Conditioning Guide
At ManninCards, we understand that assessing the condition of a trading card is subjective and opinions will vary with collector to collector. With that in mind, we have created an easy to understand guide that all of our listed cards follow. For raw cards, we do not factor the centering of a card into its condition. For example, a card can have 'perfect centering', but still be considered Light-Play due to defects.
Raw Cards
Near-Mint to Mint (NM / M)
- A card in Near-Mint to Mint condition will have no more than very minor wear, or may have a small piece of whitening along one edge of the card.
Excellent or Light-Play (EX / LP)
- A card in Excellent condition will be showing some signs of minor play. A card in this condition may exhibit one or more of the following:
- Very small whitening marks on the sides of card
- Light wear around one or more corners or edges of the card
- Minor surface scratches on either the front or back of the card
- Small binder bending or creases
Moderate-Play (MP)
- A card in Moderate-Play condition will show more significant wear. A card in this condition may exhibit one or more of the following:
- Whitening around multiple sides
- Fading or whitening on either the front or back surface of the card
- Shuffling marks or creases at the edges of the card
- Distinct corner wear
- Moderate binder bending or warping
- Clearly visible surface scratches on a holographic card
- Minor creasing
Heavy-Play
- A card in Heavy-Play condition is deemed to be our lowest card condition, with these cards showing more significant wear or damage. A card in this condition may exhibit one or more of the following:
- Physical damage (including tears, holes and dents)
- Water damage
- Heavy wear on multiple corners and edges
- Major front or back whitening
- Clearly visible surface scratches on a holographic card
- Writing on either the front or back of the card
- Major shuffle creases
- Major creasing, bending or warping of the card
Graded Cards
As part of our Graded Card section, you will find a wide range of slabbed cards from various reputable grading companies. Each grading company has slightly different qualifiers for what determines a card to reach a certain grade, but most will follow the same criteria when calculating a grade (centering, edgewear, surfaces etc.).
PSA Graded Cards:
- GEM-MT (Gem Mint) 10
- A PSA GEM Mint 10 card is a virtually perfect card.
- MINT 9
- A PSA Mint 9 is a superb condition card that does not quite reach the required criteria that a GEM Mint 10 card expects.
- NM-MT (Near Mint/Mint) 8
- A PSA NM-MT 8 is a super high-end card that appears Mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the card will have flaws.
- NM 7 (Near Mint)
- A PSA NM 7 is a card with just a slight surface wear visible upon close inspection.
- EX-MT (Excellent-Mint) 6
- A PSA EX-MT 6 card may have visible surface wear or a printing defect which does not detract from its overall appeal.
- EX (Excellent) 5
- On PSA EX-5 cards, very minor rounding of the corners is becoming evident. Surface wear or printing defects are more visible.
- VG-EX (Very Good-Excellent) 4
- A PSA VG-EX 4 card’s corners may be slightly rounded.
- VG (Very Good) 3
- A PSA VG 3 card reveals some rounding of the corners, though not extreme.
- GOOD 2
- A PSA 2 Good card’s corners show accelerated rounding and surface wear is starting to become obvious.
- FR (Fair) 1.5
- A PSA Fair 1.5 card’s corners will show extreme wear, possibly affecting framing of the picture.
- PR (Poor) 1
- A PSA Poor 1 will exhibit many of the same qualities of a PSA Fair 1.5 but the defects may have advanced to such a serious stage that the eye appeal of the card has nearly vanished in its entirety.
Click here for a more detailed description of PSA’s grading standards.
ACE Graded Cards:
- 10 - GEM MINT
- An ACE GEM MINT 10 is a card that has four undamaged corners, sharp edges and a beautiful surface.
- 9 - MINT
- An ACE MINT 9 is a card that exhibits nearly identical quality to that of a GEM MINT 10 card, however may suffer from a minor imperfection, either in the corners, the edges or the surface.
- 8 - NEAR MINT - MINT
- An ACE NEAR MINT - MINT 8 card will closely resemble the ACE 9, however may suffer from a few minor imperfections, such as whitening, either in the corners, the edges or the surface, or a combination of any of these areas.
- 7 - NEAR MINT
- An ACE NEAR MINT 7 is a card that has slight wear which is more visible than the ACE 8, including more noticeable damage on edges, corners or surfaces, such as whitening.
- 6 - EXCELLENT - MINT
- An ACE EXCELLENT - MINT 6 card may have more noticeable damage or printing defects.
- 5 - EXCELLENT
- An ACE EXCELLENT 5 may show more visible printing defects and damage. Corners may be misshapen and whitening / fraying and edges may be more noticeable
- 4 - VERY GOOD
- An ACE VERY GOOD 4 card may be starting to lose integrity of the card in a single area.
- 3 - GOOD
- An ACE GOOD 3 card may be starting to lose integrity of the card in multiple areas.
- 2 - FAIR
- An ACE FAIR 2 card may have lost integrity in the card in any one area. This card may exhibit heavy scratching throughout key focal points of the card.
- 1 - POOR
- An ACE POOR 1 card may have lost integrity in the card in multiple areas. This card may exhibit heavy scratching throughout key focal points of the card.
Click here for a more detailed description of ACE's grading standards.