Trained experts, consistent results
Every card gets a thorough, accurate assessment. Below are our grades, qualifiers, and exactly what our graders scrutinize.
The same definitions the panel above shows, laid out in full so you can read the whole scale in one pass — and so you can check a grade against the criteria after your cards come back.
A MPE Gem Mint 10 has four undamaged corners, sharp edges and a beautiful surface. It is not marked, stained or damaged, and centering is better than a 60/40 split. Only very minor defects that don't detract from the card's overall eye appeal may be present.
A MPE Mint 9 is nearly identical in quality to a Gem Mint 10 but may show one minor imperfection in the corners, edges or surface. Centering must be within 65/35 for any opposite pair on the front and 70/30 on the back.
A MPE Near Mint–Mint 8 closely resembles a 9 but may show a few minor imperfections such as light whitening on the corners, edges or surface. Centering must be within 70/30 on the front and 75/25 on the back.
A MPE Near Mint 7 shows slight wear that is more visible than an 8 — more noticeable whitening on edges, corners or surfaces and possible minor print defects. Centering must be within 75/25 on the front and 80/20 on the back.
A MPE Excellent–Mint 6 may show more noticeable damage or print defects, with more than one area of whitening on the corners or edges that may not be sharp. Centering must be within 80/20 on the front and back.
A MPE Excellent 5 may show more visible print defects and damage. Corners can be misshapen, edge whitening or fraying is more noticeable, and scratches may touch focal points such as the artwork or text. Centering must be within 80/20 on the front and back.
A MPE Very Good 4 may begin to lose integrity in a single area, with moderate scratching across key focal points such as the artwork or text, misshapen corners and warped or soft edges. Centering must be within 80/20 on the front and back.
A MPE Good 3 may begin to lose integrity in multiple areas, with moderate scratching across key focal points, misshapen corners, warped or soft edges and some very obvious defects. Centering must be within 85/15 on the front and back.
A MPE Fair 2 may have lost integrity in any one area, with heavy scratching across key focal points, misshapen corners, warped edges and very obvious defects. Centering must be within 85/15 on the front and back.
A MPE Poor 1 may have lost integrity in multiple areas, with heavy scratching across key focal points, misshapen corners, warped edges and very obvious defects throughout. Centering must be within 85/15 on the front and back.
Every step of the scale also carries a half point. A card that is plainly stronger than a Near Mint–Mint 8 but doesn't quite reach a Mint 9 is graded 8.5, and the label reads 8.5. The whole-number definitions above are the anchors — a half grade sits between the two definitions either side of it, and is used when a card is held back by one thing rather than by its overall condition.
A manufacturing error where the card was cut incorrectly. Tells include visible alignment dots, a severely rotated card or an off shape. If a miscut card can't be encapsulated in a MPE slab, it won't be charged and will be returned raw.
Applied when the centering grade is two or more grades below the overall card grade. Rather than dragging the overall grade down as much, we append “OC” to the grade.
Given when we believe a card has been recolored, reshaped, restored or otherwise modified from the original. Altered cards are charged in full, are not added to our certification database or pop report, and are returned raw (not encapsulated).
Given when a card fails MPE authenticity checks. Counterfeit cards are charged in full, are not added to our certification database or pop report, and are returned raw.
Given when a card's authenticity can't be verified. This grade is not charged; the card is not added to our certification database or pop report and is returned raw.
Given to cards featuring a verified in-person autograph. Because the signature is the focus, the card is encapsulated with an “NG” (No Grade) designation instead of a numeric grade.
Slab labels, price guides and sales listings are written in shorthand. Here is what each abbreviation stands for and which number on the scale it maps to.
Gem Mint means the card is effectively as it left the printing press: four undamaged corners, sharp edges, a clean unmarked surface and centering better than 60/40. It is the highest grade MPE issues. Written as GEM MT, GEM MINT or just 10.
Mint means one minor imperfection somewhere in the corners, edges or surface, with centering inside 65/35 front and 70/30 back. To the naked eye a 9 and a 10 usually look the same — the difference is one flaw under magnification.
NM-MT sits between Near Mint and Mint. A few minor imperfections such as light corner or edge whitening, with centering inside 70/30 front and 75/25 back. Also written NMMT or NM/MT.
NM means slight wear that is visible without magnification — more noticeable whitening on edges or corners and possible minor print defects. Centering inside 75/25 front and 80/20 back.
EX-MT sits between Excellent and Mint. More noticeable damage or print defects, with more than one area of whitening and edges that may not be sharp. Centering inside 80/20 on both sides. Also written EXMT or EX/MT.
EX means clearly visible print defects and damage: misshapen corners, more noticeable edge whitening or fraying, and scratches that may touch the artwork or text. Centering inside 80/20 on both sides.
VG means the card is starting to lose integrity in one area, with moderate scratching across focal points, misshapen corners and warped or soft edges. You will also see VG-EX used elsewhere in the hobby for a card between Very Good and Excellent; on the MPE scale that card is a 4.5.
GD means integrity is going in multiple areas, with moderate scratching across focal points, misshapen corners, warped or soft edges and some very obvious defects. Centering inside 85/15 on both sides.
FR means the card has lost integrity in an area, with heavy scratching across focal points, misshapen corners, warped edges and very obvious defects.
PR is the bottom of the scale: integrity lost in multiple areas, heavy scratching, misshapen corners, warped edges and very obvious defects throughout.
Gem Mint vs Mint is the distinction people ask about most, because it is worth the most money. Both are flawless at arm's length. A Mint 9 carries exactly one minor imperfection and is allowed to drift to 65/35 centering; a Gem Mint 10 carries none worth noting and has to be inside 60/40. That single flaw is often the entire difference between the two grades, which is why the same card can be worth several times more as a 10 than as a 9.
The letter codes that appear after a grade — OC, MC, A, C, QA and NG — are qualifiers rather than grades, and are defined in the qualifiers list above.
We authenticate and check every card for alteration using multiple technological methods before grading begins.
Measured to 1/1000th of a millimeter, we calculate Left, Right, Top and Bottom centering percentages for both the front and back of the card.
Among the easiest areas to damage — from pack-pull to storage. We check corner sharpness, damage and overall integrity.
Commonly damaged through chipping, kinks or splitting. Edges are scrutinized for coloration, damage, sharpness and integrity.
Foil and holographic cards scratch easily. We inspect for print defects, rubbing, scratches, dents and more to determine the surface grade.
MPE grades on the same 1–10 scale, with half points, that the established grading companies use, and assesses the same four categories.
The difference isn't the scale, it's what it costs to get a card on it and how much of the criteria you get to see. Our full grading standard is the page you're reading — every grade, every centering tolerance, every qualifier, published rather than summarised. Once a card is graded you can look it up yourself in the public cert lookup and see how many others share that grade in the population report.
If you're weighing MPE against another company, the side-by-side breakdowns use each company's own published rates: MPE vs PSA, MPE vs SGC and MPE vs Beckett. Grading is a judgement call at every company, so treat a number from any of them as that company's opinion of the card rather than a universal constant. For the whole field at once, see our comparison of card grading companies, or read why we're one of the cheapest card grading services in the hobby.
Gem Mint, abbreviated GEM MT, is a 10 — the highest grade on the scale. It means four undamaged corners, sharp edges and a clean surface with no marks, stains or damage, and centering better than a 60/40 split. Only very minor defects that don't detract from the card's eye appeal are allowed.
A Mint 9 is allowed exactly one minor imperfection in the corners, edges or surface, and its centering can drift to 65/35 on the front and 70/30 on the back. A Gem Mint 10 has no imperfection worth noting and must be inside 60/40. Both look flawless at arm's length, so the difference usually comes down to a single flaw seen under magnification — which is why the same card is often worth several times more as a 10 than as a 9.
NM-MT stands for Near Mint–Mint and is an 8 on the scale, sitting between Near Mint 7 and Mint 9. It allows a few minor imperfections such as light whitening on the corners, edges or surface, with centering inside 70/30 on the front and 75/25 on the back. It is also written NMMT or NM/MT. NM on its own means Near Mint, which is a 7.
EX-MT stands for Excellent–Mint and is a 6. It allows more noticeable damage or print defects than an 8, with more than one area of whitening on the corners or edges, edges that may not be sharp, and centering inside 80/20 on both the front and the back. EX on its own is Excellent, a 5.
Yes. MPE grades on a 1–10 scale with half points, so a card that is clearly stronger than a Near Mint–Mint 8 but falls short of a Mint 9 is graded 8.5. Half grades exist at every step of the scale and are printed on the label exactly as they are assessed. The whole-number definitions on this page are the anchors; a half grade sits between the two definitions either side of it.
Centering is measured optically to 1/1000th of a millimetre. We calculate left, right, top and bottom border percentages on both the front and the back of the card, then compare the worst opposing pair against the tolerance for each grade. Backs are always allowed more drift than fronts because the printing and cutting process is less precise on the reverse.
OC stands for Off-Center. It is applied when the centering grade comes in two or more grades below what the rest of the card earned, which usually means a well-preserved card that was simply cut badly at the factory. Rather than dragging the overall grade all the way down to the centering grade, we award the grade the card's condition deserves and append OC to it, so the label tells you honestly that centering is the outlier.
The scales line up, but no grading company can guarantee another company's number. MPE assesses the same four categories the major grading companies do — centering, corners, edges and surface — on the same 1–10 scale with half points, and our full criteria are published on this page so you can check our work. Grading is still a human judgement call everywhere, so treat a grade from any company as that company's opinion, not a universal constant.
Altered and Counterfeit cards are charged in full, are not added to our certification database or population report, and are returned to you raw rather than encapsulated. We don't put a slab around a card we believe has been recolored, trimmed, restored or faked, because the whole point of a slab is that it vouches for the card inside it.
It depends on why. A Questionable Authenticity card, where we cannot verify the card either way, is not charged. A miscut card that physically cannot be encapsulated in an MPE slab is not charged either, and comes back raw. Altered and Counterfeit cards are charged in full, because verifying them is the work you paid for.
NG stands for No Grade, and it is used for cards carrying a verified in-person autograph. The signature is the point of the card, so putting a condition number on it would be misleading. The card is authenticated and encapsulated with an NG designation instead of a numeric grade.
Something not covered here? See the full FAQ or get in touch.
