Sports Card Grading Trends In February 2023
February is a very short month, with fewer days than any other. So, it’s good news that activity went up by 1% in this short and gloomy period.
When you factor in lost business days, it is a growth of 6% per day. So, the grading business is healthier than ever. But what are people grading?
The answers to that question can be found in the sports card grading trends for February 2023 overview.
Sports Card Grading Trends: Top Categories
If in January it looked like sports cards were making a comeback, this month that trend was reversed. Instead, we saw the most significant increases from TCG and non-sport cards. The former broke an all-time record at PSA during the month.
Let’s have a look at the numbers for this month:
| Category | PSA | SGC | BGS | CSG/CGC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCG | 420,000 (+18%) | 10,500 (+333%) | 29,500 (+9%) | 101,700 (+5%) |
| Baseball | 197,700 (-7%) | 40,800 (-6%) | 10,000 (+11%) | |
| Basketball | 128,000 (-19) | 11,400 (+14%) | 10,400 (+21%) | |
| Football | 118,300 (-15%) | 16,200 (+12%) | 6,800 (0%) | |
| Non-Sport | 46,100 (+18%) | 3,300 (+9) | 1,000 (+8%) | |
| Soccer | 33,300 (-1%) | 4,000 (+88%) | 1,900 (+83%) | |
| Hockey | 31,100 (-19%) | 2,600 (+9%) | 3,200 (-16%) | |
| Fight Sports | 10,900 (-4%) | 1,300 (+8%) | 300 (+6%) |
As we noted, the numbers for CSG/CGC this month are partial because they are executing a full population report. However, they continue to grow their TCG submission numbers. However, the specialists’ overall share of the market is shrinking.
As you can see, the most dramatic increase in submission percentage comes from the folks at SGC. In January, they barely had any TCG cards come in. But in February, the numbers more than tripled. Sure, it’s only a fraction of the PSA and CSG submissions right now. But is this a growing trend?
Meanwhile, PSA will be happy to see their numbers in this category go up sharply. However, decreases in sports balance them off and bring the grading giant to static numbers for the month.
Other developments
Baseball had been growing, but paradoxically as we head into spring training, the numbers are plummeting again. Both PSA and SGC, the two leading homes for baseball cards, have seen significant (though not massive) decreases. But BGS has seen a nice 11% increase in cards related to the national pastime.
Meanwhile, SGC will be happy to see significant growth in all of their non-baseball sports categories. As we will see below, that accompanies their tremendous growth in TCG cards and translates into a very successful month for them.
Another exciting development is the growth of ticket grading. In February, PSA recorded 3,400 graded tickets. That is an incredible 139% growth over January. We noted that tickets have a great future in the hobby back in 2021 and have (as always) been proven right.
Sports Card Grading Trends For February 2023: The Grading Companies
Although this was a pretty strong month for grading, none of the growth was recorded at PSA. That is a particularly interesting development. Instead, we saw robust growth from SGC, BGS, and to a lesser extent CGC. Here are the numbers:
| Grading Company | Total Items Graded | Change from January 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,008,000 | 0% |
| CCG | 101,000 | +5% |
| SGC | 92,000 | +14% |
| BGS | 63,000 | +10% |
Although this was a pretty strong month for grading, none of the growth was recorded at PSA. That is a particularly interesting development. Instead, we saw robust growth from SGC, BGS, and to a lesser extent CGC. Here are the numbers:
| Grading Company | Total Items Graded | Change from January 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,008,000 | 0% |
| CCG | 101,000 | +5% |
| SGC | 92,000 | +14% |
| BGS | 63,000 | +10% |
There is growth in the numbers of all the non-PSA companies, while the big guys stood pat. Nonetheless, this comes nowhere near threatening the absolute monopoly of the Professional Sports Authenticator company.
If you add together the numbers of its rivals, you only get about a quarter of the turnover of PSA. It is worth noting that CGC did not release any figures this month because they are working on population reports and apparently do not have the workforce to do both.
Other companies in the grading space
CCG will be particularly happy with the new numbers. It is the first time the company has broken 100,000 items this year and continues a strong trend. They seem to pick up a larger share of the overall TCG market every month. They are gunning to become the genre’s go-to, and it seems their case gets a bit stronger monthly.
Meanwhile, BGS will be glad to see their numbers move upward for the second month straight. They were left behind by SGC over a year ago and had somehow been forgotten by collectors. But some aggressive marketing from the company late last year is finally paying off for the folks at Beckett.
Card era sports card grading trends for February 2023
Traditionally, PSA and BGS dominated the ultra-modern card era for sports submissions. But we have seen SGC make up ground in that market. That has helped them diversify and seen them return to the levels of submissions enjoyed back in early 2022. But did that trend continue in February 2022? Let’s have a look:
| Era | PSA | BGS | SGC | CGC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 52.2% | 43.4% | 40.2% | 29.8% |
| 2010s | 18.2% | 20.5% | 11% | 18.4% |
| 2000s | 6.5% | 13.4% | 6.1% | 25.4% |
| 1990s | 9.3% | 16.0% | 8.7% | 26.4% |
| 1980s | 5.8% | 3.7% | 5.8% | 0% |
| 1970s | 2.5% | 1.3% | 5.8% | 0% |
| 1960s | 2.6% | 0.8% | 9.4% | 0% |
| 1950s | 2.9% | 0.9% | 13% | 0% |
As a note, this chart only includes sports for PSA since there is far less variety in the eras of TCG cards. That much is easy to see from the CGC submissions, which are basically non-existent for the 1980s and earlier.
The PSA ultra-modern share has increased by over 2% from last month. That is good news for them since their main advantage over SGC has been their dominance of that era. And as PSA would hope, that does reflect a weakening of the SGC entry into the ultra-modern marketplace.
The Florida company has decreased from a 43% share of their submissions to only 40.2% in the 2020+ category. And while the share of 2010-2019 cards for SGC has gone up a bit, that does not make up for the ultra-modern shortfall. But SGC maintains its dominance in the 1960s and earlier categories. However, we do see significant PSA growth in those early vintage categories.
BGS trends
The BGS numbers for January are pretty interesting. As we have seen, their overall submissions have grown by a healthy 10%. But that seems to have come primarily from older cards. Almost 49% of BGS submissions were from the 2020 and newer category in January.
But in February, that fell down to 43.4%. A highly significant drop indeed. Meanwhile, 2010-2019 cards also fell a percentage. So where did BGS cards grow?
Not in the true vintage category. People still don’t think of BGS as the venue for that stuff. But the 2000s and 1990s cards increased significantly and could be a welcome sign of a broader appeal for Beckett, which will help their comeback efforts.
Gem rates for February 2023
In January, we saw some strong emerging trends in the gem rate department. BGS was becoming increasingly lenient. Meanwhile, the folks at SGC were cracking down harder than ever on their grades. And let’s be honest; they have always been hard asses. So, what about February? Did those trends continue? Let’s take a look:
| Era | PSA | BGS | SGC | CGC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 44.8% | 57.5% | 30.6% | 58.2% |
| 2010s | 43.3% | 45.4% | 22.2% | 25.5% |
| 2000s | 19.5% | 20.1% | 5.7% | 17.1% |
| 1990s | 10.3% | 14.7% | 3.6% | 13.9% |
| 1980s | 5.4% | 2.5% | 0.8% | 0% |
| 1970s | 2.6% | 0.1% | 0% | 0% |
| 1960s | 0.4% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| The 1950s and Earlier | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
The change in PSA gem rates this month is too big to be accidental. Just last month, the big guys boasted a massively generous 53.3% gem rate for post-2020 cards. This month it fell by almost ten percent to 44.8%.
The gem rate for the 2010s category also fell significantly from 47% to 43.3%. And we even see a change towards harsher grading in older card categories. My guess is this is a response to the latest numbers from SGC.
Their Florida rivals are creating scarcity for their highest grades, which should increase the value of their cards over time. And the gap last month between the two companies looked positively ridiculous. This month the gap is far more reasonable.
The SGC ultra-modern gem rate is up slightly to 30% (within the statistical error probability and likely not a policy change), and PSA dropped. The dual process lowered the gap from a 24% difference to a 14% one.
Trends for vintage
But the massive gap between PSA and SCG on vintage cards has remained. The overall number of submissions may be low for these earlier periods. But the gem gap is nothing short of massive. We don’t need to go back in time very far. While 5.8% of the PSA 1980s cards gem, only 0.8% of the SCG cards do. The gap in the 1970s is even more significant. SGC basically does not give out 10s to cards from the 70s and earlier.
Meanwhile, PSA has a 2.8% gem rate for the disco decade. This would seem to give PSA an advantage because the sweet spot in grading is to make gems rare but not impossible to get.
And what about BGS? Their gem rate was getting very high at 59% in January. This month it dropped to 57.5%. Not much of a change. It looks like Beckett is sticking to their policy of giving out easy high grades. Of course, it is worth noting that a BGS gem also includes their 9.5, so that may influence calculations somewhat.
Players and character trends for February 2023
We always like to see which athletes and characters dominate the monthly submission lists. We will look at athletes, then TCG characters, and finally create a combined top ten list for your edification.
Sports
Lately, baseball has been solid. But some of the younger quarterbacks have also been making gains. So, what happened in February?
| Athlete | Amount Submitted in February | Movement from January |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Jordan | 13,900 | -23% |
| Julio Rodriguez | 13,100 | 0% |
| Shohei Ohtani | 8,100 | -10% |
| Tom Brady | 7,500 | -10% |
| Kobe Bryant | 7,300 | -12% |
| Trevor Lawrence | 6,400 | +6% |
| LeBron James | 6,300 | -17% |
| Wander Franco | 6,300 | -11% |
| Joe Burrow | 6,100 | 0% |
| Aaron Judge | 5,700 | -22% |
The top three remain static. We mostly see the same faces in January, but Trevor Lawrence jumps back in after a slow few months. His solid late-season and playoff performances have revitalized Trevor’s flagging reputation.
Meanwhile, Justin Fields lost his top-ten spot. But the more important trend is that all the athletes have lost some steam, with Lawrence being the only exception.
TCG
These lists tend to be pretty static, with the same five characters at the top, month in and month out. Will you see any changes in February?
| Character | Amount Submitted in February | Movement from January |
|---|---|---|
| Charizard | 43,700 | +15% |
| Pikachu | 31,300 | +21% |
| Mew | 15,800 | +19% |
| Blastoise | 6,000 | +13% |
| Umbreon | 5,500 | -2% |
| Rayquasa | 5,300 | +4% |
| Venusaur | 5,000 | +9% |
| Zapdos | 4,500 | +26% |
| Charmander | 3,200 | +54% |
| Moltress | 2,000 | +14% |
All of the top ten are Pokémon characters. This is not particularly surprising. But a Blue-Eyes White Dragon YU-GI-Oh! card did come close at number 12. The top three are the same boring threesome we always see there.
Combined character and athletes list
Last month, the usualPokémon suspects dominated the top spots. But sports had a majority of the rest of the top ten. Did the rising fortunes of TCG in February change that? Let’s take a look:
| Character | Amount Submitted in February | Movement from January |
|---|---|---|
| Charizard | 43,700 | +15% |
| Pikachu | 31,300 | +21% |
| Mew | 15,800 | +19% |
| Michael Jordan | 13,900 | -23% |
| Julio Rodriguez | 13,100 | 0% |
| Shohei Ohtani | 8,100 | -10% |
| Tom Brady | 7,500 | -10% |
| Kobe Bryant | 7,300 | -12% |
| Trevor Lawrence | 6,400 | +6% |
| LeBron James | 6,300 | -17% |
The recent trend continues. The Pokémon big three stands high above all the sports. But no TCG characters were in the top ten aside from them. As always, Charizard, Pikachu, and Mew carry the massive TCG submission numbers. Sports has a far bigger bench.
Top sets for February 2023
We know that February 2023 was a very strong month for TCG. So, we can expect to see those sets dominate the charts. Well, what else is new? But we also want to see the trends within the sports card world. So, therefore, we separated the TCG sets from the sports ones before looking at the combined charts.
TCG
| Set | Number Graded | Change from January |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Japanese Pokémon Sword & Shield Vstar Climax | 20,700 | +112% |
| 1999 Pokémon Game | 13,600 | +8% |
| 2016Pokémon XY Evolutions | 11,000 | +143% |
| 2022 Pokémon Swsh Black Star Promo | 10,500 | -7% |
| 1999 Pokémon German | 10,100 | +702% |
| 2022 Pokemon Sword & Shield Silver Tempest | 9,200 | +4% |
| 2021 Pokémon Sun & Moon Hidden Fates | 8,300 | +53% |
| 2000 Pokémon Rocket | 7,900 | +52% |
| 2021 Pokémon Sword & Shield Evolving Skies | 7,800 | -6% |
| 2020 Japanese Pokémon Sword & Shield Vivid Voltage | 7,600 | +84% |
The TCG list looks very different from last month. Indeed, there is a general sense that after months of the same Pokémon names over and over, collectors are looking into other releases, both old and new.
The new entries in the top ten for February are the 2020 Pokémon Sword & Shield Vivid Voltage, 2016 XY Evolutions, 2000 Pokémon Rocket, and 1999 Pokémon German releases. And that old favorite and seemingly perennial No. 1, the 1999 Pokémon Game, made way for a new chart-topper in the 2022 Japanese Pokémon Sword & Shield Vstar Climax.
And as you can see, the gap between the two was massive. We will wait to see if the new top entry is there to stay.
We also note that the non- Pokémon TCG sets remain out of the top ten. Some Yu-Gi-Oh! Sets are still lurking beneath the surface. But Pokémon remains completely dominant within the genre.
Sports
2021 Prizm Basketball had a nice lead at the top last month. And 2022 Bowman Prospect Autographs entered the charts with a bullet. What happened this month in the sports sets world? Let’s take a look:
| Set | Number Graded | Change from January |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Bowman Prospect Autographs | 8,900 | +13% |
| 2021 Panini Prizm Basketball | 7,900 | -30% |
| 2022 Topps Update Baseball | 7,400 | -6% |
| 2021 Panini Donruss Optic Football | 6,300 | -26% |
| 2021 Panini Prizm Football | 5,500 | -22% |
| 2020 Panini Select Football | 5,100 | -27% |
| 2021 Panini Select Football | 4,900 | -31% |
| 2022 Bowman Chrome Prospects | 4,000 | -10% |
| 2020 Panini Prizm Basketball | 3,900 | -13% |
| 2021 Panini Donruss Optic Basketball | 3,800 | -35% |
Baseball didn’t have a particularly strong month in February, especially in comparison to the renaissance it experienced in the previous months. Still, the 2022 Bowman Prospects has taken the top spot by storm.
All the sets in the February charts are ultra-modern now that the beloved 1986 Fleer Basketball has left the top ten. And now that 2021 Upper Deck Hockey has plummeted, it’s all top three sports as well.
But perhaps the most notable element of this chart is that, with the exception of the new top spot, all of the sets lost a considerable amount of ground. So it was just a weak month overall for sports over at PSA.
Combined Charts
We can see the dominance of TCG in the combined charts:
| Set | Number Graded | Change from January |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Japanese Pokémon Sword & Shield Vstar Climax | 20,700 | +112% |
| 1999 Pokémon Game | 13,600 | +8% |
| 2016Pokémon XY Evolutions | 11,000 | +143% |
| 2022 Pokémon Swsh Black Star Promo | 10,500 | -7% |
| 1999 Pokémon German | 10,100 | +702% |
| 2022 Pokemon Sword & Shield Silver Tempest | 9,200 | +4% |
| 2022 Bowman Prospect Autographs | 8,900 | +13% |
| 2021 Pokémon Sun & Moon Hidden Fates | 8,300 | +53% |
| 2021 Panini Prizm Basketball | 7,900 | -30% |
| 2000 Pokémon Rocket | 7,900 | +52% |
As you can see, only two sports releases make the top ten. Furthermore, none of them are in the top five. If so, it’s official. The strengthening of sports cards in the last couple of weeks was just a blip. TCG continues to rule with an iron fist.
Top graded cards for February 2023
What about single cards? Are they lopsided assets, with the TCG dominating the charts? Again, we will look at both categories before making a combined list.
| Card | Amount Submitted in January | Movement from December |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Topps Update Julio Rodriguez #US44 | 1,600 | -16% |
| 2022 Topps Update Bobby Witt Jr. #US100 | 700 | -14% |
| 2018 Bowman Shohei Otani | 600 | +51% |
| 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Star Rookie #1 | 600 | -9% |
| 2020-21 Upper Deck Cole Caufield #201 | 500 | -26% |
| 2022 Julio Rodriguez Topps Heritage #700 | 400 | n/a |
| 1996 Topps Kobe Bryant #138 | 400 | -22% |
| 2022 Topps Now Aaron Judge #1012 | 400 | +9% |
| 2022 Topps Update Julio Rodriguez #US97 | 400 | +12% |
| 1990 Fleer Michael Jordan #26 | 400 | -10% |
Sports
No significant changes among the sports cards. Julio Rodriguez maintains the top spot, though enthusiasm has clearly waned. The coming of the baseball season has obviously reminded the fans of the exciting return of Shohei Ohtani to a baseball diamond near you.
His 2018 Bowman, long a grading favorite, had a big spike this month. And Cole Caufield is proving so popular with the hockey folks that he continues to hang with the big sports guys. This is a notable achievement since no current basketball or football players are on this list.
TCG
| Card | Amount Submitted in January | Movement from December |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Topps Update Julio Rodriguez #US44 | 1,600 | -16% |
| 2022 Topps Update Bobby Witt Jr. #US100 | 700 | -14% |
| 2018 Bowman Shohei Otani | 600 | +51% |
| 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Star Rookie #1 | 600 | -9% |
| 2020-21 Upper Deck Cole Caufield #201 | 500 | -26% |
| 2022 Julio Rodriguez Topps Heritage #700 | 400 | n/a |
| 1996 Topps Kobe Bryant #138 | 400 | -22% |
| 2022 Topps Now Aaron Judge #1012 | 400 | +9% |
| 2022 Topps Update Julio Rodriguez #US97 | 400 | +12% |
| 1990 Fleer Michael Jordan #26 | 400 | -10% |
There is a lot more stability here than in the sports cards. The top five are identical, and there were no changes at all in the top three. Only four and five swapped. And we must admit, we are pretty psyched to see the first Metazoo card to enter the top 10. But will we continue to see cards from this release? Or will they fade quickly like their Yu-Gi-Oh! equivalents?
Combined list
We already know that TCG had a strong month, and sports kind of struggled. So, how lopsided is the combined single-card list? Let’s take a look:
| Card | Amount Submitted in January | Movement from December |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Pokémon Japanese SVP Promo Pikachu Scarlet & Violet Pre-Order #1 | 4,000 | +23% |
| 2022 Pokémon Swsh Black Star Promo UPC Full Art Charizard #262 | 2,200 | -11% |
| 2022 Pokémon Swsh Black Star Promo V Sword & Shield Full Art UPC Charizard #261 | 2,200 | -12% |
| 2022 Pokémon Swsh Black Star Promo Special Delivery Charizard-Holo PC UK #75 | 2,200 | +2% |
| 2022 Pokémon Swsh Black Star Promo V Sword & Shield Full Art UPC Charizard #260 | 2,200 | -10% |
| 2022 Pokémon Swsh Black Star Promo Charizard Champions Path Elite Trainer Box #50 | 2,000 | +47% |
| 2022 Topps Update Julio Rodriguez #US44 | 1,600 | -16% |
| 2020Pokémon Japanese S Promo Charizard Illustration Grand Prix #143 | 1,300 | +56% |
| 2020 Pokémon Go Radiant Charizard #11 | 1,100 | +5% |
| 2019 Pokémon SM Black Star Promo Charizard GX Hidden Fates Tins #SM211 | 1,100 | +81% |
Only the 2022 Topps Update Julio Rodriguez #US44 slipped into the list. And managed to knock out that one Metazoo card. So, the dominance of Pokémon cards is maintained. None of the other sports cards even came close to breaking in.
Final thoughts on sports card grading trends for February 2023
February was the month wherein TCG recaptured its glory days. It made considerable gains at PSA; its sets and singles increased the gap from sports releases. Another significant trend was the smaller grading companies grew while PSA didn’t.
The weakening PSA experienced was in the sports department. A testament to the BGS comeback we saw begin last month and SGC’s impressive growth in the ultra-modern department.
Perhaps the most critical long-term development is the hardening of PSAs gem criteria, at least for ultra-modern cards. Their gem numbers went down quite a bit in February. It appears they are cracking down on what looked like a severe gem inflation. This is probably an attempt to undercut the recognition that SGC gems are more scarce and there may eventually become more worthwhile than their PSA equivalents.