Subgrades
Subgrades are the four individual scores — centering, corners, edges, and surface — that BGS prints on its label alongside the overall grade.
Subgrades break a card's condition into four measured categories: centering, corners, edges, and surface. BGS made them famous by printing all four on its label, so anyone can see precisely why a card earned its overall grade — and where it fell short.
Subgrades add transparency that a single number cannot: two BGS 9.5s can differ meaningfully if one carries a 10 surface and the other a 9. The dream result is four perfect 10s, which earns Beckett's Black Label. Practical note: buyers pay premiums for strong subgrades even at the same overall grade, so when comparing two slabs of the same card, read past the headline number.