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Here is a page that illustrates and explains all the special codes that are printed on a card
GRAAD's certificate uses some basic codes, always present on the certificate based on the level of service used.
A is the code that stands for Authentic.
If the letter A appears in the main hexagon of the certificate it means that the card underwent a verification of authenticity and turned out to be authentic. Clearly there is no numeric grade because the evaluation of the quality status of the card was not requested.
AS is the code that stands for Authentic with Signature. So if the letters AS appear in the main hexagon of the certificate it means that the card was signed and underwent the verification of authenticity and both the card and the signature turned out to be authentic.
Fake cards are always rejected, they will not be encapsulated but returned to the owner. There is no refund for fake cards. It is therefore not possible to find a fake card encapsulated in a GRAAD's case and equipped with a certificate.
The cards for which the standard certification was required and which turn out to be authentic but altered will not receive a qualitative evaluation (grade from 1 to 10) and are encapsulated with the acronym AA or are returned without being encapsulated (choice that you can select while completing an order).
The cards that do not comply with some elementary parameters are considered altered, that is they show:
Since December 2020 the official LING (ISO 639-2) code that defines the language of the card is printed. The card's language should not be confused with the language of the certificate. As it results from the wording, by card's language we mean the language in which all the texts that describe the name, skills, the specific descriptions of the card were printed. The most frequent LING codes are ITA (Italian), ENG (English), JPN (Japanese), GER (German), FRE (French), SPA (Spanish), KOR (Korean).
To read all the existing LING codes you can consult this page
Starting from orders received in December 2020 on the slab (label) a code is no longer printed but extended wording is used. The main words correspond to the codes that you will find described on this page. On the previous cards to this day the irregularities or errors described here are reported via a code.
GRAAD also certifies irregular cards. A card with an non negative element (signatures, errors or marks by the original printing source) that makes it differ from the known "standard" and does not compromise the beauty of the card and therefore does not compromise the quality grade is to be considered irregular.
GRAAD will issue a quality grade normally. However, the presence of irregularities is reported through a unique code that identifies the type of irregularity, printed in the certificate. Here is the main cases of non-negative irregularities.
GRAAD can authenticate some signatures of illustrators and distinguished people of the world of cards but before sending the cards it is important that you write to us to know which signatures we can authenticate, to make them undergo a preventive approval of customer service. So send us an email with the list of cards and the author of the signature, before completing the order.
While ordering, for each card, you can decide whether the card should be authenticated and evaluated (with a grade) or only authenticated. The SGNT code will be added to the certificate. If instead the signature turns out to be fake and the card authentic, the card will be evaluated as AA (authentic altered). If the card is fake it will be, as always, rejected.
If a card shows printing irregularities such as an expected but missing printing object (Set / Mana symbol / logos, etc...) or shows a uniform border but of different color from the standard color of the set, it will be evaluated normally and the irregularity will be reported via PNIR code.
For example, the first copies of the Unlimited version of Pokemon TCG Jungle have some printed cards without the Jungle set symbol. In this case GRAAD's evaluation does not consider lowering the grade but an explicit wording in the card's name.
The card shows one or more text defects produced in series by the product brand, such as the absence of a letter or text or parts of it, double or triple color in the text, overlapped texts and replacements of letters or words with other letters or words. The phenomenon is present in many or all the copies of a printing series.
The card shows one or more card cutting irregularities produced during the printing processes by the manufacturer
If a card shows one or more alterations deriving from stamps or marks not related to the printing that alter the card compared to the original state but which were carried out by the official manufacturer of the game, it will be normally evaluated and the BRN code will be added to the card's certificate.
Finally, there exist particular and negative errors, such as a registry error or the absence of a printing color that cause a depreciation of the card. These mistakes often lower the final grade. But in some special cases GRAAD indicates the reason through a specific code to help the collector understand why a grade is particularly low or an apparently excellent card is actually not so good. Sometimes it is errors not immediately visible or that anyway require an explanation. Here are the main codes
The card shows one or more of the following coloring defects: color smears, ink stains, faded coloring, dark or very dark color tones, "albino" print (absence of 1 or + colors), print with overabundance of colors , "Foil" type card with patina stripe print.
The card shows one or more of these defects deriving from the printing such as: double printing, different overlapping faces, zoom error of the subject or illustration, absent front, additional overlapping object, object out of place, absent back, turned upside down or different, front or back print on both sides.
The card shows an evident blurring defect.
The card shows a defect coming from the packaging phase or from related processes, such as knurling.
The card shows one or more defects deriving from a wrong paper cutting in the printing processes by the manufacturer.
The card shows one or more serious text defects, produced manually or for occasional printing errors that translate into the absence of text or parts of it, double or triple color in the text, overlapped text print
The card shows marker, pencil or other color sources signs that have been made to try to restore the original coloring of one or more points of the card.
This negative code is absolute, in the sense that it does not allow the issue of a numerical grade. If for one card the certification with a grade (standard or digital) was required and this condition occurs, GRAAD will not issue the grade but the acronym AA. If instead for a card the simple certification of authenticity only was required in the hexagonal space of the certificate the authentication by letter (A) will be issued, but if the card should show conditions of alteration that would have prevented a numeric grade, this condition will be anyway reported explicitly in the certificate through the special ALAU code. The conditions of alteration, as already mentioned, are
The centering of the front is so wrong that it is no longer possible to calculate it as an evaluation parameter for the final grade according to the normal formula because the grade would be lowered substantially.
Instead, it is reported as a code so that it's the collector to determine the impact of such a strong decentering on the value to be assigned to the card.
The centering of the front is so wrong that it is no longer possible to calculate it as an evaluation parameter for the final grade according to the normal formula because the grade would be lowered substantially.
Instead, it is reported as a code so that it's the collector to determine the impact of such a strong decentering on the value to be assigned to the card.
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