BGS Black Label: what it is and what it takes
A Black Label is Beckett's top grade: a Pristine 10 where all four subgrades — centering, corners, edges and surface — are 10. One 9.5 subgrade turns it into a Gold Label Pristine 10. Beckett prints the four subgrades on the label, so you can see exactly where a card fell short.
Updated 2026-10-18 · Standards from beckett.com · Prices from the Cardinal catalog as of 2026-10-16
Black, Gold and Silver.
| Label | Grades | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Black | Pristine 10 (Black Label) | All four subgrades 10 |
| Gold | Pristine 10, Gem Mint 9.5 | Pristine 10 allows one 9.5 subgrade with three 10s |
| Silver | Every other grade | — |
What a Black Label card looks like.
- Centering: 50/50 on the front and 55/45 or better on the back.
- Corners and edges: perfect to the naked eye and virtually flawless under intense scrutiny.
- Surface: no print spots, flawless colour, and no scratches or metallic print lines.
For comparison, a Gem Mint 9.5 needs 55/45 centering both ways on the front and 60/40 or better on the back, and allows a few extremely minor print imperfections under magnification.
Subgrades
Beckett scores the four attributes separately and prints them on the label. Subgrades are optional only at Beckett's base service level; its other levels include them.
The jump from 9.5 to 10.
Across the most valuable Pokémon cards in the Cardinal catalog, a BGS Pristine 10 typically sells for 4.9× a BGS 9.5 (482 cards), and a 9.5 for 1.9× a 9 (529 cards). Black Label prices are not part of this data, which compares Gold Label Pristine 10s.
Whether any Beckett grade pays for your card depends on the grade your copy can reach. Cardinal's pre-grade reads centering, corners, edges and surface — the same four attributes Beckett subgrades — from your phone. To compare Beckett with PSA and CGC, see PSA vs CGC.
- Beckett grading scale, labels and subgrades: beckett.com/grading
Check the four subgrades first.
Scan your card for a pre-grade across centering, corners, edges and surface. Free on iPhone and Android.