Card Condition Inspection: Corners, Edges, and Surface

This guide documents the evidence sequence used by the site's Pre-Screen workflow. It combines the useful parts of the former gem-mint-risk, corner-and-edge, and surface pages so each observation is made in context rather than scattered across overlapping checklists.

The method is intentionally conservative: not visible, not photographed, and not assessed are not synonyms for clean. A photo can support an observation only where it contains enough usable evidence.

1. Establish photo confidence first

Use separate front and back photos with all four card edges visible. Start square to the card for geometry and broad condition. Add angled-light photos for surface. Remove a scratched outer holder when safe and appropriate; otherwise record that the holder limits the observation.

• Retake a photo when focus misses the card plane or compression obscures edge texture.
• Move the light when glare covers an area; do not grade the glare.
• Use a contrasting, plain background so its edge cannot be confused with the card.
• Do not infer the condition of the reverse from the front.

2. Inspect all eight corner faces and four edges per side

Check each front corner, then each back corner in a consistent order. Zoom is useful for locating evidence, but oversharpening can create halos that resemble whitening. Compare the same location at normal scale before recording a finding.

When a bright edge mark moves with the light or disappears in a second photo, classify it as unresolved glare rather than confirmed wear. When a corner is cropped out, mark that corner not assessed.

3. Inspect surface with moving light

A straight-on image is useful for color and framing but weak for micro-surface evidence. Move a broad light reflection across the front and back. Repeat from top, bottom, left, and right so shallow texture can interrupt the reflection.

• Scratches and scuffs often brighten or darken as the angle changes while remaining fixed to one card location.
• Dents and impressions may appear as a ripple or small shadow rather than a white mark.
• Print or roller lines may cross a consistent path through foil or artwork; record what is visible without assuming how a grader will classify it.
• Dust, residue, sleeve scratches, and glare should be tested with another angle or safe removal of the outer obstruction.

Do not use liquids, erasers, solvents, or rubbing as an inspection step. If loose dust blocks the view, use a conservative method appropriate for the card and stop if removal could change the card.

4. Preserve location, severity, and uncertainty

A useful note identifies the side and location, describes only the visible finding, and separates confidence from severity. “Back, top-left corner: small white point visible in two photos” is stronger evidence than “bad corner.” “Front surface: glare covers lower third; not assessed” is more honest than “no scratches.”

Pre-Screen carries these observations forward as structured evidence. Card Review can use the photos and notes for an AI-assisted second pass, but it cannot convert missing evidence into certainty.

5. Decide the next evidence action

What this method does not establish

It does not authenticate a card, detect defects outside the evidence, identify alteration, predict a grade, or prove how a grading company will weigh a finding. “Gem mint” is not a site-created condition diagnosis; it is a grading outcome that depends on a company's full, current standard and in-hand judgment.