Pokémon Card Whitening, Corners, Edges and Surface: How to Check Before Grading

Centering is the part of a card's condition you can measure with a ruler. Corners, edges and surface are the parts you have to look for, and they are where many cards that seem perfect in a binder lose points. A tiny white speck on a back corner or a faint holo scratch is easy to miss at arm's length and easy for a grader to find.

This guide walks through a simple routine for checking those three areas at home, explains what "whitening" is, and summarizes what PSA and CGC say they expect at the top of their scales. If you haven't measured centering yet, start with our Pokémon card centering guide, since it is the quickest check of the four.

The four things graders look at

Most grading companies judge the same four areas: centering, corners, edges and surface. Beckett prints all four as separate subgrades on its label (see its grading scale), and PSA and CGC describe the same areas in their grade definitions. A card is usually limited by its weakest area, so one soft corner can matter more than three perfect ones.

What whitening is

Pokémon cards are printed card stock with a lighter core. When the printed surface wears or chips at a corner or along an edge, that lighter layer shows through as white. On the dark blue back of a Pokémon card it stands out clearly, which is why the back is often where whitening is spotted first.

Whitening can come from handling, such as shuffling, sliding cards out of tight sleeves or binder pockets, and rubbing against other cards. It can also be present on a card fresh from the pack, because the cutting process doesn't always leave a perfectly clean edge. Either way, graders grade the card in front of them. CGC's description of a Mint 9 trading card, for example, allows "only a few minor manufacturing or handling defects", which makes clear that both kinds count (CGC grading scale).

Set up before you look

You don't need much equipment, but a little preparation makes small flaws much easier to see:

• A clean, dry, flat surface, ideally dark and matte, so white specks contrast with the background.
• A single bright light you can move, such as a desk lamp or phone flashlight. Overhead room lighting tends to flatten the contrast that makes flaws visible.
• Magnification. A jeweler's loupe works well, and your phone's camera zoom or macro mode is a good substitute. CGC refers to inspection under 10x magnification in its top-grade definitions, so that is a useful benchmark.
• Clean hands, or a penny sleeve. Hold the card by its edges and avoid touching the face, since fingerprints and skin oils can leave marks on the surface.

Check the front and back of every card. A clean front doesn't help much if the back has a whitened corner.

How to check corners

Corners take the most contact of any part of the card, so look at all eight (four on each side) one at a time under magnification. Look for:

• Whitening: white showing at the tip of the corner, from a pinpoint to a visible patch.
• Rounding: the corner has lost its sharp point.
• Dings and bends: a small dent, crimp or lifted tip, often from the card being pushed into a sleeve or toploader at an angle.
• Fraying: a fuzzy or layered look at the tip, common on cards that were played with.

PSA's grading standards describe a Gem Mint 10 as having "four perfectly sharp corners". CGC says Gem Mint 10 corners "will appear perfect to the naked eye and Mint+ under 10x magnification", while its Mint 9 allows "four sharp corners with only minor wear visible". In practice, any corner wear you can see without magnification is a strong sign the card won't reach a 10.

How to check edges

Edges are the four sides between the corners. Hold the light low, almost parallel to the card, and slowly turn the card so each edge catches it. Then run the loupe or phone zoom along each edge on both sides. Look for:

• Edge whitening: white specks or a thin white line along the border, most visible on the dark back.
• Chipping or nicks: small bites taken out of the edge.
• Roughness: a slightly jagged or uneven cut, which can come from the factory.
• Unusual edges: an edge that looks too sharp, wavy or a different tone from the others can be a sign of trimming, which graders reject (more on that below).

CGC's Mint 9 description says "slight minor flaws on the edges may be visible", so even small edge flaws can separate a 9 from a 10.

How to check the surface

Surface flaws are often the hardest to see straight on. Tilt the card slowly under your single light source so the reflection sweeps across the whole face, then repeat on the back. Holo, reverse holo, foil and textured cards deserve extra time. Look for:

• Scratches and scuffs, especially on the holo foil, where fine lines show up as the reflection passes over them.
• Print lines, straight lines that run across the card from the printing process.
• Print spots and specks, small dots of ink, missing ink or debris.
• Dents, dimples and indentations, which show up as a change in the reflection even when you can't see them head-on.
• Creases and bends, including faint ones that only appear when the light hits at the right angle.
• Stains, marks and loss of gloss.

PSA's Gem Mint 10 calls for "sharp focus and full original gloss" and a card "free of staining of any kind", though it notes an allowance "may be made for a slight printing imperfection, if it doesn't impair the overall appeal of the card." CGC's Gem Mint 10 says "the surface is free of print spots and should also display perfect gloss", and its Pristine 10 is reserved for cards that are flawless under 10x magnification.

Don't try to fix it

It can be tempting to color in a white corner, press out a bend or polish a scratch. Don't. PSA's grading standards say it won't assign a numeric grade to cards that show evidence of trimming, recoloring, restoration or other tampering. Its no-grade reasons also cover crease or wrinkle pressing, scratch removal, enhanced gloss, cleaning sprays or wax applied to the surface, and whitener used on borders. A card with honest wear will still get a grade. A card that has been altered may not get one at all.

Keep new wear off your cards

Most handling wear can be avoided with a few habits:

• Put cards you care about into a penny sleeve straight from the pack, then into a toploader or semi-rigid holder for storage or shipping.
• Hold cards by the edges and keep them away from food, drinks and damp places.
• Avoid overstuffed binder pockets and don't slide cards across a table or against each other.
• Insert cards into sleeves and holders straight, not at an angle, so the corners don't catch on the opening.

Is your card a good candidate for grading?

After checking all four areas, you'll usually land in one of three places:

1. Clean everywhere under magnification: a strong candidate for a top grade.
2. One small flaw, such as a single speck of back whitening: possibly a 9 rather than a 10. Whether that is worth the fee depends on the card.
3. Visible wear without magnification: expect a mid-range grade, and decide whether grading is about value, protection or simply documenting the card.

Before grading any valuable card, also make sure it's genuine. Our guide on how to spot a fake Pokémon card covers checks you can do at home.

Get a second opinion from Poki Grading

If you'd like a score before deciding where to submit, a $19 Basic photo grade gives you an AI score from a phone photo. Our Advanced tier adds 200MP+ macro imaging with full subgrades for centering, corners, edges and surface, and Platinum adds multi-angle and raking-light capture, a detailed defect map in your report and an authenticity check. Compare every tier in our pricing section, or browse more guides.