Verified Auction Sales · PSA Population Data · Updated Monthly · Editorial Policy
US dollar bills and coins on a white table

CGC 10 vs PSA 9 Price: Same-Night Goldin Sales of Base Set Charizard

by

In every vintage pair we could find, a CGC 10 outsold the same card’s PSA 9 yet came nowhere near its PSA 10. In a Goldin auction that ended 2/15/26, a Base Set Unlimited Charizard in CGC Gem Mint 10 brought $4,964 and a PSA 9 brought $2,480 the same evening; on modern cards the CGC 10 vs PSA 9 comparison shifts, because there a CGC 10 is priced much closer to the PSA 10 price.

As of October 23, 2026: every figure below is one Goldin lot, quoted at the price the winner paid including the buyer’s premium, with auction end dates as Goldin prints them. Nobody publishes an average CGC 10 to PSA 9 ratio; the ratios here are our arithmetic on the lots linked.

CGC 10 vs PSA 9 in one auction: the February 2026 Charizards

Same-auction pairs are the cleanest comparison available, because the bidders, the week and the house are identical. Goldin’s auction ending 2/15/26 had both grades of two different Charizards.

Charizard CGC Gem Mint 10 (paid, winning bid) PSA 9 (paid, winning bid) CGC 10 ÷ PSA 9
Base Set Unlimited $4,964 / $4,003 $2,480 / $2,000 2.0 times
Base Set 1st Edition, lot A $105,400 / $85,000 $64,480 / $52,000 1.6 times
Base Set 1st Edition, lot B $93,000 / $75,000 same PSA 9 lot 1.4 times

Every lot in that table ended 2/15/26. The ratio column uses the all-in prices.

On the Unlimited Charizard the CGC 10 sold for $2,484 more than the PSA 9, almost exactly double. On the 1st Edition, the two CGC 10s cleared the PSA 9 by $40,920 and $28,520. Two copies of the same card in the same holder and grade, sold the same night, finished $10,000 apart in winning bids, which is a reminder of how much one auction can move.

Where the CGC 10 lands between PSA 9 and PSA 10

Beating the PSA 9 is the easy part. The sharper question is how far up the PSA 9 to PSA 10 range it climbs. Put the PSA 9 price at zero and the PSA 10 price at one hundred; the CGC 10 lands at:

Read plainly: on vintage Charizard the market priced a CGC 10 as a strong PSA 9, not as a cheap PSA 10. That is our arithmetic on four pairs, each sold the same night or a week apart, and the PSA 10 side rests on one sale per card.

What the population reports say about the same question

The price pattern lines up with a population comparison we can actually show. Rank every numerically graded Base Set Unlimited Charizard on CGC’s report from best to worst. The 285 Gem Mint 10s fill the slice from 0.1% to 2.0% down CGC’s ranking of graded copies (the 12 Pristine and Perfect 10s sit above them). On PSA’s archived population columns from March 2026, PSA 10s are just the top 0.5%, and PSA 9 or better runs down to the top 9.5%.

Line the two up by percentile and, by our estimate, PSA 10 territory covers 22.8% of that CGC slice while PSA 9 covers 77.2%. That is a population comparison under the assumption that both companies see a similar mix of cards, which they do not, and it is not a crossover probability. But it agrees with the auction room: most CGC 10 Base Charizards look like PSA 9s on percentile, and they sell like strong PSA 9s.

For the 1st Edition, Goldin’s own lot copy gives the scale: the CGC lot description says “just under 6 percent” of its more than 590 CGC copies were at Gem Mint 10, and the PSA 10 description puts PSA’s top grade at “fewer than 3 percent” of more than 5,300 copies. Those are Goldin’s wording at listing time, not live population counts.

Modern cards: the CGC 10 pulls away from the PSA 9

On modern cards both companies give out 10s freely, so a CGC 10 is not a rare bird, but neither is a PSA 10, and the CGC 10 ends up priced much nearer the top.

  • Van Gogh Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat: a CGC Gem Mint 10 at $580 (3/06/25) against a PSA 9 at $421 (8/02/25) is 1.4 times, and 19.3% of the way to a PSA 10 at $1,244 (7/10/25). Those sales are months apart, so treat the position as rough.
  • 151 Charizard ex #199: a CGC Gem Mint 10 at $1,476 (2/08/26) against a PSA 9 at $311 (1/11/26) is 4.7 times. Goldin’s title on that PSA 9 lot mixes in the Prismatic Evolutions set name, but it is the #199 Charizard ex Special Illustration Rare, the card our price research grouped it with. The CGC 10 also outsold the card’s PSA 10 a week later, so on this card a CGC 10 was not between PSA 9 and PSA 10 at all.

The population side points the same way. On the Pikachu promo, CGC’s Gem Mint 10s sit between the top 10.7% and 53.4% of CGC’s numerically graded copies, while PSA 10s alone reach down to 44.9% of PSA’s. Matched by percentile, our estimate gives PSA 10 territory 80.1% of that CGC slice and PSA 9 just 19.9%. When most CGC 10s line up with PSA 10, buyers have little reason to price them like PSA 9s.

Grading standards: why a CGC 10 is graded above a PSA 9

On paper, a CGC Gem Mint 10 demands more than a PSA 9. CGC’s scale says Gem Mint 10 centering “is not to exceed approximately 55/45, and reverse centering is not to exceed 75/25.” PSA 9 allows “approximately 60/40 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.” A CGC Gem Mint 10 therefore meets PSA 10’s centering numbers by definition. Where it can fall short of a PSA 10 is in the surface, corners and edges calls that no published number pins down, and in how each company’s graders apply them.

That is also why the CGC 10 vs PSA 9 question matters for crossovers. Sending a CGC 10 to PSA with a minimum grade of 9 would risk swapping a slab that sold for roughly double into one that sold for half, so a crossover from CGC 10 only makes sense with the minimum set at 10. The details for that grade pair are in our CGC Gem Mint 10 to PSA 10 crossover guide, and CGC’s top label has its own page on Pristine 10 to PSA 10.

Old Gem Mint 9.5 slabs belong in the CGC 10 column

Until the scale change dated July 11, 2023, the label on CGC’s best regular slabs said Gem Mint 9.5. When CGC rebuilt its scale it stated that “Cards previously graded Gem Mint 9.5 are exactly equivalent to Gem Mint 10 under the updated grading scale”. A 2022 sale like the 1st Edition Thin Stamp Charizard in CGC Gem Mint 9.5 at $36,600 (10/06/22) is therefore a Gem Mint 10 sale in today’s terms. We did not pair it with a PSA 9 here: it is a different stamp variant and a much older market, so any ratio would mislead.

Shopping comps for a CGC 10? Older listings labelled Gem Mint 9.5 count. Today’s Mint+ 9.5 is a different, lower grade; the CGC 9.5 vs PSA 9 price comparison deals with it.

The buyer’s premium in that February auction

Goldin’s about page lists “Buyer’s Premium 22% ($19 min)”. Every 2/15/26 lot in our first table shows a 24.0% step from winning bid to price paid: $4,003 to $4,964, $2,000 to $2,480 and $52,000 to $64,480. The March 2026 PSA 10 Unlimited shows 22.0%. Goldin’s pages do not explain the difference. Because both sides of each February pair carry the same uplift, the ratios hold either way; mixing that auction with a sale from another month, or another house, would not be as clean.

The site’s Base Set Unlimited price guide follows the Charizard across grades, and the CGC vs PSA price difference roundup compares the same grade on both sides for eight cards. Every crossover grade pair links from the crossover grading hub.

Pricing a CGC 10 you own against PSA 9 comps

If you hold a CGC Gem Mint 10 and want a realistic number, the sales above suggest a simple routine.

  1. Pull the last few PSA 9 and PSA 10 sales of the exact card and variant. Unlimited, Shadowless and 1st Edition Charizards are different cards with different populations, and so are a Japanese and an English print.
  2. Find any CGC 10 sale from the same few weeks. The CGC 10 figure is the one that matters; the PSA 9 and PSA 10 sales only frame it.
  3. Place it in the range. On vintage Charizard the CGC 10s we tracked landed between 6.3% and 9.0% of the way from PSA 9 to PSA 10, so a CGC 10 priced halfway up that range would be far out of line with these sales. On modern cards the position is much higher and can exceed the PSA 10.
  4. Keep winning bids and paid prices apart. Compare paid to paid or hammer to hammer, never one against the other.

None of this predicts a future sale. It only keeps a comparison honest when the market for one holder is thin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a CGC 10 sell for more than a PSA 9?

Yes, in all of the pairs we tracked. A CGC Gem Mint 10 Base Set Unlimited Charizard sold for $4,964 against $2,480 for a PSA 9 in the same Goldin auction, which ended 2/15/26, and two 1st Edition CGC 10s beat a PSA 9 that night too.

Is a CGC 10 the same as a PSA 9?

No. A CGC Gem Mint 10 must meet 55/45 front centering, the same as PSA 10, while PSA 9 allows 60/40. On vintage Charizard a CGC 10 has sold like a strong PSA 9, but it is graded to a higher standard on paper.

How close is a CGC 10 to a PSA 10 in price?

On vintage Charizard, not close. The CGC 10s we tracked sold between 6.3% and 9.0% of the way from the PSA 9 price to the PSA 10 price. On modern cards the CGC 10 sits much nearer the PSA 10, and on the 151 Charizard ex it sold above it.

Should I cross a CGC 10 to PSA with a minimum of 9?

Based on these sales, a PSA 9 has sold for about half a CGC 10 on vintage Charizard, so a minimum of 9 would risk a lower-value slab. A minimum of 10 keeps the CGC holder if PSA disagrees.

Do pre-2023 CGC Gem Mint 9.5 slabs count as 10s?

Yes. CGC stated in 2023 that its old Gem Mint 9.5 grade equals Gem Mint 10 on the current scale, so those slabs belong with CGC 10 comps.

Why do modern CGC 10s sell for so much more than PSA 9s?

On modern cards PSA 10s are common, and when the two population reports are matched by percentile most CGC Gem Mint 10s fall in PSA 10 territory: 80.1% of them on the Van Gogh Pikachu, by our estimate.

Sources

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.

Owed money from a settlement? Check what is open at OpenClassActions.com. Caring for someone with dementia? Find practical guides at HelpDementia.com. Working out a skin routine? Evidence-based answers at AcneAdvocate.com. Forgot the name of a movie? Identify it at FindThisMovie.com. Was your data exposed? Track active breaches at DataBreachRadar.com.

We use cookies to run this site, measure how it’s used, and show ads. Choose “Essentials only” to limit cookies to what the site needs to work. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy.