BGS 9.5 and BGS Black Label: what the grades mean

A BGS 9.5 is Gem Mint from Beckett Grading Services, one step below a Pristine 10. A Black Label is the hardest result to get from Beckett: a Pristine 10 where all four subgrades (centering, corners, edges and surface) also came back 10. It's the only BGS slab with a black label, which is why collectors can spot one across a table.

The other label colours tell you the band at a glance: gold marks 9.5 and 10, silver marks 8.5 and 9, and white is everything below. So when a listing says Black Label, it's claiming the card is about as perfect as a card gets. Beckett also grades some cards without subgrades, so not every BGS slab shows them.

Before you buy one

• Trust the label, not the title. A real Black Label is black, and all four subgrades read 10. A Pristine 10 with even one subgrade under 10 gets a gold label, and a title can say "black label" either way, so read the slab in the photo.

• Compare like with like. A BGS 9.5 isn't a PSA 10: different company, different centering rules. Compare it with other BGS 9.5 copies. (How the four graders compare)

• Check the cert number on Beckett's site. If it won't load, ask the seller for sharp photos of the front and back of the slab.

• Search more than one way. The same slab gets listed as "BGS 9.5", "Beckett 9.5", "Black Label 10", "BGS Pristine 10" or "quad 10", so searching one spelling misses the rest.

A ChaseBoard BGS 10 watch catches "BGS 10", "BGS Pristine 10" and Beckett Black Label titles for you. Add BGS 9.5 to the same watch if you'd take either, and pick the Black Label option if you only want true Black Labels.