The real top of the market is a PSA 9

Why the 10s don't count

Two perfect copies exist. One of them sold for $3.75 million in 2021. They are trophies, and a collector building around this card is not realistically choosing between a 9 and a 10. EarlyCardIndex covers the two 10s and the jump to them in what the last grade point costs.

For the market everyone else is actually in, the 9 is the ceiling.

How rare a 9 is

PSA's population figures, as reported in 2025, put the number of PSA 9s at under a hundred, against more than eight hundred PSA 8s. That is roughly one 9 for every nine 8s.

Those counts rise a little every year as more copies are sent in, so the exact numbers will drift. The shape will not: the 9 is a small club on top of a much larger one.

What separates a 9 from an 8

PSA's own standards draw the line mostly at the centring.

A PSA 9, Mint, allows front centring of about 60/40 or better, and one minor flaw, such as a slight printing imperfection.

A PSA 8, Near Mint-Mint, allows front centring of about 65/35, along with very slight wear on the corners.

On most cards, five points of centring is a small thing. On this card it is not. The O-Pee-Chee printing is known for coming off the sheet unevenly, and EarlyCardIndex found it carries the off-centre label about half as often again as the Topps version; see why the Canadian Gretzky comes back off-centre. Our own piece on how O-Pee-Chee cards came off the sheet explains why the edges vary so much.

Add the grey card stock that chips at the corners, and the blue border that shows every nick, and a card has to win on several fronts at once to reach a 9.

What the step costs

Between them sits the 8.5. On EarlyCardIndex's own data, the handful of 8.5 copies on offer ask well over twice as much as straight 8s, so even the half step is large here.

What to check if you are buying a 9

Look at the centring yourself. A 9 can be anywhere from perfectly centred to the edge of what the grade allows. Two 9s can look very different in hand, and buyers pay for the one that looks right.

Check for a qualifier. A 9 (OC) is not a 9. The off-centre label takes a large share of the price off this card.

Verify the certificate and the card. At this level one of the risks is a real holder with the wrong card inside, which is why our guide to spotting a fake says the certificate lookup alone is not enough.

Ask about the half grade. If the price is close to a 9, an 8.5 may be the better value for a nearly identical-looking card. If the price is close to an 8, it probably is not an 8.5 at all.