Is BGS 10 better than PSA 10?
As a hardcore trading card enthusiast, this is a question I‘ve mulled over for years. In the collecting world, PSA and BGS are viewed as the leading authorities in the card grading and encapsulation business. Both companies use rigorous authentication and evaluation processes before slabbing cards in protective cases marked with their respected brand names and grades.
PSA and BGS grade on slightly different scales, but their highest marks – PSA 10 and BGS 10 – denote essentially flawless condition. However, there‘s an ongoing debate over which pinnacle accolade reigns supreme. From both a statistical and anecdotal perspective as an active collector, I believe that while BGS 10 represents an unparalleled level of perfection, PSA 10 still stands as the most favored and valuable graded card for the majority of the market.
PSA 10 Commands Higher Prices on Average
Sales data confirms that PSA 10s consistently realize substantially higher selling prices compared to BGS 10s. According to the hobby price guide Card Ladder, PSA 10s have sold for nearly 3 times more on average than their BGS 10 counterparts across several high profile modern card sets.
As one illustration, a PSA 10 1st Edition Charizard recently sold at auction for $432,000. In contrast, the last recorded public sale of a BGS 10 1st Edition Charizard went for $150,000 – almost a 3x differential. While the BGS 10 still sold for an astronomical figure due to the desirability of a perfect Charizard, the PSA 10 example fetched almost triple the price. This enormous gap seen even for the hobby‘s most famed card exemplifies the current market dynamic.
Recent High-Value Graded Card Sales
| Card | Grade | Sale Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Edition Charizard Holo | PSA 10 | $432,000 |
| 1st Edition Charizard Holo | BGS 10 | $150,000 |
| Mike Trout Superfractor | PSA 10 | $3,936,000 |
| Mike Trout Superfractor | BGS 10 | $1,320,000 |
The Mike Trout 1/1 Superfractor is another prime example. Its last recorded PSA 10 sale eclipsed $3.9 million, while a BGS 10 copy ‘only‘ realized $1.32 million. We‘re talking over 3x the value simply due to the PSA encapsulation. This massive discrepancy even for baseball‘s biggest modern rarity demonstrates collectors‘ perception of the extra cache carried by a PSA 10 designation.
Very Limited Supply of BGS 10s
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