Posted By:
Peter Spaeth
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>Understanding your Grading Report
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CTA Grading Experts
PO Box 2556
Rohnert Park, CA 94927
Understanding your Grading Report
CTA's grade report has 8 zones; 4 on the front and 4 on the back. Four categories are judged within each zone: Corners, Edges, Surface and Centering. Centering is the only category that is graded in two zones. The front of the card is one zone and the back of the card is another. In each zone there is a graded number ranging from 0-4. Zero being no damage, 1 being very slight damage (usually factory related), 2 being slight but noticeable (usually man made), 3 being very visible yet moderate damage, and 4 being severe damage.
Corners: 1-very slight, 2-more noticeable (usually man made), 3-very noticeable corner damage 4-a rounded corner with extreme signs of mishandling. Very often, a 1 corner is missed by a novice collector.
Edges: A one indicates a slight chip in color or a very small factory roll. Two is associated with severe factory rolls, very rough cut edges, or slight rubber band marks. Three is usually an indentations on the edge or severe rubber band damage. Four will not show up on a grade report because it indicates the card has been shaven and is therefore ungradeable.
Zones 1 & 5, 2 & 6, 3 & 7, 4 & 8 are all the same for corners or edges and therefore only the most noticeable corner or edge will be called on the grading report. For example: if edge 1 is called edge 5 cannot be called.
Surface: A surface graded as a 1 shows very slight damage (a slightly visible printer's mark or a small scratch). Large, noticeable printers marks, slight stains, or noticeable scratches are graded as two. A 3 indicates a bad stain or a one-sided crease. These creases are usually factory related. Four is for serious stains and creases that go through to both sides of a card.
Centering: The two zones for centering are the front and the back. Centering is completely mathematical. On the front of the card 0=55/45 or better 1=60/40, 2=70/30, 3=80/20 and 4=90/10 or worse. On the Back 0=60/40 or better 1=70/30, 2=80/20, 3=90/10 and 4=card art runs off cardboard. The computer only allows points to come off one side of a card for centering and for this the computer takes the worse centered of the two.
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05-23-2007, 11:47 AM
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