CCC GRADING SYSTEM
Card Grading with GradeReport®
The CCC Grading system has been designed to be fair, accurate and consistent.
Each grade is fully justified on an authentication document that will be given to you: the GradeReport®.
The grade of the card is calculated from the following 4 criteria.
- Corners (from 1 to 10)
When grading the corners of the card, our experts are looking for white spots, damage, evenness, peeled edges etc. We pay particular attention to white spots in order to grant Gold & Black Labels.
- Edges (from 1 to 10)
Edges of the card are graded according to criteria that are similar to those of the corners.
- Surface (from 1 to 10)
The surface of the card is graded according to 13 specific criteria that will be detailed in the GradeReport® for each card.
We determine presence of scratches, micro-scratches, stains, degradation, color change, creases, indentations, water damage, ink damage, etc.
This is the most complex grade. It is the one for which the justification is the most important in order to understand the final grade.
- Centering (from 8 to 10)
The centering grade is always between 8 and 10. Centering below 8.5 is rarely attributed : 8.5 corresponds to cards with a fairly bad centering.
Below 8, the card will be considered as abnormally off-centered. In this case, the final grade will not take into account the centering and will be marked Off-centered.
How is the final grade determined ?
The final grade is not an average of the 4 grades obtained.
It is calculated from the lowest grade.
Situation 1 :
The lowest grade has been given on only 1 criterion.
In this case, the final grade is equal to the lowest grade increased by one level on our scale.
Situation 2 :
The lowest grade is shared by at least 2 criteria.
In this case, the final grade is not raised.
Averaging does not work to determine the final grade. For example, a card that got a 3 for the corners is objectively not in good condition, even if the other three criteria had a 9.
Special case : 10 (Gem Mint)
The final grade of 10 with white label (Gem Mint) can be obtained in two special cases:
• When two criteria get 9.5 and two criteria get 10.
• When centering gets 9 and the other three criteria get 10.
How to get a Gold Label ?
In order to receive a Gold Label, your card must score 10 on three criteria and 9.5 on a single criterion.
Your label will be golden with the indication "Pristine" ("Parfait" for french cards).
Gold Label cards retain the "Pristine" designation because the single flaw remains invisible without careful and accurate inspection.
It can be a tiny off-centering, a single white spot, or a surface with a minor defect (impurity for example).
How to get a Black Label ?
To get a Black Label, your card must score 10 on all of the grading criteria.
A card in this condition is necessarily out of the ordinary, no micro-imperfections are tolerated.
Very few brand-new cards coming out of the factory are able to obtain a Black Label because of off-centering and the numerous micro-imperfections of machining.
Black Label cards often have a very high market value.
How does CCC impact factory defects and "Error" cards ?
Grading of "Error" cards
Printing errors include :
- Miscuts / Off-Centered cards / Misaligned cards / Crimped cards / Misprints (many sub-categories)
On the label, a special mention appears under the note and a description of the printing error is eventually indicated on the second line of the label.
Concerning the impact on the grading : graders never take into account the printing error. (Ex: A Miscut card can claim a grade of 10 because the centering is no longer taken into account).
Impact of factory defects on the grading
CCC Grading minimizes the impact of all factory defects in the grading. A Gold Label is still possible with factory defects.
For more details, see the legend and the dedicated article located on the GradeReport® page.
Grading scale
Discover our simple, effective and logical grading scale.
| Grade | Condition (French card) | Condition (All other languages) |
| 10 (Black Label) | Parfait | Pristine (Flawless) |
| 10 (Gold Label) | Parfait | Pristine (1 Subtle imperfection) |
| 9.5 / 10 | Neuf+ | Gem Mint |
| 9 | Neuf | Mint |
| 8.5 | Proche du neuf | Near Mint |
| 8 | Exc. - NM | Exc. - NM |
| 7 | Excellent | Excellent |
| 6 | Très Bon | Very Good |
| 5 | Bon | Good |
| 4 | Correct | Fair |
| 3 | Lég. Usée | Light. Pl. |
| 2 | Usée | LP - PR |
| 1 | Mauvais | Poor |
Want to get your cards graded ?
