following characteristics into account:
- Centering
- Corner wear
- Edge wear
- Surface
Here are a few examples of the 4 criteria in action:
- Centering (top / bottom, side / side, on front / back). The front centering of these cards will limit the grades–even though other aspects of the McCovey are stronger. Tip: Cards grade “down” to their weakness. Assuming the centering is about 85/15 ratio on the front at its worst point, that would limit the card to a 5 despite other strengths.
- Corner wear (sharp vs. ding vs. rounded). The extreme corner wear here is certainly in the poor / 1 range.
- Edge wear (chipping. dings, etc.). The 54 Banks above has noticeable chipping in the top edge towards the right side. Some cards are especially prone to edge damage, such as 1971 Topps and those sensitive black borders. (Granted, this McQueen has lots of issues!)
- Surface wear (sharpness, clarity, scratches, paper loss, etc.). The 54 Banks above also shows significant surface wear (loss of gloss, scratches). Ted has a crease in the upper left corner. Other catastrophic defects, like pinholes or tape, also affect the surface assessment.
Last Steps
When your assessment is complete, you are ready to assign a condition rating. Compare your observations of your card to the grading criteria, and see which one seems to “fit” best.
One word to the wise is that cards will generally “assess down” to their weakness. In other words, a card can be well-centered with sharp corners and clean edges, but if it has even a small crease, it’s likely VG-EX at best.
To give another example, if a card looks pack fresh but the centering is 90-10, this card, too, is likely best assessed as VG-EX.
A third card might not have any relative weakness–all aspects are about even: 85/15 centering, corners are slightly rounded, modest surface wear, maybe a light hairline wrinkle. This card, too, will assess at VG-EX!
Remember that “eye appeal” and “technical grade” are not the same thing. Buyers will pay up for eye appeal at any grade, but an honest assessment takes all of the technical stuff into account too.
If you have any more questions or would like some help assessing your own cards, please Join Cardhound and then you can submit pictures to our free Grading Advice Forum!
