Card Condition Glossary: Centering, Corners, Edges, Surface & Grading Qualifiers

A grade label squeezes a card's condition into one number, but grading standards and listings use a longer vocabulary. This glossary groups those terms by the part of the card they describe and explains each in plain English, drawing on PSA's sports lingo glossary and grading standards, CGC Cards' grading scale and glossary, Beckett's grading standards and Heritage Auctions' glossary. Where the graders word things differently, that is noted. All pages were read on October 13, 2026.

The four areas graders examine

Beckett prints four subgrades on its BGS labels and sums up each area in one line. PSA and CGC judge the same areas but report one number; PSA's standards add that graders may adjust a grade for overall eye appeal.

The four condition areas (Beckett grading standards)
Area	What Beckett expects	Terms you will see
Centering	The image evenly aligned within its borders	centering, off-center, OC, diamond cut
Corners	No dings, creases, bends or discoloration	ding, fuzzy corner, rounding, layering
Edges	Crisp, with no fraying, chipping or dings	chipping, notching, fraying, whitening
Surface	No stains, smudges or scratches; print defects and ink smears count against it	gloss, print spots, print snow, print lines, stains, creases

Centering: compare left and right (L, R) and top and bottom (T, B) borders; this one sits toward the top left (PSA, Beckett).
Corner wear: dings, fuzzy or rounded corners and layering (PSA, CGC).
Edge wear: chipping, notching and whitening, easiest to see on colored borders (PSA, CGC).
Print line: a straight-line printing flaw, covered by PSA's PD qualifier.
Print snow and print spots: white, flaky specks from printing (PSA, CGC).
Stain: residue from wax, gum or water (PSA, CGC).
Crease: a bend or fold in the card (PSA, CGC).
Diamond cut: the design runs at a slant to the edges; PSA labels it MC.

Generic card outlines drawn by Crazy Uncle's Card Notes from the definitions in PSA's lingo glossary and grading standards, CGC Cards' grading scale and glossary, and Beckett's grading standards. Not to scale; flaws exaggerated; no real card or grader branding.

Centering

Centering terms
Term	Meaning
Centering	How evenly the picture sits inside the borders, found by comparing the border widths on opposite sides and usually written as a ratio such as 60/40. PSA's glossary calls it one of the most important factors in a card's grade.
Off-center	A card whose borders are uneven.
Back (reverse) centering	The same measurement on the back, where graders allow far more: CGC's Gem Mint 10 allows about 55/45 on the front but 75/25 on the back, and Beckett's Pristine 10 needs 50/50 on the front and 55/45 or better on the back.
OC	PSA's off-center qualifier: the card meets everything else for its grade, but its centering falls short. PSA's example is a card with Mint 9 qualities centered 65/35, which is graded “Mint 9 OC”.

PSA's glossary ties centering to specific grades: no worse than 60/40 for MINT 9, 80/20 or better for EX-MT 6 and no worse than 85/15 for EX 5. To turn your own border measurements into a ratio, use the centering calculator; the full grade ladder is on the PSA grading scale page.

Corners

Corner terms
Term	Meaning
Ding	Damage to a corner, usually from dropping or mishandling the card. PSA says a dinged corner greatly reduces a card's value; CGC uses the same word.
Fuzzy or rounded corner	A corner that has lost its sharp point. CGC's scale expects four sharp corners with only minor wear at Mint 9 and allows “fuzzyness” and very minor rounding at Excellent 5.
Layering	PSA's term for the plies of card stock wearing and separating at a corner.
Rebuilt corner	Paper built back up on a worn corner. PSA treats it as restoration (no-grade code N2), and CGC lists corner rebuilding among alterations.

Edges

Edge terms
Term	Meaning
Chipping	Edge wear in which small bits of the printed border flake away. PSA notes it shows most on colored borders and can come from age, handling or dull cutting blades at the factory.
Notching	Small dents along an edge, which CGC attributes to stacks of cards held together with a rubber band.
Fraying	A rough, frayed edge. Beckett's standard asks for edges free of fraying, chipping and dings.
Whitening	Wear that shows as white along a card's edges or corners. CGC names roughed-up edges, whitening and holofoil scratching as the most common signs of wear.

Surface and print

Surface and print terms
Term	Meaning
Surface	The entire front and back faces of a card (Heritage Auctions).
Gloss	The shiny finish applied after printing (CGC). CGC's Mint 9 requires all of the original gloss.
Print spots, print snow	Small printing specks. PSA uses “snow” for white, flaky print defects; CGC allows no print spots on a Gem Mint 10 and a small amount of minor ones at NM/Mint 8.
Print line	A straight-line printing flaw. PSA lists print lines, print dots and print snow as the forms covered by its PD (print defect) qualifier.
Roller lines	Lines left in production. CGC's 2020 note on production defects says a flaw shared by a whole print run gets a slight curve, while one on only some cards, such as heavy roller lines on Magic Unlimited cards, gets more scrutiny.
Hickey	A printing blemish that CGC traces to dust, lint or dried ink skin on the printing plate.
Registration, focus	PSA's glossary links a fuzzy, out-of-focus picture to sheets misaligned between color printing plates. Beckett's Pristine 10 allows no registration or focus imperfections.
OF	PSA's out-of-focus qualifier, usually for a blurred image on the front.
Stain, wax stain, gum stain	Residue from contact with a foreign substance. Wax stains come from wax wrappers and gum stains from the gum once packed with cards (PSA, CGC). PSA's no-grade code N7 covers cards cleaned with solvents to remove such stains.
ST	PSA's staining qualifier, for gum, wax, water or other stains below the standard for the grade.
Crease	A bend or fold, usually from mishandling. PSA says a crease can lower a grade by one to five levels; CGC's Good 2 allows heavier creasing that may run from edge to edge.

Cuts and alterations

Cut and alteration terms
Term	Meaning
Miscut (MC)	A factory cut that leaves little or no border or shows part of a neighboring card. PSA always labels it MC.
Diamond cut	A factory miscut in which the design runs at a slant to the card's edges; PSA files it under MC, and CGC's scale mentions diamond cuts and heavy diamond cuts.
Trimmed, shaved edge	Cut down to sharpen worn corners or fix centering (PSA, no-grade code N1). CGC says shaving removes less material than trimming and can be harder to detect.
Re-colored	Color added to hide wear or damage, on the surface, corners or edges (CGC); PSA's no-grade code N3.
Altered, doctored	Changed from the original state, for example by trimming, pressing, re-coloring, power erasing, stock restoration or corner rebuilding (CGC).
Body bag	Slang for a card returned ungraded, in a plastic sleeve inside a flip (Heritage Auctions).

Qualifiers on the label

PSA defines a qualified card as one that meets every criterion for a grade except in one area; the problem is named next to the number. Its FAQ lists six qualifiers, two required and four optional. An optional one can either appear on the label or be built into a lower numerical grade.

PSA qualifiers (PSA lingo and FAQ)
Code	Stands for	On the label
OC	Off-center	Optional
ST	Staining	Optional
PD	Print defect	Optional
OF	Out of focus	Optional
MK	Marks: writing, ink or pencil	Required
MC	Miscut: an atypical cut for the issue	Required

CGC uses the word differently. Its green Qualified label, explained in a February 2023 article, marks a card with a significant defect or alteration, evidence of restoration, or a signature CGC did not witness, with a short description of the problem printed on the label.

Card condition glossary