60/40 or 55/45 for PSA 10, why is there is range?

[POKEBEAST]

It’s always bugged me that psa lists 2 completely different parameters for centering. My instincts say it’s to give them more subjective discretion but I wanted more feedback and to hear your thoughts and maybe some can share examples

I brainstormed the following:

1. 60/40 is the absolute limit if the rest of the card is perfect
2. 60/40 is the limit if the adjacent top/bottom or left/right centering is excellent
3. we give this guideline to allow control for graders. 60/40 is max allowed for cheap cards, but if it’s a big card we will pop control and require 55/45

I think these are all fairly plausible.

These are my thoughts, but I want to hear some opinions from others

[Vertemes]

If they were pop controlling, it would be 50/50 but thats another conversation. If you want other examples look at the examples of 10’s and 9’s for cards (preferrably english) and look at the centering, which then you’ll cross match it with other grading companies to see if they’re accurate. There is a fantastic thread on centering but Idk if i’ll be able to find it.

You are right in terms of 60/40, it can only be 60/40 on either top and bottom or left and right. If they’re on both, it’ll probably be knocked down

[Vertemes]

Also keep in mind that japanese back centering is really weird and complicated to me, so I’ll leave that to the professionals.

[rtas]

Here’s a recent interview with Nat that touches on standards changing and how centering is graded. Forward to 4:30 mark

I believe it should interest you, doesn’t fully answer your inquiry but still.

[Vertemes]

A Visual Guide to Centering

I often see the question asked if a card is too off centered to be a PSA Gem Mint 10. So in an attempt to help, I’ve taken PSAs grading standards for a 10 and turned them into a visual guide. …The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 to 60/40 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse. [image] TOP: 60 BOTTOM: 40 [image] LEFT: 60 RIGHT: 40 [image] PERFECT - 50/50/50/50 [image] LEFT: 40 RIGHT: 60 [image] TOP: 40 B…

[wisewailmer]

I gotta say I’m pretty disappointed that link wasn’t to Rick Astley

[rtas]

I have failed you wise… forgive me…

[POKEBEAST]

While its always bothered me, It’s really been on my mind lately because I find myself in this dilemma with a huge card.
I pulled 3 dragon frontiers pack

first pack, super heavy… but i pulled a swablu reverse with giant print line.
Second pack, i pull a nice bayleef reverse. Okay so far im getting destroyed.
third pack, i strike gold

So i was elated for a few days. Now comes time to really get it ready for grading
I notice how off center the card is

please take a look at this and tell me your thoughts

everything else about the card is amazing.

but the left and right… i just cant imagine they 10 this card

I know scanning is more accurate, but if you zoom you can see left side is 3mm and right side is 2mm.

I’ve been thinking to send to cgc instead and skip psa all together? I already own this card in a 9 and dont want another

[POKEBEAST]

awesome. Ill def check this out

[wisewailmer]

@POKEBEAST

already own this card in a 9 and dont want another

I’ll take it off your hands

[pfm]

The reason is that historically, it’s been more about “eye appeal” than anything. Cards with larger borders can be more off-center percentage wise and not look as bad as cards with thin borders. These params were also specifically meant for sports, in which case many sports cards don’t even have borders. Off-center LR also looks worse than off-center TB due to symmetry.

Basically it’s a range because all cards are different

[POKEBEAST]

i think the fact that gold star cards actually come out of the boarder will help my cause. since it throws off perception of the imbalance

[pfm]

I would agree with you on the margins. Also in general it’s probably more useful to count pixels from a scan than to press a ruler up to the card

[POKEBEAST]

whats interesting is that in the interview posted above, he says roughly 6 months ago that they now use digital technology to measure the centering, and that if it exceeds tolerance, the grader isnt even allowed to give the card a 10

i genuinely wonder how this works. Like, lets say a machine measures the cards before the grader gets them on his desk
And the machine doesnt flag the card at all, meaning the card is open to the highest grade. I wonder then if the grader even considers centering at all at that point and just grades the rest of the card and ignores centering

i love that they take away subjectivity

[mrtz]

My man get a centering tool or put that card in a sleeve before you press a machining scale on it

[POKEBEAST]

too late
I already have it in card saver for grading. its good though. That tool has a rubber back

these cards are incredibly resilient unlike base set which you cant even blow on without scratching lol

[wisewailmer]

DF is more resistant to scratches than base but the card stock being different has its own issues. I’m never an advocate for wearing gloves for pokemon but make sure it’s safe!

[Drew12]

Why no photo of the whole card?

Also waiting to see that bayleef!

[Frosty.Puppy]

Wooweee !

What such an incredible story, the stars have aligned. Hopefully aligned with centering.

You managed to struck gold and risk it all with a LC pack and pulled the royal LC Charizard!

Now you’ve gone and done it again with a pulled GS Charizard! This I believe is your absolute grail and within such a short time it’s truly unbelievable!

Was this a WhatNot stream break or a personal pull? Please tell me you’ve got the video footage of you pulling such a card to cherish the moment and to remember forever! You should definitely post it for us all the see

I wish I was as lucky as you!

[POKEBEAST]

The bayleaf turned out very lovely!

So the story behind these:

I really wanted to pull a gold star zard of my own. I saw a 17.62 pack on ebay and pulled the swablu. I was disappointed based on the weight i thought i could pull something else as well
So i took a break from these packs, they arnt cheap. They wernt consecutively pulled. After the swablu i said to myself that im crazy for ripping these packs. But the itch remains.

Finally, i saw a deal for 2 packs and decided what the heck
First pack was the bayleef
Its really nice! Centering is on, back looks really good, and overall its a nice looking card. I opened this with my daughter she said its one of her favorites

The last pack was the gold star. I couldnt believe it
This is the card i really wanted to pull myself. (Within reason, i will never rip a first edition base pack)

I also got the salamence pack artwork that i wanted
I like to take these vintage packs and fill them with cards and reseal for framing