Distinguishing Between Mint, Gem Mint, and Pristine Cards
Collectors tend to have strong opinions about their preferred grading company, and those opinions are not easy to change. That said, let’s try to build a shared understanding of what Mint, Gem Mint, and Pristine actually mean.
We’ll start by looking at the formal grade definitions from the Big Five: PSA, SGC, BGS, TAG, and CGC.
The grades we’re covering are Mint, Mint+, Gem Mint, Pristine, and what some collectors call “Pristine+.”
A card’s final grade is based on four key factors: corners, centering, edges, and surface. Before going further, it helps to understand the difference between a “strong” grade and a “soft” grade. Two cards can carry the same grade from the same company and still not be equal. One may be in noticeably better shape than the other. Each card has its own combination of strengths and weaknesses.
Vintage cards are also graded differently than modern ones. A 1952 card is held to different standards than a 2020 card. That gap comes down to improvements in printing technology, cutting precision, card stock, stamping, numbering, and collation. To grade a card properly, or to submit one with realistic expectations, you need to know what a pack-fresh example from that era actually looks like.
One more term worth defining before we get into the grades: eye appeal. A card with strong eye appeal has exceptional surface color and centering that stands out at a glance.
This breakdown is not about secondary market values, company market share, or which grading company is most popular right now. Our goal is to define what it takes for a card to be called Mint, Gem Mint, or Pristine.
With that groundwork laid, here is how the Big Five define each grade. The companies are sorted by how long they have been grading trading cards.
Pristine+ 10, Definitions
N/A
N/A
Centering: 50/50 all around on front. 55/45 or better on back. Corners: Perfect to the naked eye and virtually flawless under intense scrutiny. Edges: Perfect to the naked eye and virtually flawless under intense scrutiny. Surface: No print spots. Flawless color, devoid of registration or focus imperfections. Devoid of scratches and metallic print lines.
N/A
A Perfect 10 is a flawless card to the naked eye [and under magnification]. The centering is 50/50, and the card has flawless color and registration [CGC no longer grades cards as Perfect 10].
Summary:
A Pristine+ card is indeed flawless. It has perfect 50/50 centering on the front and 55/45 on the back, impeccably sharp corners under magnification, smooth edges, no print spots, vibrant color, perfect focus, and no scratches or print lines. In the case of BGS, a Black Label Pristine 10 card has all four subgrades of 10.
Pristine 10, Definitions
N/A
A virtually flawless card. 50/50 centering, crisp focus, four sharp corners, free of stains, no breaks in surface gloss, no print or refractor lines, and no visible wear under magnification.
Centering: 50/50 all around on front. 55/45 or better on back. Corners: Perfect to the naked eye and virtually flawless under intense scrutiny. Edges: Perfect to the naked eye and virtually flawless under intense scrutiny. Surface: No print spots. Flawless color, devoid of registration or focus imperfections. Devoid of scratches and metallic print lines. The only difference between a black label 10 pristine and a gold label 10 pristine is the gold label 10 pristine allows for one small imperfection under magnification resulting in ONE 9.5 and THREE 10s in any combination of subgrade categories.
Centering: Front image centered within a tolerance of ~51/49 and back image within ~54.5/45.5 (Sports) or ~52/48 (TCG). Corners: A card will display virtually flawless corners. No visible wear or fraying. Under high resolution imagery, the corners appear sharp and crisp with little to no fill or fray artifacts. Surface: A flawless surface, exhibiting only Non-Human Observable Defects (NHOD’s). Edges: A card will display virtually flawless edges. Under high resolution imagery, the edges have very minor fill or fray artifacts. TAG rating 990 to 1000.
A Pristine 10 is a virtually flawless card to the naked eye. The centering is 50/50, and the card has flawless color and registration. All cards that merit a CGC Pristine 10 grade will receive a special CGC Cards Pristine 10 label.
Summary:
A Pristine card is nearly flawless. It has perfect 50/50 centering on the front and 55/45 on the back, impeccably sharp corners under magnification, smooth edges, no print spots, vibrant color, perfect focus, and no scratches or print lines. In the case of BGS, a Gold Label Pristine 10 card has three subgrades of 10 and one of 9.5.
Gem Mint 10 and 9.5, Definitions
A PSA 10 card is a virtually perfect card. Attributes include four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus and full original gloss. A PSA 10 card must be free of staining of any kind, but an allowance may be made for a slight printing imperfection if it doesn’t impair the overall appeal of the card. The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 (*) percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse.
* NOTE: PSA recently updated the language of the Gem Mint 10 grade centering percentage from “60/40” to “55/45 to 60/40”
55/45 or better centering, sharp focus, four sharp corners, free of stains, no breaks in surface gloss, no print or refractor lines, and no visible wear. A slight print spot visible under close scrutiny is allowable if it does not detract from the aesthetics of the card.
Centering: 55/45 both ways on front. 60/40 or better on back. Corners: Virtually flawless to the naked eye with only slight imperfections allowed under magnification. Edges: Virtually flawless to the naked eye with only specs of wear visible under magnification. Surface: Virtually flawless to the naked eye with a few extremely minor print imperfections visible under magnification. Deep color, devoid of registration or focus imperfections. Devoid of scratches and metallic print lines.
Centering: Front image centered within a tolerance of ~55/45 and back image within ~70/30 (Sports), or ~65/35 (TCG). Corners: A card will display 4 sharp corners, showing minor fill or fray artifacts. Very minor surface wear may be visible under high resolution imagery. A light but visible corner touch or two may be apparent on the reverse. The corners will still be sharp & square. Surface: An extremely attractive surface. A slight print imperfection may appear under hi-res imagery. A very minor defect such as a very small pit, light scratch that does not penetrate the gloss or a light print or refractor line may be present. Scoring is impacted by region. Back may have multiple print lines as well as a larger, deeper pit. Edges: An edge may display minor fill or fray. Very minor edge surface wear may be visible under high resolution imagery. TAG rating 950 to 989.
A Gem Mint 10 is a card that has received a 10 grade overall; however, one of the grading criteria does not meet the requirements of a Pristine 10. Corners will appear perfect to the naked eye and Mint+ under 10x magnification. The surface is free of print spots and should also display perfect gloss, devoid of any surface flaws. Centering is not to exceed approximately 55/45, and reverse centering is not to exceed 75/25.
Summary:
A Gem Mint card appears virtually perfect to the naked eye, with centering of 55/45 or better (or 60/40 or better for PSA) on the front and 75/25 or better on the back. It allows for one very minor defect, such as a tiny nick or white spot on a corner, the slightest printing imperfection, a light surface scratch or printing line, a minor focus imperfection, a minor print spot, or a minor edge flaw.
Mint+ 9.5, Definitions
N/A
Is a card that at first glance appears to be Gem Mint 10 upon close inspection it may have a tiny flaw(s) that keeps it from grading GEM MT 10.
N/A
N/A
A Mint+ 9.5 is a card that displays premium eye appeal for a Mint card. Qualities such as exceptional centering, surface qualities/color or other key elements can elevate a card to a Mint+ grade.
Summary:
A Mint+ card may initially appear as Gem Mint but allows for one or two very minor defects such as a tiny nick or white spot on a corner, a slight printing or focus imperfection, a light surface scratch or printing line, a tiny print spot, or a light edge flaw. The card must also have centering of 55/45 to 60/40 or better on the front. A Mint+ card often exhibits superior eye appeal, like 50/50 centering or exceptional color and focus. It can be considered a ‘very strong Mint 9’ card.
Mint 9, Definitions
A PSA 9 is a superb condition card that exhibits only one of the following minor flaws: a very slight wax stain on reverse, a minor printing imperfection or slightly off-white borders. Centering must be approximately 60/40 to 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.
60/40 or better centering, sharp focus and four sharp corners. A minor flaw may exist upon close examination. A minor flaw may be but is not limited to: a slight nick to one corner, a small gloss break or surface scratch, a minor print line or minor refractor line, a minor focus or color imperfection, or a small print spot.
Centering: 55/45 both ways on front. 70/30 or better on back. Corners: Mint upon close inspection. Slight wear is allowed under normal scrutiny. Edges: Virtually Mint to the naked eye. Unobtrusive specks of chipping on the borders are allowed. Surface: A handful of printing specks or one minor spot. Very minor focus or color imperfections. Clean gloss with one or two tiny scratches barely noticeable to the naked eye. One faint, unobtrusive metallic print line is allowed.
Centering: Front image centered within a tolerance of ~60/40 and back image within ~90/10 (Sports) or ~75/25 (TCG). Corners: Corners will still appear sharp and square. Up to two very light corner touches, where the stock has been compromised, and are visible on the front of the card, may be present. Multiple corner touches on the back will be present. More significant fill or fray artifacts are present under high resolution imagery. Surface: A larger and deeper pit may be present. May have 2 or 3 small pits and/or a longer scratch not penetrating the gloss. May have a light but present print line or refractor line that runs the length of the card, vertically or horizontally. Has a minor print imperfection or multiple spots. A small scratch that penetrates the gloss on the back is visible. Multiple, more visible print lines present. Edges: Visible but minor edge surface wear on one or two edges. More significant fill or fray artifacts are present under high resolution imagery. TAG rating 900 to 949.
A Mint card has four sharp corners with only minor wear visible. Slight minor flaws on the edges may be visible. The surface must have all original gloss; however, a small number of specks or one minor spot or surface defect is allowed. For TCG cards, cards will have only a few minor manufacturing or handling defects. For sports and non-sports cards, centering must be 60/40 or better for the front of the card, and 90/10 for the back.
Summary:
A Mint card may initially seem Gem Mint but could slightly lack in eye appeal. It permits one or two minor defects such as a small nick or white spot on a corner, a minor printing or focus imperfection, a minor surface scratch or printing line, a minor print spot, or a minor edge flaw. The card must also have centering of 60/40 or better (or 65/35 or better for PSA) on the front, and between 70/30 to 90/10 or better on the back.
Consistency in grading
One of the most important aspects of professional card grading is consistency. Graders are expected to evaluate every card against their company’s established standards, and that standard has to hold up across the board.
Most grading companies publicly acknowledge that when a high-value card comes through, like a 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan, they don’t leave the final grade up to a single opinion. Multiple graders weigh in before a decision is made.
BGS almost updated their grading to a 10-point scale
Back in March 2023, BGS briefly announced a major change to how it grades cards. On March 31st, the company posted on social media that it was updating its grading scale in two ways. First, the Gem Mint designation would move from 9.5 to 10. Second, a new Mint+ 9.5 grade would be introduced to take its place.
The problem was what this meant for existing cards. This revised scale effectively would downgrade any current Gem Mint BGS 9.5 cards with four 9.5 sub-grades (9.5, 9.5, 9.5, 9.5) or three 9.5s and a 9 (9.5, 9.5, 9.5, 9) from Gem Mint to Mint+.
Collectors were not happy. The backlash was swift, and within two days BGS pulled the post and scrapped the changes entirely.
Conclusion
What do you think of the two levels of Pristine? Which is your favorite card grading company? To learn more about grading and the grading process, visit the Grading & e-Commerce chapter in Collectibles U.
Visit the GRADEx Market Report for up-to-date data, pricing and stories on the most collected and iconic cards in the hobby.
Sources: PSAcard.com, goSGC.com, CGCcards.com, beckett.com/grading
GRADEx Staff
This story is a team effort. Our writers, editors, and hobby experts worked together, researching and reporting to bring you this piece.
