Published protocol
The XGrade protocol.
No hidden math. The same rules that print on the certificate are here.
52 checkpoints
Photo (8): front in frame; back present; four corners in frame; in focus; no disabling glare; unsleeved; even light; square to camera.
Centering (8): front L/R/T/B measured; back L/R/T/B when a back is present.
Corners (16): each of four corners × visibility, sharpness, whitening, fray/paper loss.
Edges (8): each of four edges × wear + whitening/layering.
Surface (12 from 16 zones): eight front zones plus four back cardinals. Zones record scratches, factory print versus handling wear, holo/gloss, stain, and indent.
Centering
frontLeft is the left border’s share of leftover horizontal space, 0–100. 50 is perfect. 62 is 62/38 left-heavy. Worse of L/R and T/B:
| Worse split | Centering max |
|---|---|
| ≤55/45 | 10 |
| ≤60/40 | 9.5 |
| ≤65/35 | 8.5–9 |
| ≤70/30 | 8 |
| ≤75/25 | 7 |
| ≤80/20 | 6 |
| worse | 5 or below |
Subgrades
Corners (28%) and edges (26%): worst leads. A half-point lift only if the other three are ≥ 9.5 and the worst is ≥ 7. Corner scale: sharp 10, soft 8, frayed 6.5, rounded 5, damaged 3; minus whitening, fray, paper loss. Edge scale: clean 10, light-wear 8.5, whitening 7, chipping 6, peeling 4; minus layering. Surface (24%): worst zones drive the score. Factory print dings less than handling wear. Centering (22%): worse of measured front L/R and T/B.
Overall, then hard caps
If the two lowest subgrades are equal, overall = lowest. Else overall = min(lowest + 0.5, weighted average). Then:
- Without a photo of the back of the card → max 9
- Sleeved or obstructed → max 8.5
- Glare → max 9
- Poor or soft focus → max 8; fair photos → max 9
- One corner not visible → cannot be 10; two or more → max 8
- Evidence < 90% → no 10; < 75% → max 9; < 55% → max 8
- Crease → 6; wrinkle → 7; writing → 4; tear/hole → 3; wax stain → 7
- Suspected trim or alteration → max 7 and flagged
Gem 10 also requires excellent unsleeved both-side photos, all four corners visible and 10, all subgrades 10, front ≤55/45, back ≤75/25, evidence ≥ 90%, no glare, no sleeve. If any of that fails, cap at 9.5.
Projected professional range
This band estimates where a professional grading company is most likely to place the physical card, given the visible record. It is not a second XGrade number and not a discount on the assessment. ±0.5 when evidence ≥ 90% and both sides are excellent; otherwise ±1 or ±1.5. Not a promise from PSA, BGS, CGC, SGC, or TAG.
Grade labels
10 Gem visible · 9.5 Mint+ · 9 Mint · 8.5 NM-MT+ · 8 NM-MT · 7.5 NM+ · 7 NM · 6.5 EX-MT+ · 6 EX-MT · 5.5 EX+ · 5 EX · 4.5 VG-EX+ · 4 VG-EX · 3.5 VG+ · 3 VG · 2.5 G+ · 2 G · 1.5 PR+ · 1 PR.