Learning center
How a grade is made.
A grade is a structured judgement against a published, versioned standard. Here is what that standard looks at.
The grading scale
Current standard: GS-2026.2
- 10PristineVirtually flawless under magnification. Centering within tight tolerance.
- 9.5GemOne minor imperfection visible only under raking light.
- 9MintA small flaw such as slight off-centering or a single tiny corner touch.
- 8Near Mint–MintMinor wear on corners or edges; surface clean to the eye.
- 7Near MintLight wear visible on close inspection; possible minor print defects.
- 5–6ExcellentNoticeable corner rounding or edge wear; no creases.
- 1–4Poor to Very GoodCreases, heavy wear, or significant surface damage.
Four areas, assessed separately
Centering
Border ratios measured left/right and top/bottom on front and back.
Corners
Sharpness and whitening at each of the four corners.
Edges
Chipping, whitening, and roughness along all four edges.
Surface
Scratches, print lines, dents, and stains revealed by multi-angle lighting.
When a person steps in
- Confidence falls below the policy threshold.
- The card isn't in the supported catalog, or identification is ambiguous.
- Any authenticity anomaly is detected.
- The declared value is high, or intake staff flagged something unusual.
Educational content for the prototype. The automated grading shown here is a deterministic simulation.