MintGrade

Before you pay to grade

Will your card get a Gem Mint 10?

Measure centering from a photo, work out if grading pays off, and learn exactly what graders look for. Free, friendly, and made for collectors.

Check my centering, free Join the app waitlist

No sign-up needed for the tools. Your photo never leaves your phone.

Minty the MintGrade mascot inspecting a trading card with a magnifying loupe on a cozy collector's desk

Free tools

Two free tools you can use right now

Centering is the one thing you can measure exactly at home, and grading fees are the one thing you can plan exactly. Start there.

Most used

Card centering calculator

Drop in a photo, drag the guides to the card edge and the print border, and see your left/right and top/bottom ratios against PSA and CGC limits.

Measure my cardSaves money

Grading cost calculator

Pick a grader and tier, add what the card sells for raw and graded, and see if grading beats selling it as is, after every fee.

Do the math

How the app will work

Snap it, check it, decide

  1. 1

    Snap the card

    Front and back, flat and straight, in good light. The app will guide the framing.

  2. 2

    See the four checks

    Centering, corners, edges and surface, each with the flaws it found, marked on your photo.

  3. 3

    See what it is worth

    Recent raw and graded values side by side, so you know what a 9 or a 10 would really add.

  4. 4

    Grade it or keep it

    A plain answer: send it, sell it raw, or keep it safe in the binder. Your call, with the numbers in front of you.

What graders look at

Graders look at four things. So do we.

Every major grading company scores the same four areas. Knowing them is the difference between a pleasant surprise and a pricey lesson.

  • Centering

    How evenly the border sits around the print. A PSA 10 allows about 55/45 on the front.

  • Corners

    Sharp and square beats soft or dinged. Check them under a bright light.

  • Edges

    Look for whitening, chipping and rough cuts, especially on dark borders.

  • Surface

    Scratches, print lines, dents and fingerprints. Tilt the card under a lamp.

Four friendly panels showing a card's centering, a sharp corner, a clean edge and a shiny surface under a magnifying glass

From the blog

Fresh guides for collectors

See every guide

The honest bit

MintGrade gives you estimates, not grades. Only a grading company like PSA, CGC, Beckett, SGC or TAG can grade a card, and no one can promise the number that comes back. What we can do is help you spot the problems graders will spot, so you stop paying to grade cards that were never going to make it. Card values move every day, so every price and fee on this site says when it was checked.

Questions

Good questions, straight answers

Is MintGrade free?

The centering calculator, the grading cost calculator and every guide on this site are free, with no account. The MintGrade app is in development; early-access members hear about it first.

Can MintGrade tell me my PSA grade?

No one can promise a grade except the grading company itself. MintGrade estimates how a card measures against the published standards, so you can decide which cards are worth sending.

What centering does a PSA 10 need?

PSA's published standard for a Gem Mint 10 is about 55/45 or better on the front and 75/25 or better on the back. Measure yours with the centering calculator.

Does the centering tool upload my photo?

No. The calculator runs in your browser, so the photo stays on your device.

Which cards does MintGrade cover?

The guides focus on Pokemon cards first, with sports cards, One Piece and Magic: The Gathering on the way. The centering and cost tools work for any standard trading card.

Is MintGrade affiliated with PSA, CGC or TAG?

No. MintGrade is an independent project by Viral Labs and is not affiliated with any grading company, card maker or marketplace.