Published protocol
The XGrade protocol.
A submitter uploads photographs. A vision model records measurements and defects. It does not pick the number. scoreInspection() is deterministic. The certificate always states that we only see what we are shown.
How we are stricter than a typical AI pre-grade app
- We do not sell a lone AI number. We sell an evidence report.
- Fifty-two checkpoints. Missing evidence is printed, not hidden.
- A corner that is not visible scores 7, not 10. Unseen is not gem.
- Without a photo of the back of the card, we will not issue above 9.
- Glare, sleeves, soft focus, and low evidence are hard caps on the face of the certificate.
- Gem 10 is rare on purpose. Both sides, all corners 10, all subgrades 10, front ≤55/45, back ≤75/25, evidence ≥ 90%, no glare, no sleeve.
- The certificate identifies the card from printed text only: name, brand, year, card number, and printed special attributes. Unreadable fields are not guessed.
- We do not claim a percentage accuracy. Accuracy comes from refusing to guess.
- The projected professional range is where a slab house is most likely to land on the physical card. It is not a hedge on the XGrade assessment.
52 checkpoints
Photo (8): front in frame; back present; four corners in frame; in focus; no disabling glare; unsleeved; even light; square to camera.
Centering (8): front left/right/top/bottom measured; back left/right/top/bottom when a back is present.
Corners (16): each of four corners × visibility, sharpness, whitening, fray/paper loss.
Edges (8): each of four edges × wear + whitening/layering.
Surface (12 scored from 16 zones): eight front zones, plus four back cardinal zones (top, right, bottom, left). Zones record scratches, factory print versus handling wear, holo/gloss, stain, and indent.
Centering numbers
frontLeft is the left border’s share of leftover horizontal space, 0–100. 50 is perfect. 62 is 62/38 left-heavy. frontTop is the same for leftover vertical space.
| Worse split | Centering max |
|---|---|
| ≤55/45 | 10 |
| ≤60/40 | 9.5 |
| ≤62.5/37.5 | 9 |
| ≤65/35 | 8.5 |
| ≤70/30 | 8 |
| ≤75/25 | 7 |
| ≤80/20 | 6 |
| worse | 5 or below |
Subgrades
Corners (28%) and edges (26%): the worst corner or edge leads. A half-point lift applies only if the other three are ≥ 9.5 and the worst is ≥ 7.
Corner scale: sharp 10, soft 8, frayed 6.5, rounded 5, damaged 3; minus whitening, fray, and paper loss.
Edge scale: clean 10, light-wear 8.5, whitening 7, chipping 6, peeling 4; minus layering.
Surface (24%): sixteen zones. The worst zones drive the score. Factory print marked factoryDefectOnly dings less than handling wear.
Centering (22%): worse of measured L/R and T/B on the front.
Overall
If the two lowest subgrades are equal, overall equals the lowest. Otherwise overall is the lesser of (lowest + 0.5) and the weighted average (corners 0.28, edges 0.26, surface 0.24, centering 0.22). Then hard caps apply. Caps are always printed on the certificate.
- Without a photo of the back of the card → max 9
- Sleeved or obstructed → max 8.5
- Glare → max 9
- Poor or soft focus → max 8; fair photos → max 9
- One corner not visible → cannot be 10; two or more → max 8
- Evidence < 90% → no 10; < 75% → max 9; < 55% → max 8
- Crease → max 6; wrinkle → 7; writing → 4; tear/hole → 3; wax stain → 7
- Suspected trim or alteration → max 7 and flagged
Projected professional range
This band estimates where a professional grading company is most likely to place the physical card, given the visible record. It is not a second XGrade number and it is not a discount on the assessment. ±0.5 when evidence is ≥ 90% and both sides are excellent; otherwise ±1 or ±1.5. It is not a promise from PSA, BGS, CGC, SGC, or TAG.
Grade labels
| Number | Label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Gem visible | Excellent unsleeved both-side photos. All four corners visible and 10. All subgrades 10. Front ≤55/45. Back ≤75/25. Evidence ≥ 90%. No glare, no sleeve, no defect caps. |
| 9.5 | Mint+ | Near-gem visible condition. Any missed gem requirement caps here. |
| 9 | Mint | Strong visible condition with only minor, local dings or a hard photo cap. |
| 8.5 | NM-MT+ | Near-mint to mint plus. Light wear or a modest photo obstruction. |
| 8 | NM-MT | Near-mint to mint. Noticeable but limited wear or incomplete evidence. |
| 7.5 | NM+ | Near mint plus. A leading corner or edge is clearly worn. |
| 7 | NM | Near mint. A non-visible corner scores 7 — it is not assumed sharp. Wrinkle or wax stain caps here. |
| 6.5 | EX-MT+ | Excellent-mint plus. Between NM and EX-MT. |
| 6 | EX-MT | Excellent-mint. Crease caps at 6. |
| 5.5 | EX+ | Excellent plus. |
| 5 | EX | Excellent. Heavy centering or rounded corners. |
| 4.5 | VG-EX+ | Very good to excellent plus. Writing on the card caps at 4. |
| 4 | VG-EX | Very good to excellent. Writing is a hard cap at 4. |
| 3.5 | VG+ | Very good plus. Tear or hole caps at 3. |
| 3 | VG | Very good. Damaged corners or a tear/hole. |
| 2.5 | G+ | Good plus. |
| 2 | G | Good. Heavy, obvious wear in the photos. |
| 1.5 | PR+ | Poor plus. |
| 1 | PR | Poor. The photos show a card that is largely compromised. |
What we will not say
We do not headline CERTIFIED GEM MINT 10, Official grade, Guaranteed PSA 10, or hologram/slab language. The verb on the certificate is assess. We never claim affiliation with PSA, BGS, CGC, SGC, or TAG, and we do not sell the certificate as a slab or as resale liquidity.