COMMON QUESTIONS Q: How does the DCA scale relate the the C-scale? A:Due to different collector's varying versions of the C-scale, that is a hard question to answer. However, a DCA 85 typically resembles a C9. Don't see your question answered? Read our FAQ's Contact Us Newsletter Sign-Up! Enter your email address: Search the Site: DCA Grading Scale DCAM Grading Scale For factory sealed cases produced 2000 or later More information about the DCAM (Millennium) Grading Scale Description DCA Grade Abbreviation Gem Mint 100 GEM MT Mint 95 MINT Near Mint/Mint 90 NM/MT DCAM Grade 10.0 Uncirculated 9.5 Uncirculated 9.0 Uncirculated The DCA Gold level consists of the grades 100, 95, and 90. The select few items that receive these grades are among the highest quality in existence. A very small percentage of items submitted to DCA receive a Gold grade. The flaws are very minor, very subtle, and are sometimes very hard to identify with the naked eye. The collector who is extremely condition sensitive will be satisfied with the condition of a Gold level item. The DCAM Gold level consists of the grades 10.0, 9.5, and 9.0. The select few items that receive these grades are among the highest quality in existence. The flaws are very minor, very subtle, and are sometimes very hard to identify with the naked eye. The collector who is extremely condition sensitive will be satisfied with the condition of a Gold level item. Description DCA Grade Abbreviation Near Mint Plus 85 NM+ Near Mint 80 NM Excellent Plus/Near Mint 75 EX+/NM DCAM Grade 8.5 Uncirculated 8.0 Uncirculated 7.5 Uncirculated The DCA Silver level consists of the grades 85, 80, and 75. The items that receive these grades are in excellent condition. An item graded an 85 will often be referred to as 'case fresh' and should be very close to gold level condition. The term 'case fresh' is certainly justifiable as the average item pulled from a sealed case will grade an 85 due to small flaws which occur when the items are packaged or shipped in the case. The average item pulled from a store shelf is usually an 80, which represents a nice speciman with minor flaws apparent upon close inspection. The final Silver level grade, a 75, represents an item with more minor flaws than the average Silver level piece. An item grading 75 does have significant wear but does not have major flaws which would draw the eye to them at first glance. For most high grade collectors, an 85 is satisfactory. For most discriminating collectors, an 80 is satisfactory. A 75 will be satisfactory to those who are not overly concerned with light stresses, small bubble imperfections, and other flaws which do not jump out at first glance. Therefore, the Silver level grades do represent a much larger range than the Gold level grades. The DCAM Silver level consists of the grades 8.5, 8.0, and 7.5. The items that receive these grades are in excellent condition. A collector would be able to spot a few small flaws on an 8.5 and would see several moderate flaws on a 7.5. Description DCA Grade Abbreviation Excellent Plus 70 EX + Excellent 60 EX Very Good 50 VG Good 40 G Fair 30 FAIR Poor 20 POOR Very Poor 10 VP DCAM Grade 7.0 Uncirculated 6.0 Uncirculated 5.0 Uncirculated 4.0 Uncirculated 3.0 Uncirculated 2.0 Uncirculated 1.0 Uncirculated The DCA Bronze level consists of the grades 70, 60, and below. The items that receive these grades typically have damage ranging from simply noticeable upon first glance to extremely significant. The card may have creases on the front and the blister may be crushed or cracked. The Bronze level covers a large range of conditions and the scope of the flaws range considerably. Condition for Bronze level items is determined by how many 'major' flaws are present on the card and how severe each flaw is. Bronze level items may have major flaws such as a torn off POP or other large paper tears. Bronze level items may not be satisfactory to condition sensitive collectors. The DCAM Bronze level consists of the grades 7.0 and below. The items that receive these grades typically have damage ranging from simply noticeable upon first glance to extremely significant. Since all DCAM items must come directly from the original manufacturer's case, very few items will be low enough to receive these grades. YELLOWING: Since yellowing of the blister occasionally occurs and can worsen over time DCA will designate a grade with a "Y" if any signs of yellowing exist. (Example: "85 Y-NM+") UNCIRCULATED: Uncirculated is a toy item that has never been handled nor circulated within the market after final completion at the factory. The Uncirculated identifier on the DCA grading label assures the collector that the item went from its original packaging within a factory sealed case (or even right off the factory line) to its museum quality DCA protective case. DCA wears protective gloves when handling your Uncirculated items to ensure that your items remain untouched since they were packaged at the factory.The item is graded on the same DCA scale as regular submissions except with the "U" designation before the grade. Click here for more information about sending in factory sealed cases for Uncirculated grading and screening. Each DCA Grade shows 3 Subgrades The subgrades for DCA are Card, Blister, and Vehicle. The goal of the subgrades is to further define the condition of a particular item. Once the grade has been established, the grader will then assign individual grades for the card, the blister, and the vehicle. The overall grade is NOT an average of these three grades. Furthermore, the new criteria will help define conditions within a particular grade. By using this additional information, a collector can determine whether or not an item’s grade is borderline. Also, the new criteria will direct collectors to the part of the card that has the most damage. For example, a card that received an overall grade of 85 with a 90 Card, an 80 Blister, and a 90 Vehicle will show collectors that the blister has the most damage. A card that received an overall grade of 85 with an 85 Card, an 80 Blister, and an 80 Vehicle will show collectors that this particular piece is a low end 85. Below is a list of defects which will reduce the overall grade in each sub-category. Vehicle The actual vehicle will be considered mint unless there exists a defect that detracts from its overall eye appeal. Defects include paint wear, discoloration, over-spray, fading or dismemberment. If the carded vehicle comes with a collector coin, trading card or other insert, they will also be rated against overall eye appeal. Blister/Window The blister will be judged against dents, scratches, fading, yellowing, clouding, sticker residue, tearing, cuts, lifting, soiling, rub marks, crushing, gluing , factory cut and foreign items (ink mark or staple etc.). Cardback/Box The backer card will be judged against creasing, bending, rolling, tearing, scuffing, scratching, lifting, print marks, loss of gloss, soiling, discoloring, edge wear, nicks, punctures, ink or foreign markings, peg hole punch, tape repair, focus, price sticker, sticker tear, sticker residue, water damage, bubbling and attached foreign objects. Price Stickers Price stickers are generally not considered major flaws, but only become a factor if curling, tearing, staining, picking, etc. of the sticker has occurred.  The location of the sticker is also a factor, though most are placed in an area such as a corner that does not detract from the overall appearance of the card.  Basically, the condition of the sticker factors into the card subgrade, and from there into the overall grade of the piece.

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