While most collectors probably think of price guides when they hear the name, searching for Beckett graded cards for sale has become as big of a sports collecting staple since the company began its authentication work in 1999.
Beckett Grading Services is really a larger name for a couple of different divisions within the Dallas-based company founded by Dr. James Beckett in the 1980s.
“BGS” is the label you’ll see attached to cards issued from 1982-present while Beckett Vintage Grading (BVG) started in 2001 and is associated with cards produced prior to Topps losing what was essentially a sports card monopoly after 1980. There’s also a Beckett Collectors Club Grading (BCCG) which is a lower cost, high-volume service with a simple grading scale.
With a strong brand name, Beckett card grading earned respect from collectors and dealers early on. Cards are graded on a 10-point scale but half points are utilized when a card falls somewhere in between two grades. While PSA’s “Gem Mint” grade is 10, Beckett’s Gem Mint is 9.5. Beckett also has a “Pristine” grade of 10 for cards that are at the very top of what its graders believe is a “best of the best” appeal.
Beckett’s labels are color coded: Gold is reserved for the highest grades of 9.5 or 10 followed by silver and white for lower grades. Several years ago, the company also introduced a “black label” utilized for BGS 10 cards worthy of four ‘10’ subgrades. You may well see two colored labels, though. Autographed cards that contain grades for the card and the signature may have silver for one grade and gold for the other.
While the company offers a strait, single grade option, collectors and dealers have long been able to see individual subgrades for a card’s centering, edges, corners and surface printed on the label. A card with three strong subgrades is often considered to be of a higher value.
While Beckett Vintage cards are commonly seen in the marketplace, the company has traditionally been seen as more popular for collectors of modern era cards, especially those graded from the mid-1990s and later. The company has graded millions of cards since its inception and does have its share of loyalists who prefer its holders and grading process over those of competitors such as PSA, SGC and CSG, but ultimately it’s a matter of collector preference.
You can see an up to the minute list of the ‘most watched’ Beckett graded cards for sale through eBay auctions via the list below, which shows the number of users keeping an eye on that particular card at any given time. To see all BGS cards for sale and auction, click here. To see all BVG (vintage) graded cards, click here.
