New Grading Rules
Here at AEY we are implementing some new grading standards. This will be kept as short as possible to keep everything simple. Cards that we grade are graded upon 4 different factors. Centering, surface, edges & corners. The new changes we are implementing will be to the centering and the outcome of the overall grade. This all begins from cert #9337 onwards.
Centering: We will now be more lenient on centering. Previously we have used a 50/50 - 55/45 for a grade 10. For a grade 10 we will now allow 50/50 - 60/40. Our overall goal is to align with established industry traditions, accommodate modern manufacturing variances in trading cards, and balance strictness with collector accessibility. The overall grade cannot be greater than the centering.
10 centering must be within = 50/50 - 60/40
9 centering must be within = 60/40 - 65/35
8 centering must be within = 65/35 - 70/30
7 centering must be within = 70/30 - 75/25
6 centering must be within = 75/25 - 80/20
5 or below centering would either be a mis-cut (MC) or off-centered. This will not be able to get a grade 10. Because a miscut card severely violates these spatial boundaries, it cannot achieve a standard numerical 10.
Grading: Let's say the first number in the below examples is centering, second is surface, third is edges and fourth is corners.
10,7,8,10 = 8 // (7 is the lowest number, but all three grades exceed this dragging the overall grade up to an 8. A grade can only be dragged up by a maximum of 1 like in the case).
10,7,7.5,10 = 7.5 // (7 is the lowest number, but all three grades exceed this dragging the overall grade up to a 7.5. A grade can only be dragged up by a maximum of 1 but in this case the next lowest number is below a full grade from the 7 as its a 7.5. Since the next lowest grade is only half a grade higher than the overall grade. The overall grade can only be half a grade higher).
10,7,7,10 = 7 // (When it comes to grades being dragged up. It is based on the surface, edges and corners. But keep in mind the final grade can't exceed the centering. In this case we have two 7's locking the grade at a 7, so grade dragging cant come into play in this case as both 7's act as an anchor. Grade dragging needs help, only one number can't drag two numbers).
10,7,7,7 = 7 // (In this case it's an all round 7 apart from the centering, making the overall grade 7. Just like the example above grade dragging doesn't apply here).
6,7,7,7 = 6 // (Here we have an all round 7 but the centering is below 7 with it being a 6. The centering grade is the ceiling grade, the overall grade cannot exceed this).