Independent reference · sourced · nothing for sale
Graded cards and auction records, explained
Crazy Uncle's Card Notes is a small reference site about graded trading cards: what the numbers on a PSA, SGC, CGC or Beckett label mean, how population reports and cert lookups work, how card auctions charge and publish their results, and why a handful of classic cards keep turning up in big sales.
Every page is written from public sources — the graders' own pages, auction-house archives, Wikipedia and the collecting press — and each one ends with a list of links so you can check the figures yourself. Population counts and prices change constantly; treat any number here as a dated snapshot, not a quote.
Tools
Calculators that run in your browser, with the formula and sources printed on the page.
The guides
- GUIDE · 1–10No. 010The PSA grading scaleEvery PSA grade from PR 1 to GEM-MT 10, centering limits, half grades and qualifiers.
- GUIDE · 4 GRADERSNo. 011PSA vs SGC vs CGC vs BGSScales, top grades, subgrades and labels of the four big card graders side by side.
- GUIDE · POPNo. 012How to read a population reportWhat a grader's pop report counts, what it leaves out, and how to read “pop” and “higher”.
- GUIDE · CERT #No. 013How to verify a slab's cert numberChecking a PSA, SGC, CGC or Beckett certification number — and what a match does not prove.
- GUIDE · AUCTIONSNo. 014How card auctions workBuyer's premium, reserves, consignment, extended bidding — and where results get published.
- GUIDE · FEESNo. 017PSA grading fees & turnaroundEvery PSA card service level with price, max insured value and estimated turnaround, plus how upcharges work.
- GUIDE · SUBMITTINGNo. 018How to submit cards for gradingStep by step for PSA and CGC: account, service level, the online form, sleeves and semi-rigids, packing, shipping and tracking.
- GUIDE · POKÉMONNo. 019Pokémon card gradingWhich graders take Pokémon cards, how to tell 1st Edition, Shadowless and Unlimited Base Set prints apart, and what to check before you submit.
- GUIDE · MAGICNo. 029Magic: The Gathering card gradingHow to tell Alpha, Beta, Unlimited and Collectors' Edition cards apart, what PSA and CGC publish about Magic cards, and a checklist before you submit.
- GUIDE · GLOSSARYNo. 030Card condition glossaryCentering, dings, chipping, whitening, print lines, stains, miscuts and the PSA qualifiers, defined from the graders' own pages.
Card files
Facts about each card, PSA population snapshots and public auction records, with links to every source.
- 1952 TOPPS · #311No. 0201952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311The postwar hobby's benchmark card, from the scarce sixth series. Pop data and records to $12.6M.
- 1961 TOPPS · #300No. 0211961 Topps Mickey Mantle #300Mantle's base card from the year of the M&M home-run chase. Only two PSA 10s.
- 1934 GOUDEY · #61No. 0221934 Goudey Lou Gehrig #61One of two Gehrigs in the “Lou Gehrig says” set — the waist-up pose with bat. PSA 8 to $150K.
- 1939 PLAY BALL · #51No. 0231939 Play Ball Mel Ott #51A black-and-white Hall of Famer from Gum Inc.'s debut set. Six PSA 9s on record.
- 1956 TOPPS · #31No. 0241956 Topps Hank Aaron #31White back or gray back — and the action scene that actually shows Willie Mays.
- 1956 TOPPS · #130No. 0251956 Topps Willie Mays #130A New York Giants Mays from the two-back era of 1956 Topps. No PSA 10 on the gray-back report.
- 1959 TOPPS · #50No. 0261959 Topps Willie Mays #50Mays in San Francisco colors on the baseball-frame 1959 design. PSA 9s trade around $20K.
- 1919-21 W514 · #15No. 0271919-21 W514 strip cards & Joe JacksonThe 120-card strip set issued during the Black Sox scandal — and Shoeless Joe's only strip card.
- 2019-20 HOOPS · #296No. 0282019-20 Hoops Zion Williamson #296 PurpleA Hoops Tribute card in an unnumbered parallel — what it is, and what the sales data says.
What grading is
A grading company examines a card, checks that it is genuine and unaltered, assigns a condition number from 1 to 10 and seals it in a numbered holder. Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), founded in 1991, set the pattern; SGC, CGC Cards and Beckett follow the same ten-point idea with their own rules. On PSA's scale the number reflects corners, edges, surface, print quality and centering — a GEM-MT 10 allows no worse than 55/45 centering on the front, a MINT 9 no worse than 60/40. Cards that are trimmed, restored or of questionable authenticity get no number at all.
Why the grade and the population matter
For classic cards, the grade is most of the price. The same 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 has sold for $72,000 as a PSA 2.5 at Robert Edward Auctions and for $12.6 million as an SGC 9.5 at Heritage Auctions in August 2022. Population reports tell you how many examples a grader has assigned each grade: PSA's figures show three PSA 10s of that Mantle against several hundred PR 1s. A small population at the top is why a single grade step can multiply the price — but, as PSA's own commentary warns, a pop report counts only cards that were submitted, not every card that exists.
How this site is organised
- Guides explain the mechanics: the PSA scale, how the four big graders differ, how to read a population report, how to verify a cert number and how auctions charge and publish results.
- Card files cover individual classic cards: the set and card number, why the card matters, a dated PSA population snapshot and public auction results with links to the original listings.
- Every figure is a dated snapshot from a linked source; re-check it there before relying on it.
Start here
- Read the PSA grading scale to learn what each number and qualifier means, then measure a card with the centering calculator.
- Compare PSA, SGC, CGC and Beckett so a “10” on any label makes sense.
- Learn to read a population report and to verify a cert number.
- See how prices are formed in how card auctions work, then open a card file such as the 1952 Topps Mantle #311.
What this site is not
This domain previously belonged to a sports memorabilia auction house. This site is a new, unrelated project: it runs no auctions, holds no inventory, takes no consignments and offers no appraisals. If you arrived from an old lot link, the card file for that card is listed above.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Professional Sports Authenticator
- PSA grade definitions (as reproduced on GameStop's PSA page)
- PSA — Grading Standards
- REA archive — 1952 Topps #311 Mantle PSA 2.5 (September 2022)
- Sports Collectors Digest — $12.6 million 1952 Topps Mantle record sale
- PSA CardFacts — 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311
- PSA — “Market Report: Population Perspective” (Joe Orlando)
Sources checked October 2026.