Trading Cards

01 · Identification clues

• Set name, year and card number, usually on the back.
• The manufacturer's logo and copyright line.
• Parallel or variant markers: different borders, foil, serial numbering.
• Rookie, insert or short-print designations.
• On graded cards, the label: company, grade and certification number.

02 · Information worth recording

• Player or character, year, set and card number.
• Whether key cards are raw or graded, and by whom.
• An approximate total and how the cards are stored.
• For sets, whether they're complete and which cards are missing.
• Visible issues: creases, soft corners, scratches, staining, signs of trimming.

03 · Useful photo views

1. Front, straight on.
2. Back, straight on.
3. A close-up of the corners.
4. The full graded label, with company, grade and certification number readable.
5. An overview of storage: binders, boxes or stacks.

04 · Paperwork to gather

Grading submission records or invoices, receipts for packs, boxes or cases, earlier auction listings or inventory lists, and letters connected to signed cards. Nothing needs to be created, and none of it is required to start.

05 · Careful handling

• Leave cards in their existing sleeves, top-loaders or holders.
• Handle by the edges with clean, dry hands.
• Don't flatten creases, clean surfaces or remove old tape.
• Never open a graded holder. If one is cracked, photograph it as it is.
• Store binders upright, away from heat, damp and direct sun.

06 · What photos can't show

• A grade. Grades come from grading companies, and they can differ.
• Whether a holder is unaltered. A certification lookup only confirms a record exists.
• Whether a card is a reprint or counterfeit. That takes physical examination.

07 · Common questions

Guides for this area: Photographing objects · Condition & provenance · Inherited collections