The PSE Standardized Philatelic Grading Scale enables a consensus expert opinion about single stamps and pairs to be expressed accurately and consistently using well-established philatelic terminology and an overall numeric grade. The following is a brief description of the overall guidelines.
Centering – First, PSE experts consider a stamp’s appearance, or centering, and indicate their opinion as follows: back to top
GEM Superb XF/S XF VF/XF VF F/VF F VG/F VG
– Perfectly-balanced jumbo margins Post Office fresh (POF) – Perfectly-balanced normal sized margins, POF – Not quite perfectly-centered, POF – Extremely well-centered margins, POF – Almost extremely well-centered, POF – Very well-centered, POF – Margins reasonably clear on all sides – Margins just clear on one or more sides – Perfs touch or cut stamp design slightly – Perfs cut into stamp design
Condition – Next, the stamp’s condition is considered, and the opinion indicated as follows: back to top
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– Original gum, hinged- Original gum, never hinged- Original gum, lightly hinged- Part original gum- No gum- Unused, no gum as issued (special printing)
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– Minor fault(tiny defect, e.g.; corner perf crease, thin spec, small toned spot, etc.)
Overall Numeric Grade – Finally, PSE’s experts consider the appearance and soundness of the stamp and assign an overall numeric grade. The scale ranges from 10 to 100, 100 representing a stamp in flawless Gem condition. Twenty-five points are deducted straightaway for minor defects and 50 points for significant defects. An “M” preceding the numeric grade indicates that the stamp is “unused”, a “U” indicates “used”.
The basis for the PSE Standardized Philatelic Grading Scale is a follows. back to top
GEM Superb XF/S XF VF/XF VF F/VF F VG/F VG
M or U “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “
100 98 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60
Examples of PSE Standardized Grading Scale back to top
