What is PSA in sports cards?

In 1991, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) was created with an eye toward quantifying the condition of cards, and the concept proved so popular that the company is currently the largest third-party authenticator in the industry.

Is it worth getting cards graded by PSA?

And while many card grading authenticators and grading systems exist, PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) is the most reputable name in the business. PSA has verified more than 40 million sports cards cumulatively worth over $1 billion to earn this level of trust with collectors.

What does PSA mean for sports cards?

Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), is a US based sports card and trading card grading company.

What does PSA 10 mean in sports cards?

For a card to earn a 10, the edges of a card must be flawless to the naked eye and virtually perfect when looked at under magnification. Surface. The final criteria looked at by card graders is the surface of the card. A card's surface is susceptible to loss of glossiness, wax stains, scratching, and printing defects.

What is a good PSA rating?

There is no specific normal or abnormal level of PSA in the blood. In the past, PSA levels of 4.0 ng/mL and lower were considered normal. However, some individuals with PSA levels below 4.0 ng/mL have prostate cancer and many with higher PSA levels between 4 and 10 ng/mL do not have prostate cancer (1).

PSA Grading: 5 Steps to Prep Your Cards for PSA in 2021! 📦💰

What is the highest PSA level ever?

With advances in technology, extremely high PSA values can be calibrated nowadays. PSA testing could span ~10⁶ folds, ranging from 0.01 to ~10⁴ ng/mL. In this study, the highest PSA detected was 23,162 ng/mL. The clinical significance of extremely high PSA has not been well defined.

How rare is a PSA 10 card?

13% of all cards sent to PSA whereas the remainder of the foil cards receive a 10 in 2.4% of all cards submitted.

What is the rarest PSA?

2005 Umbreon Gold Star Holo

The highest PSA grade one of these has ever received is a 9.5, making it extremely rare to find one in top condition.

Is it better to buy PSA 9 or 10?

The Price Differences In Graded Pokémon Cards

Using the PSA Price Guide, a PSA 10 of this card is valued at around $375,000. In comparison, a PSA 9 drops down to around $20,000. That is a huge drop in value for just one number, and depending on the collector, a 9 could be just as good as a 10.

Which is better PSA 1 or PSA 10?

The Trading Card Authentication & Grading Process

If your cards pass authentication, PSA grades the condition of each card on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being best. PSA encapsulates each card in its own sonically sealed, tamper-evident case.

Is grading a card worth it?

In nearly all circumstances, a graded card is worth more than its raw counterpart. There might be some minor exceptions to this. For example, if a card is returned from a grader labeled as questionable authenticity, we could theoretically say that the card values are approximately equal.

How do I know if my card is worth grading?

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.

Why is PSA so expensive?

PSA, BGS and other popular grading services have increased their prices because… Well because they can – It's like anything else, if demand for it goes up, so does the value. The higher prices also mean lower and more manageable submission numbers, but higher value, which is better for the grading services.

How much does it cost to send a card to PSA to get graded?

PSA Grading Cost Per Card

Value: $25/card. Value Plus: $40/card. Regular: $75/card. Express: $150.

What cards will PSA not grade?

The “No Grade” term is used when an item cannot be graded by PSA for a variety of reasons. For example, PSA will not grade items that bear evidence of trimming (N1), restoration (N2), recoloration (N3), questionable authenticity (N4), altered stock (N5) or cleaning (N7).

How long does PSA grading take?

PSA Grading currently takes about 20 days to grade a card at the “value plus” service level ($40/card) and 10 days at the “Regular” service level ($75/card). Not too long ago, in April of 2021, most of the basic services were suspended, and in March of 2022, “Regular” service was $100 without a stated turnaround time.

What is the most expensive PSA 10 card?

The most expensive Pokémon card is the Pikachu Illustrator which sold for $5.275 million in July 2021. It's the true Holy Grail of Pokémon card collecting and only one PSA 10 is known to exist.

What is the most expensive PSA 10?

As of August 2022, the most expensive Pokémon card is a Professional Sports Authenticator grade 10 Pikachu Illustrator card that social media personality and boxer Logan Paul purchased for $5.275 million, according to Guinness World Records. A PSA grade of 10 means the card was in perfect condition.

Why is PSA 10 so expensive?

PSA grading is expensive because they use a 10-point grading process to grade and value cards. Not every grading company has such an extensive grading process. Since PSA does, it makes its services a bit more expensive.

What is the 1 rarest Pokémon card?

Even outside of a Gem Mint score, Illustrator Pikachu is the rarest card in existence, with only 39 being distributed following a series of contests in the last 1990s.

How many PSA 10 exist?

The 1961 Topps Baseball set has a gem rate of just 0.3%, making PSA 10s rare despite the large population (just 1,024 total PSA 10s). The most popular and highest graded card in the set is the #300 Mickey Mantle, which received just 2 gems out of 8,321 cards submitted.

How much value does a PSA 10 add to a card?

Compared to raw cards, the PSA 10 sells for about 7x more. That's a big difference! Comparatively, the BGS 9.5 only sells for about 3.5x as much. PSA 9s are worth 2x as much as the raw card.

How to get cards graded for cheap?

Of the major grading companies, BGS currently offers the cheapest card grading service, which is $18 to grade a single card at the “Base” level. This is $2 less than CSG's “Economy” level, $5 less than PSA's “Value” service, and $4 less than SGC.