A BGS 9 to PSA 9 crossover is not the easy sideways move many collectors expect, and no grader publishes how often it works. Beckett’s Mint 9 demands tighter centering than PSA 9, so centering rarely blocks the cross; the risk is that Beckett’s 9 tolerates a handful of tiny specks and scratches while PSA’s Mint 9 description allows only one minor flaw.
As of October 23, 2026: PSA charges its grading price on every crossover, successful or not, and returns the card in its old holder when it misses your minimum grade. Its lowest open card tier is Standard at $59.99 for cards valued up to $1,000. At Goldin, a Base Set Unlimited Charizard in a BGS 9 holder sold for $2,227 in June 2026; PSA 9 copies sold for $2,480 in February and $3,386 in August.
Two Mint 9s, written by two different rulebooks
The word Mint and the number 9 are the same on both labels, but the definitions behind them were written separately and weigh different things. Beckett’s Mint 9 is defined category by category, with a centering line, a corners line, an edges line and a surface line. PSA’s Mint 9 is one paragraph built around a single idea: the card shows just one small flaw.
Here is PSA’s text in full: “A PSA Mint 9 is a superb condition card that exhibits only one of the following minor flaws: a very slight wax stain on reverse, a minor printing imperfection or slightly off white borders.” Corner wear is not on that list. It first appears one grade down, where PSA 8 allows “slightest fraying at one or two corners”.
Beckett’s Mint 9 is more permissive about how many little things a card can show. It accepts “Corners: Mint upon close inspection. A speck of wear is allowed under intense scrutiny.” On edges, “Unobtrusive specks of chipping on the borders are allowed.” On the surface, it allows “A handful of printing specks or one minor spot.” and “Clean gloss with one or two tiny scratches barely noticeable to the naked eye.”
Centering: the part of the BGS 9 to PSA 9 test you usually pass
On centering the comparison runs the opposite way from what the usual forum argument over which company is tougher assumes. Beckett’s archived scale asks a Mint 9 for “Centering: 55/45 both ways on front. 70/30 or better on back.” PSA’s grading standards ask a Mint 9 for “Centering must be approximately 60/40 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.”
| Grade | Front centering | Back centering | Flaw allowance in the published text |
|---|---|---|---|
| BGS Mint 9 | 55/45 both ways | 70/30 or better | A corner speck, edge specks, a handful of print specks, one or two tiny scratches |
| BGS NM/Mint 8 | 60/40 both ways or better | 80/20 or better | (for reference) |
| PSA Mint 9 | About 60/40 or better | About 90/10 or better | Only one: slight wax stain on the back, minor printing imperfection, or slightly off-white borders |
| PSA NM-MT 8 | About 65/35 or better | About 90/10 or better | Adds slight fraying at one or two corners |
A card that Beckett placed at 9 on centering is, on paper, comfortably inside PSA 9’s window. Even Beckett’s 8, at 60/40 both ways on the front, matches PSA 9’s front limit. So a BGS 9 whose centering subgrade is 8.5 is not ruled out of PSA 9 by centering alone. Do not read this table as proof that one company grades harder overall; centering is one factor of several, and the flaw allowances point the other way.
The subgrade floor inside a BGS 9
The overall Beckett grade is computed from four subgrades, and Beckett’s FAQ says “the lowest grade is the most heavily weighted in determining the overall grade.” One of its own examples is a card that finished at 9: “Centering = 9.5 Corners = 9.5 Edges = 8.5 Surface = 9 Final grade = 9”. That is the key fact for a crossover. A BGS 9 can carry an 8.5 in one category, held up by stronger scores elsewhere.
PSA does not grade by subgrades. Its grader sees one card and one set of flaws. If the Beckett label shows an 8.5 in corners or edges, PSA’s Mint 9 paragraph gives that wear no room, because corner fraying belongs to PSA 8. If the 8.5 is in centering, the table above says PSA 9 can still be in reach. If it is in surface from a print spot, PSA’s single allowed “minor printing imperfection” may cover it, provided nothing else is wrong.
Reading the label this way is our interpretation of two published standards, not a rule either company states. Slabs graded without subgrades leave you only the overall number, so the card itself is your evidence.
What PSA’s own population shares say about 9s
No Beckett population counts were collected for this batch, so we cannot line up Beckett’s 9 band against PSA’s the way our CGC articles do. PSA’s archived pages still show how big the PSA 9 target is on different cards.
On Base Set Unlimited Charizard, PSA’s page archived in March 2026 listed 8,424 PSA 9s among 93,488 numerically graded slabs, about 9.0%. PSA 9 or better was about 9.5%, and PSA 8 alone was about 16.5%. On the Evolving Skies Umbreon VMAX alt art, the June 2025 archive shows 4,569 PSA 9s out of 23,709, about 19.3%, with most of the rest at PSA 10. On vintage Charizard, the PSA 9 band is thin and the PSA 8 band beneath it is far thicker, so a borderline card has a lot of company one grade down.
Our estimate, in words: a BGS 9 with no subgrade below 9 in corners or edges has a decent chance at PSA 9, better than a coin flip in our judgment, because centering is already in hand. A BGS 9 carrying an 8.5 in corners or edges is roughly a toss-up between PSA 9 and a PSA 8.5 or 8. These are reasoned guesses from the standards and population shares, not measured crossover results; real submitters pre-screen their best slabs, which may push actual outcomes up, and PSA has published no figure to check them against.
Prices: where BGS 9 trades against PSA 9 and PSA 8
The reason to cross a 9 is the price difference between holders at the same number. These Goldin sales are what buyers paid including the auction house’s premium, listed on its about page as “Buyer’s Premium 22% ($19 min)”. Each row is a few individual sales, not a market average.
| Card | BGS 9 | PSA 9 | Other holders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Set Unlimited Charizard | $2,227 (6/14/26) | $2,480 (2/15/26); $3,386 (8/16/26) | NM-MT 8 at PSA: $1,708 (9/13/26) |
| Base Set Shadowless Charizard | $6,316 (6/17/26) | no 2026 sale captured | CGC 9 $8,845 (9/27/26); PSA 8 $5,557 (7/12/26) |
| Neo Revelation Shining Gyarados | $1,287 (8/21/25) | no sale captured | PSA 8 $1,258 (3/22/26) |
| Obsidian Flames Charizard ex SIR | $98 (8/03/26) | $214 (8/03/26) | same day |
Three things stand out. On the Unlimited Charizard, the BGS 9 sat below both PSA 9 sales and $519 above the PSA 8. On the Shadowless, the BGS 9 outsold the PSA 8 by $759 but trailed a CGC 9 that sold three months later, so the holder ranking was not consistent. And on the modern Obsidian Flames card, the PSA 9 brought more than double the BGS 9 on the same day, the widest gap in the set. Our Shadowless Charizard price history shows how much those prices move month to month.
Fee math: when the PSA 9 premium covers the cost
PSA’s crossover page is blunt: “Regardless of the result, the grading price will be charged.” The tier depends on value. PSA’s list on October 23, 2026 has Standard at $59.99 up to $1,000, Express at $199.00 up to $2,500 and Super Express at $349.00 up to $5,000, with the Value tiers paused. PSA’s FAQ adds that if a card’s value after grading exceeds its tier’s cap, PSA will “upgrade the service level for that item”.
A worked example using those published prices and the Charizard sales above: a BGS 9 valued at its June sale of $2,227 fits Express. Had it become a PSA 9 and sold like the August copy at $3,386, the uplift is $1,159; because $3,386 is above Express’s cap, our reading is that PSA would bill at Super Express, leaving $810 before shipping, insurance and selling fees. Measured against the February PSA 9 sale of $2,480 instead, the uplift is only $253, and after the $199.00 Express fee just $54 remains. Both are our arithmetic on single sales, not forecasts.
And if the card misses, you pay the fee and keep a BGS 9. On cards where the BGS 9 and PSA 9 trade close together, that downside can wipe out the upside. Our break-even guide, is a crossover to PSA worth it, runs the same math for CGC slabs, and our PSA crossover service explainer covers turnaround and paperwork.
Choosing the minimum grade on a BGS 9
PSA makes you name a minimum, and offers an escape hatch: “If you are willing to accept any PSA numerical grade, then put” a 1 in the minimum grade column. On a BGS 9, the meaningful choices are 9, 8.5 or 8. The Charizard sales argue for 9. A PSA 8 sold for less than the BGS 9 on both Base Set versions above, so a lower minimum would have traded a better-selling slab for a weaker one. No PSA 8.5 sale was captured for any of these cards, so its value is unknown here.
Beckett’s own crossover rules show the cautious approach a grader takes when it is the receiving side: its FAQ says “BGS will not grade or remove a card from the submitted case unless we are reasonably confident that the card will reach the minimum grade you have requested.” PSA’s version is simpler: miss the minimum and the slab goes back to you unopened. Our older guide to how minimum grades protect a crossover walks through the form. For the gold-label grade above, see BGS 9.5 to PSA 10, and the crossover grading hub covers every grader.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is BGS 9 harder than PSA 9?
On centering, yes: Beckett asks a Mint 9 for 55/45 both ways on the front and 70/30 on the back, while PSA 9 allows about 60/40 and 90/10. On small flaws the picture flips, because Beckett lists several specks and scratches it tolerates and PSA 9 names only one minor flaw from a short list.
What are the odds a BGS 9 crosses to PSA 9?
Nobody publishes them. Our estimate, in words, is that a BGS 9 with a clean corners subgrade has a decent chance, while one with an 8.5 in corners or edges is closer to a toss-up between PSA 9 and PSA 8.5 or 8.
Can a BGS 9 come back as a PSA 8.5?
Yes. PSA’s half-point grades run from 2 through 9, so an 8.5 can happen. If your minimum grade is 9, an 8.5 verdict means the card returns in its Beckett case and the fee is still charged.
Do BGS 9 cards sell for less than PSA 9?
In the Goldin sales we checked they did: a Base Set Unlimited Charizard BGS 9 brought $2,227 against $2,480 and $3,386 for PSA 9 copies, and an Obsidian Flames Charizard ex BGS 9 sold for $98 the same day a PSA 9 sold for $214.
What minimum grade should I set to cross a BGS 9 to PSA?
The sales we checked point to 9, because a PSA 8 sold below the BGS 9 on both Base Set Charizard versions we checked. A lower minimum only makes sense if you value the PSA holder itself more than the price.
How much is a PSA crossover for a BGS 9 card?
The same as grading at the tier your card’s value falls in. On October 23, 2026 PSA listed Standard at $59.99 for cards up to $1,000 and Express at $199.00 up to $2,500, charged whether or not the card crosses.
Sources
- Grading Scale — Beckett Grading, archived by the Internet Archive, Wayback Machine capture of May 3, 2026, read October 23, 2026
- Grading Standards — PSA, read October 23, 2026
- Grading FAQs — Beckett Grading, archived by the Internet Archive, Wayback Machine capture of March 26, 2025, read October 23, 2026
- Crossover — PSA, read October 23, 2026
- Trading card grading: pricing and services — PSA, read October 23, 2026
- Frequently asked questions — PSA, read October 23, 2026
- Charizard-Holo, 1999 Pokemon Game: auction prices and population — PSA, archived by the Internet Archive, Wayback Machine capture of March 2, 2026
- Full Art / Umbreon Vmax #215: auction prices and population — PSA, archived by the Internet Archive, Wayback Machine capture of June 26, 2025
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Unlimited Holo #4 Charizard – BGS MINT 9 — Goldin, auction ending 6/14/26, read October 23, 2026
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Holo #4 Charizard – PSA MINT 9 — Goldin, auction ending 8/16/26, read October 23, 2026
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Holo #4 Charizard – PSA MINT 9 — Goldin, auction ending 2/15/26, read October 23, 2026
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Holo #4 Charizard – PSA NM-MT 8 — Goldin, auction ending 9/13/26, read October 23, 2026
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Shadowless Holo #4 Charizard – BGS MINT 9 — Goldin, auction ending 6/17/26, read October 23, 2026
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Shadowless Holo #4 Charizard – CGC MINT 9 — Goldin, auction ending 9/27/26, read October 23, 2026
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Shadowless Holo #4 Charizard – PSA NM-MT 8 — Goldin, auction ending 7/12/26, read October 23, 2026
- 2001 Pokemon Neo Revelation Unlimited Rare Holofoil #65 Shining Gyarados – BGS MINT 9 — Goldin, auction ending 8/21/25, read October 23, 2026
- 2001 Pokemon Neo Revelation Holo #65 Shining Gyarados – PSA NM-MT 8 — Goldin, auction ending 3/22/26, read October 23, 2026
- 2023 Obsidian Flames Special Illustration Rare #223 Charizard ex – PSA MINT 9 — Goldin, auction ending 8/03/26, read October 23, 2026
- 2023 Obsidian Flames Special Illustration Rare #223 Charizard ex – BGS MINT 9 — Goldin, auction ending 8/03/26, read October 23, 2026
- About Goldin — Goldin, read October 23, 2026
No grading company publishes crossover pass rates. Any crossover odds on this page are Pokemon Pricing’s estimate, labelled as one, built from the published grading standards and population reports on the dates shown. Fees, populations and sale prices change; check the grading company’s current price list before submitting. This article is collector information, not investment advice. Pokémon and all card names are trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc. and GAME FREAK inc.; Pokemon Pricing is not affiliated with them or with any grading company.