A vintage card in a PSA slab marked "Authentic" can look like a mid-grade copy at a low-grade price. Before you treat it that way, get the PSA Authentic meaning straight: the label says the grader believes the card is genuine. It does not say the card is original. That gap is where buyers overpay, and it is the reason every Authentic slab deserves a closer look than its eye appeal suggests.
This guide covers what the PSA, SGC and Beckett labels disclose, what they leave out, the kinds of alteration an Authentic slab can hide, and a checklist of questions to ask before you buy.
What does PSA Authentic mean?
It means PSA judged the card genuine but did not give it a numeric grade. According to PSA's definition as quoted by All Vintage Cards, "Authentic Only" means genuine but ungraded, which "may be due to the existence of an alteration...a major defect" or the submitter's request.
So a plain "Authentic" label can cover three different cards: an altered card, an unaltered card with a problem serious enough to keep it from a number, or a card the submitter simply asked PSA not to grade. The label does not say which one you are holding.
What is the difference between Authentic and Authentic Altered?
"Authentic Altered" is the narrower label. PSA's definition, again via All Vintage Cards, says it means evidence of "one or more of the following: trimming, recoloring, restoration, and/or cleaning." That rules out the innocent explanations but still does not tell you which of the four PSA found.
Matt Felumlee of Cardhound Vintage put the distinction bluntly: "Authentic might be altered and Authentic Altered is definitely altered." In practice, his later advice to buyers is to lean toward the worse reading of the first one too (more on that below).
How do SGC and Beckett label altered cards?
SGC. According to Cardhound Vintage, SGC labels used to show only "A." They now state a reason: "Altered," "Color Added," "Evidence of Trimming" or "Miscut." That is more disclosure than a current PSA label gives, with one limit: "Altered" on its own still does not say which alteration was found.
The "Miscut" reason matters. Cardhound Vintage notes that an SGC miscut can receive Authentic only, not a number. That means some SGC A slabs hold factory miscuts rather than hand-altered cards, and the label tells you which.
Beckett. All Vintage Cards reports that Beckett "will provide written explanation as to why they graded the card as 'Authentic Altered.'" A 2014 Card Monopoly blog post shows one example: a Joe Montana card marked Authentic Altered because the grader believed the top and left edges had been shaved. The catch is that the note goes to the submitter. Unless it travels with the card, a later buyer never sees it.
Why does an Authentic slab exist at all?
Because someone chose to have it slabbed. PSA's FAQ says: "PSA will not grade items that bear evidence of trimming (N1), restoration (N2), recoloration (N3), questionable authenticity (N4), altered stock (N5) or cleaning (N7)." PSA also won't grade cards under minimum size (N6), factory miscuts (N8) or items it doesn't grade or can't fit in its holders (N9).
A rejected item, per the same FAQ, is "returned not encapsulated, however the full grading price is still charged, as the determination to reject a card requires review by PSA's authenticators and graders."
The default outcome for an altered card at PSA, then, is a raw card back in the mail and a bill. An A or AA slab usually exists because the submitter opted in. At PSA, Cardhound Vintage says the submitter "must enter A as the minimum acceptable grade in the notes area." At SGC, the submitter chooses "Encapsulate if Altered."
Cardhound Vintage's working rule for buyers: "'Authentic' is almost always synonymous with 'Altered,'" and with older slabs it is "far more likely, the card is altered in some way." Unless the label says miscut, assume alteration and price accordingly.
What the label won't tell you
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Modern PSA labels give no reason. All Vintage Cards reports that before 2010, PSA labels named the reason, for example "Authentic - Trimmed." Current labels read only "Authentic" or "Authentic Altered."
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SGC "Altered" is a category, not a diagnosis. "Color Added" and "Evidence of Trimming" are specific. "Altered" is not.
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Beckett's explanation is private by default. If the seller is not the original submitter, the note may be gone.
The label tells you a grader found a problem. Working out which problem is your job.
What alterations can an Authentic slab cover?
The New York Times News Service, in 2019 coverage carried by The Bulletin, summed up card doctoring as "trimming the rough edges on cards, removing stains and altering colors, all to attain slightly higher grades." The common categories:
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Trimming. Edges cut down to sharpen corners or remove wear. This is PSA's N1 category.
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Recoloring. Ink or color added to hide a flaw. Cardhound Vintage's example is inking the borders of 1971 Topps cards, which can be enough for an altered designation.
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Restoration, altered stock and cleaning. PSA's N2, N5 and N7 categories. Cardhound Vintage also notes that pressure from old screw-down holders can crush card stock enough to earn an A or Altered result, so not every altered card was altered on purpose.
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Rebacking. The Card Conservation Wiki defines it as "the process of separating a card's layers and replacing the back with another card's back," typically "to replace a damaged back while preserving a desirable front, or vice versa." No current PSA label will name it.
Damage on its own is not alteration. Cardhound Vintage says a card that is "intact, complete, and original" can usually still get a number despite stains, creases or rounded corners. That is why an honest beat-up card often carries a 1 or 2 while a cleaner-looking card sits in an A slab.
Checking for trimming yourself
The slab limits what you can do, but images and in-hand inspection still help. Chris Rogers of All Vintage Cards says trimmed edges feel "slick," look whiter than aged borders, and can show "downward" or "bat-ear" cuts. He suggests a 10x loupe and bright light. Cardlines also recommends a 10x triplet loupe and looking at edge texture. Both warn that measuring alone is unreliable, because pre-war issues such as T206 vary in size.
Is a numeric grade a guarantee the card is unaltered?
No. In 2019, users on the Blowout Cards forum documented cards that, as Pre-War Cards summarized it, "appear to be have been altered," mainly by trimming, with suspected recoloring and crease removal. Those cards had received numeric PSA grades, "with some modern cards even being graded as perfect 10s." Many were reportedly sold through PWCC and consigned by one collector, who denied the allegations.
The point for a buyer is not the scandal. It is that a number on a label is a grader's opinion, and that opinion can be wrong. Inspect any vintage slab as if the label might be mistaken, and inspect an Authentic slab as if you already know it is hiding something.
The buyer's checklist: questions to ask before you pay
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Which grader, and what era of label? A pre-2010 PSA label may name the reason. A current one will not. An older Authentic slab is, per Cardhound Vintage, more likely to be altered.
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Does the label give a reason? At SGC, "Miscut" and "Altered" are very different cards. At PSA, "Authentic" and "Authentic Altered" carry different levels of certainty.
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Is there a Beckett note or an older label? Ask the seller directly. If they were the submitter, they may have the written explanation.
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Was it ever in a numeric holder? A card that once carried a number and now sits in an A slab, or the reverse, tells you something about how graders have viewed it.
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Can I see clear, well-lit images of all four edges and the back? Look for slick, unnaturally white or uneven edges, border ink and anything odd on the reverse.
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What did the seller pay attention to? If the seller cannot say what was altered or why the card was slabbed as A, assume the worst plausible answer.
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Does the price reflect altered comps? Compare against sold A and AA copies of the same card, not against PSA 1s and 2s.
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Who will buy it from me, and at what discount? Decide your exit before you enter.
How should you price an Authentic or Altered slab?
Price it as an altered card, not as a near-grade copy. Two forces pull against each other:
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Eye appeal. Cardhound Vintage observes that "nice-looking A grades often outsell beat-up 1 grades." For a collector who wants a presentable copy of a key card, that is real.
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Originality. All Vintage Cards counters that "altered cards just are not very sought after by collectors," so price depends on demand and on how visible the alteration is.
The practical result is a narrower pool of buyers. Your comps should be sold A and AA copies of the same card, ideally with similar visible appeal. If you cannot find enough of those, treat that thinness as a liquidity warning, not as an opening to set your own price.
Should you crack an Authentic slab and resubmit?
Go in with the costs in front of you. PSA's FAQ says altered cards (N1 to N5 and N7) are returned unslabbed with the full grading fee still charged, so a resubmission that ends in rejection costs the fee and leaves you holding a raw altered card. If you are weighing it anyway, PureGrail's card grading break-even tool compares incremental net proceeds using the costs you enter. It does not predict grades, current prices or returns.
When to buy and when to walk away
An A or AA slab can be a reasonable buy when it is a display copy of a key card you would otherwise never own, priced against altered comps, with the alteration either stated on the label or visible enough that you know what you are getting.
Walk away when the price is close to a low numeric grade, when nobody can say what was altered, when the seller won't provide clear edge and back images, or when you have no realistic idea who would buy it from you later. An Authentic slab is a bet on eye appeal. Pay for eye appeal, and nothing more.
Related reading
Sources
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Cardhound Vintage: Understanding "A" Grades from SGC and PSA (May 12, 2024)
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Cardhound Vintage: 5 Misunderstood Aspects of Grading with PSA and SGC (June 6, 2024)
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Cardhound Vintage: Quiz Time! Authentic / Altered Grades at PSA and SGC (Aug 3, 2024)
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All Vintage Cards: What Does 'Authentic' Mean in Card Grading? (updated April 25, 2025)
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All Vintage Cards: How to Spot a Trimmed Card (updated April 25, 2025)
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Card Monopoly's Musings: Beckett Grading Services Authentic vs. Altered (July 26, 2014)
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Pre-War Cards: New to the Altered Card Scandal Being Uncovered at Blowout? (June 3, 2019)
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The Bulletin (New York Times News Service): Baseball Card Collectors Cry Fraud (June 16, 2019)
Note: This article contains AI-assisted content and has been reviewed in our editorial workflow.
DISCLAIMER: PureGrail articles are for informational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing on this site constitutes financial, investment, or legal advice. Collectibles are speculative assets and values can decrease significantly. Always conduct your own research before buying or selling. Past price performance does not indicate future results.
