Read from PSA’s grading standards page. Checked 2026-10-28. Official page.
“The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse.”
On the front line alone, a worst axis up to ~55/45 meets the GEM-MT 10 line, the top published line. Ratio pages: 50/50 · 55/45.
PSA adds: "A 5% leeway is given to the front centering minimum standards for cards which grade PSA 7 or better." A card inside the published figure meets it; up to 5 points beyond may still pass on strong eye appeal.
| Grade | Front | Back |
|---|---|---|
| GEM-MT 10 | ~55/45 | 75/25 |
| MINT 9 | ~60/40 | 90/10 |
| NM-MT 8 | ~65/35 | 90/10 |
| NM 7 | ~70/30 | 90/10 |
| EX-MT 6 | 80/20 | 90/10 |
| EX 5 | 85/15 | 90/10 |
| VG-EX 4 | 85/15 | 90/10 |
| VG 3 | 90/10 | 90/10 |
| GOOD 2 | 90/10 | 90/10 |
| FR 1.5 | ~90/10 | ~90/10 |
| PR 1 | — | — |
“~” is the company’s own “approximately”.
GEM-MT 10: ~55/45 front, 75/25 back. PSA says "approximately", so the line carries grader discretion. As published: "The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse."
On the published front lines alone, a worst axis up to ~55/45 meets the GEM-MT 10 line, the top published line. Of the ratios with their own page: 50/50, 55/45. Corners, edges and surface can hold or lower the grade. PSA adds: "A 5% leeway is given to the front centering minimum standards for cards which grade PSA 7 or better." A card inside the published figure meets it; up to 5 points beyond may still pass on strong eye appeal.
Compare the two borders on each axis: a card whose left border is 57% of left plus right is 57/43. Services judge the worse axis, front and back separately. SlabbyPrep reads both from a photo and shows each border to a hundredth of a millimetre; on synthetic test photos, 97% of the readings it shows without a warning are within 1 percentage point (the methodology page has the full results).
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