1977 Topps Star Wars #196 Lord Darth Vader — Raw

Centering estimate: left border appears noticeably wider than right (roughly 65/35 L-R), top and bottom borders look relatively even at approximately 55/45 T-B — centering is off horizontally but not catastrophically. Corners: all four corners appear to show light to moderate rounding/wear, with the bottom-left corner looking the softest of the four; no corner is sharp enough for an 8+ grade. Surface: the yellow border shows no obvious chipping or major scratches visible through the sleeve, and the image area appears to retain decent gloss; no creases or staining are apparent. Sleeve glare slightly obscures the top portion of the card, preventing definitive assessment of the top-left corner and full edge condition — back is not visible, so hidden flaws (creases, writing) cannot be ruled out.

Centering: left/right borders appear approximately 55/45 and top/bottom roughly 60/40 — acceptable for this series. However, the surface shows severe cracking and heavy scratching across the entire image area consistent with multiple creases and surface breaks; the seller's self-disclosure of 'creases' is clearly supported by the visible craze pattern running diagonally across the card face. Corners appear rounded at all four, consistent with heavy handling. Yellow border shows chipping/wear at edges. The combination of multiple visible creases, pervasive surface cracking, and rounded corners places this firmly in the GOOD (2) to VG (3) range; the severity of the surface craze pattern leans toward the lower end. Cannot see the back, so hidden staining or writing could push this to a 1.

Centering estimate: left border appears slightly wider than right (roughly 55/45 L/R), top border slightly wider than bottom (approximately 60/40 T/B) — centering is acceptable for NM-MT range and not a grade-killer. Corners: all four corners appear intact with minimal rounding visible at this resolution; no obvious blunting but fine corner tips cannot be confirmed without a closeup. Surface and edges: the yellow border shows no obvious chipping or major edge wear, gloss appears reasonably intact with no visible scratches or creases on the image area; print quality looks clean with no notable snow or print defects. Limitations: the single medium-distance photo does not allow close corner or edge inspection — the range is widened accordingly, and a confirmed grade anywhere from EX to NM is plausible pending back inspection and corner examination.

Centering estimate: left border appears narrower than right (~60% right-heavy), top border slightly wider than bottom — approximate L/R ratio 65/35, T/B ratio 55/45; centering is off but not catastrophically so. The yellow border shows visible chipping/wear along the left and bottom edges, consistent with typical Series 5 handling wear. Corners: the top-right and bottom-right corners appear rounded under inspection, and the top-left shows softening — no sharp points visible, suggesting a VG-EX range at best. Surface: there appear to be light scratches or scuffs across the card face (visible on the image of Vader's helmet), and gloss is partially lost; no obvious hard crease is confirmed from this photo but surface wear is clear. Overall condition evidence points to a PSA 4 (VG-EX) most likely, with PSA 3 possible if corner rounding and surface wear are worse than the photo reveals, and PSA 5 the ceiling if the photo is flattering the card.

Centering estimate: left border appears noticeably wider than right (approx 65-70% left / 30-35% right), top border slightly wider than bottom (approx 55/45 T/B) — centering is off but not catastrophically so. The yellow border shows visible chipping and wear along multiple edges, consistent with Series 5 yellow borders which are known to chip easily. All four corners appear rounded/soft — at least two corners show clear blunting visible even at this resolution, which pushes the card into the VG range. Surface shows light scratches/scuffs across the image area (visible on the dark photo area of Vader), and there appears to be some general gloss loss. No obvious hard crease is visible, but the surface wear and rounded corners strongly suggest a PSA 3 (VG) is the most likely outcome; a 4 (VG-EX) is possible if corners are less rounded than they appear under camera distortion, while a 2 is possible if the surface scuffs are deeper than the photo reveals.

Centering estimate: left border appears noticeably wider than right (roughly 65-70% left / 30-35% right), and top border slightly wider than bottom (roughly 55/45 T/B) — off-center left-to-right but not severely miscut. Corners show visible rounding on at least the bottom-left and bottom-right corners visible in frame, consistent with handling wear in the VG-EX to EX range. The yellow border shows some chipping or wear along the edges, particularly the bottom, which is typical for this series but still grade-relevant. Surface gloss appears partially present but with some loss; no obvious creases are visible in this photo, though the image resolution and sleeve glare limit a definitive call on the surface — a crease cannot be ruled out.

Centering estimate: left border appears slightly narrower than right (~55/45 L/R), top border noticeably narrower than bottom (~60/40 T/B) — centering is within NM-MT range and not a significant grade deduction. Corners: all four corners appear reasonably sharp from this distance but show slight softening/blunting consistent with light handling wear, no obvious rounding; this is consistent with EX-MT to NM range. Surface: the yellow border shows no obvious chipping or heavy wear, gloss appears present but moderate; the photo does not reveal fine scratches or print defects definitively. Edges: appear clean with no obvious nicks visible; cannot assess the back or get close-up corner detail, so the range is widened — a closer look at corners and back condition could move this meaningfully in either direction.