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Pokemon card glossary

Plain definitions of the words Pokemon card collectors meet when buying online: grades, slabs, rarities and editions, each checked against its sources.

  • BGS 9.5 and BGS Black Label

    BGS 9.5 is Beckett's Gem Mint. A Black Label is a Pristine 10 with all four subgrades at 10. How to read the label and check one before you buy.

  • Buy It Now vs auction

    Buy It Now sells at a fixed price to whoever commits first. An auction goes to the top bidder when the clock runs out. How to buy well in each.

  • Card number (set number)

    The card number, like 4/102, is where a Pokemon card sits in its set. It's the quickest way to tell apart cards that share a name, and to search well.

  • Centering (and off center)

    Centering is how evenly the art sits between a card's borders, written like 55/45. What each grade allows, what OC means, and how to check a photo.

  • Cert number (certification number)

    A cert number is the unique ID on a slab's label. Look it up on the grader's site to see the card and grade it was issued for, and what it can't prove.

  • CGC grading

    CGC grades cards 1-10 in half points, and it has two 10s: Gem Mint 10 and the higher Pristine 10. How to read a CGC label before you buy.

  • Chase card

    A chase card is the card in a set everyone hopes to pull. Why packs can't promise one, and how to buy the exact card you're chasing as a single.

  • Comp (comparable sale)

    A comp is a recent sale of the same card in the same grade or condition. Why asking prices don't count, and how to read sold listings well.

  • eBay Authenticity Guarantee

    eBay's Authenticity Guarantee has PSA inspect eligible cards of $200 or more before they ship. What it checks, who it covers and what it can't do.

  • First edition (1st Edition)

    A 1st Edition card carries a small black Edition 1 stamp below the art, marking the first print run of an early Wizards set. How to spot a real one.

  • Full art

    A full art card shows its artwork across the whole card, not inside a box. What full art trainers are, and why the number tells the versions apart.

  • Graded vs raw cards

    A graded card has been rated and sealed in a slab by a grader like PSA. A raw card is ungraded, so its condition is the seller's word.

  • Grail card

    A grail card is the one card you want most. It's personal: one collector's grail is another's binder card. How to buy yours without regrets.

  • Holo rare

    A holo rare is a rare Pokemon card with shiny holofoil on its artwork. In the first sets it was the top card a pack could hold. How to pick the right one.

  • Master set

    A master set is every card in a Pokemon set in every version, reverse holos and secret rares included. How to plan one and finish it card by card.

  • Near Mint and card condition (NM to DMG)

    Raw cards are sold by condition: Near Mint (NM), Lightly Played (LP), Moderately Played (MP), Heavily Played (HP) or Damaged (DMG). How to read them.

  • Pop report (population report)

    A pop report counts how many copies of a card a grader has graded at each grade. What "pop 1" really tells you, and how to check a number yourself.

  • Promo card (Black Star Promo)

    A promo card is a Pokemon card from events or special products, not booster packs. What Black Star Promos are, and how to search for one by its number.

  • PSA 10 (Gem Mint)

    PSA 10, or Gem Mint 10, is the top grade PSA gives: a card it calls virtually perfect. What it takes, and what to check before you buy one.

  • PSA grading scale

    PSA grades cards from 1 (Poor) to 10 (Gem Mint). Each grade has a short name, like MINT 9 or NM-MT 8, and half grades stop below 9. How to read one.

  • Reverse holo

    A reverse holo has foil around the artwork instead of on it. It shares the regular print's number but is its own version. How to search for the right one.

  • Shadowless

    Shadowless is the second English print of the 1999 Base Set: no drop shadow by the art box and no 1st Edition stamp. How to tell it from Unlimited.

  • Slab

    A slab is the sealed holder a grader puts a card in, with a label naming the card, its grade and a cert number. How to check one before you buy.

  • Special Illustration Rare (SIR) and alt art

    A Special Illustration Rare is an alt-art ex or Supporter card with two gold stars, numbered past the set total. How it differs from IR and alt art.

  • Unlimited (Unlimited Edition)

    Unlimited is the print run after 1st Edition in early English Pokemon sets: no 1st Edition stamp. In Base Set it adds a drop shadow. How to spot one.

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