Hi @blueeyespt , welcome to the forum. To answer your question quickly, every 3rd party grader has their own definition of ‘Mint’ in terms of conditional attributes. You are correct in that surface dents normally will get a card knocked down to a PSA 6 depending on severity when graded by PSA. Also it’s very hard to tell in that small photo, but could it be possible those are small print dots and not actual physical dents?
According to the SGC website it states:
GRADE
9
QUALITY
MINT
DESCRIPTION
60/40 or betting 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.
You may want to verify if it’s a physical dent or just a small printing imperfection, perhaps the seller could verify this for you.
Anyway… SGC 9, 9.5s and 10s are generally pretty solid cards they just don’t command the premium that PSA does in the Pokemon hobby normally. If you can confirm those are physical dents you may want to seek out a PSA 9 copy of the same card even if it costs a little more, in my experience they are a very consistent grading standard and will maximize card value in the Pokemon hobby.
For more info you may also want to ask your question here:
Thank you so much for the response and clearing that out.
I tried to contact the seller yesterday but it seems he is not responding.
I have this doubt because i have seen versions of the same card graded on another company ( 8.5 CGC ) and they clearly had what i could perceive a pressure mark on them.
That’s why im on the fence on this because mint grade should be mint. maybe im too strict but idk.
I understand that some company’s have different aproaches to grading, but surface for me is the most important aspect because it is the center of attention. the artwork.
When I see stuff like this, all im asking myself is why are you even buying a graded card if you have different opinions of the grade/graders. The point of buying a graded card is to remove that
Hmm, if you found the same flaw with CGC than chances are it could be a known factory defect for this specific card. Some cards are known to have consistent issues out of the pack from a manufacturing/card quality perspective. So, within this range it could still be considered “Mint” even with those small surface spots. My suspicion is though that it’s a print defect and not physical dents, but I could be wrong.
Hopefully the seller gets back to you if they can confirm that.
Either way, a Mint card from all these graders will have small minor flaws. If you want a card that is virtually perfect, you need to go for a 9.5 or a 10, or you may be disappointed if you want a more perfect card. All of my 9s have minor flaws but they are still ‘pack fresh’ condition because cards can be damaged during the manufacturing process or have issues straight out of a booster pack that knock them down to a 9.
Yes i have seen this card form other grading companys having an issue. however its not quite the same as this one. i dare to say this one is possible worse if thats a dent/ deep scratch? i cant even tell by the photos.
A 9 version of this card for me would be a dream come true because how hard to get it is let alone a mint version, thats why im super anxious.
So thats why i came look for answers from someone who has more experience with SCG graded cards.
And yes hopefully he will get back to me but im not counting on it. Leaves me on the fence even more.
@blueeyespt, Please only post your questions in one area of the forum. As you’ve already posted this in the Giant Grading Thread, I’ve locked this thread.
If anyone else wants to respond to this question, please answer in the Grading Thread.
