This back looks like the PSA 10 Victory Orb that was on PWCC a few weeks back. I thought bidding on it but when I saw the back I stepped out
Because it’s an illustrator. And people expect the highest level of scrutiny on the rarest pokemon card; anything less feels like CGC is just trying to capitalize on the hype of giving an illustrator a 10.
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Personally I think that card looks like a CGC 10 to me. Heck if it is a PSA 10 I’m not surprised too. I think people over-scrutinized the gem mint grade when it is not supposed to be perfect in condition.
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Its a rayquaza gs psa 10 on PWCC right now!
IMHO this one falls under the CGC 10 parameters i’ve been seeing.
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I have noticed an obsession of people with the back of a card (not only in this forum). I cannot blame anyone because defects on the back are easier to spot than on the holo (from photos and scans). All too often I hear people describing a PSA 9 as really strong because it has no edge/corner defects. What is neglected is the fact that those ‘perfect back’ cards have more holo defects on average (in the PSA 8/9 range).
This card is a perfect example of this fallacy (but this time going the other way round).
Also, the argument that back whitening is always a damage (and hence should not deserve gem mint) is not true. There is whitening (especially corners) that is not damage strictly speaking: Some WOTC cards have open edges resulting from too little glue residue.
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Im all for shitting on misgrades but this does not feel like one based off those corners. I’ll take my $5 now cgc.
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I’ve seen many high-end PSA 10 cards worse than this, especially Japanese and old backs. Just further convinces me the ridiculousness of the 10 premium when much of it is subjective. From my experience, the price ratio between a 9 and a 10 has been tightening back to pre-pandemic levels across a variety of cards, justifiably so.
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The funny thing to me is that CGC might have a pattern of uhhh… let’s call it “rounding up” for valuable cards. And yet this card, that is not particularly egregious, gets the attention.
Astute listeners will notice that the CGC guy said this was the strongest illustrator copy they’ve seen. What you may not know unless you were watching the pop reports, but this card was graded around the time the other CGC 10 illustrator was on auction with Goldin.
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PSA 10 doesnt equal a flawless card, alot of newish collectors fail to realize this. If i went into my collection right now and started pulling out random 10’s I’d find issues. If it wouldnt be whitening it would be a holo scratch or surface issue, etc etc.
Modern sports cards have horrible surface issues (print lines/scratches) that I’d wager the majority of PSA 10 cards have.
It’s a grade achieved by use of a weighted grading scale, not a grade achieved soley through the eye appeal of the card…if that makes sense. Made sense in my head lol
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This is the only comment section where it feels like people understand the grade, why it was given and not just hate for the sake of hating one thing or another, I have CGC 10’s that are much worse than this, I’ve also seen PSA 10’s much worse than this. Drama for the sake of drama 
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One reason I think why people believe PSA 10s are flawless is because of the overexposure to ultramodern psa 10 cards.
I think that majority of graded collectors collect ultra modern psa 10 cards. These cards are usually super minty fresh out of the pack (especially Japanese), so it is not a stretch to say that modern psa 10s have a higher ratio of stronger 10 grades.
They might see this as a standard for PSA 10 when in reality it might not be true across all card eras.
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Pack fresh ≠ Minty
Even JPN cards.
Thank you for the valuable information!!!
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Thank these people in that thread:
https://www.elitefourum.com/t/stop-using-pack-fresh-as-a-way-to-describe-condition/45959/
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“Mangled”? Youre either baiting or have been overexposed to ultra modern cards… or both 
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I only know modern and vintage cards. What’s “ultra-modern”? 
Roughly anything after 2020. The term is used to distinguish forward from BW/XY era since those are still kind of considered modern. So ultra is just another layer
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