1977 Topps Star Wars #44 Han and Chewie shoot it out! — Raw

Centering estimate: left border appears narrower than right (roughly 60/40 L-R favoring right), top border slightly narrower than bottom (approximately 55/45 T-B) — centering is acceptable but not tight. Blue border chipping is the primary concern for this series and is difficult to assess cleanly due to the watermark obscuring the center; the border edges appear intact but show some expected wear/chipping typical of the blue series. Corners cannot be assessed with high confidence through the watermark, but the upper-left and lower-right appear to show mild rounding consistent with an EX range card. Surface gloss appears present but moderately reduced. The watermark and image resolution prevent confident corner and edge assessment, so the range is widened accordingly — this card could grade VG-EX (4) if corner rounding is more pronounced than visible, or EX-MT (6) if the card is cleaner than the photo suggests.

Centering estimate: left border appears narrower than right (~60/40 L/R), top border slightly wider than bottom (~55/45 T/B) — centering is off but not dramatically so. The blue borders show visible chipping/wear, particularly along the bottom and left edges, consistent with the known fragility of this series' blue borders. Corner assessment is hampered by glare and image resolution, but all four corners appear to show moderate rounding — consistent with a VG-EX (4) to EX (5) card rather than anything sharper. Surface gloss appears partially intact with some dulling visible, no obvious creases detected but the scan resolution prevents a confident ruling. The card falls comfortably in the VG-EX range; a grade of 5 is possible if corners are cleaner than they appear, but the border chipping likely keeps a ceiling around 5 at best.

Centering estimate: left border notably wider than right (~65/35 L/R), top and bottom appear roughly even (~55/45 T/B), so horizontal centering is a meaningful concern. The blue border shows visible chipping/wear along the left and bottom edges, consistent with typical 1977 Star Wars blue-border handling wear. Corners appear rounded rather than sharp — upper-left and lower-left corners show the most wear, consistent with a VG-EX (4) to EX (5) card; no razor points visible. Surface appears to have moderate gloss loss and the scan/photo compression makes it difficult to confirm whether any light creases are present, but no obvious heavy crease lines are visible. The watermark obscures center detail; a confident assessment of surface and corner fine detail is not possible from this single scan, warranting a widened range.

Centering estimate: left border appears slightly wider than right (~55–60% left), top border slightly wider than bottom (~55–60% top) — roughly 60/40 L/R and 60/40 T/B, which is acceptable for the grade range. Blue borders show no obvious chipping visible at this resolution, which is a positive sign for this issue. Corners appear to have light rounding — upper-left and lower-right look slightly softened, consistent with EX-MT to NM range; no corner is sharp enough to suggest Mint. Surface gloss appears reasonable with no obvious creasing or staining visible, though the photo angle and slight sleeve glare prevent confident assessment of print wear or fine scratches. The photo is decent but lacks corner close-ups and back visibility, warranting a widened range of 5–7 with EX-MT (6) as the most likely grade.

Centering estimate: left border appears slightly wider than right (~55/45 L/R), top border notably wider than bottom (~65/35 T/B) — acceptable horizontally but noticeably off-center vertically. Blue border shows visible chipping and wear along all four edges, consistent with the well-known fragility of 1977 Topps Star Wars blue borders. Corners appear rounded at all four points with the most wear visible at the bottom-left and bottom-right; no sharp corners remain, suggesting at minimum VG-EX territory but possibly only VG. Surface gloss appears partially intact with some dulling, and no obvious crease is visible in this photo, though the seller's title suffix '[C]' may indicate a crease on the back or a subtle surface crease not fully captured here — if a crease is confirmed, the grade would drop to 3. Print snow/speckling is visible in the border area but is typical for the issue and not penalized heavily.

Centering estimate: left blue border appears slightly wider than right (~55–60% left), top border slightly wider than bottom (~55–60% top) — roughly 60/40 L/R and 58/42 T/B, within NM-MT range on its own. Blue border chipping is the critical issue for this series: the right and bottom edges show what appears to be minor blue border wear/chipping under compression, consistent with a PSA 7 NM card. Corners cannot be assessed with high confidence at this resolution — they appear reasonably sharp but the image softness prevents ruling out light rounding on one or two corners. Surface gloss looks decent with no obvious creases or staining visible. The seller's NM-MT claim is plausible but this card photographs as more likely a solid NM (7) given typical blue border fragility on the 1977 Topps Star Wars series; true NM-MT (8) is possible if corners hold up under close inspection.

Centering estimate: left border appears narrower than right by a noticeable margin, approximating roughly 65-70% right / 30-35% left horizontally; top and bottom borders look closer to 55/45, so horizontal centering is the primary concern. Blue border chipping is the classic Star Wars tell — the left and bottom borders show visible blue wear/chipping under inspection, consistent with a mid-grade raw copy. Corners appear to have light-to-moderate rounding, particularly the bottom-left and bottom-right corners visible in the image; no razor sharpness is evident, placing corners in the EX to VG-EX range. Surface gloss appears partially intact with some dulling, no obvious creases detected from this angle, but the back cannot be assessed. Overall impression is a well-loved but presentable copy in the EX to EX-MT range; blue border chipping and corner wear are the primary grade suppressors.

Centering estimate: left border appears slightly wider than right (~55–60% left), and top border appears noticeably wider than bottom (~60–65% top), suggesting centering in the 65/35 to 70/30 range — acceptable for mid-grade but not strong. The blue borders on this series chip easily and show some wear consistent with a 5–6 grade range; under the plastic it is difficult to confirm whether the blue border edges are clean or show chipping/whitening. Corners cannot be assessed with precision through the sleeve and holder — no obvious severe rounding or creasing is visible, but subtle corner wear cannot be ruled out. Surface appears to retain moderate gloss with no obvious creases or staining visible, but the sleeve glare prevents confident assessment of print defects or surface scratches. Range widened significantly due to obstructions hiding corner and edge detail critical to tighter grading.

Centering estimate: left border appears slightly wider than right (~55/45 L/R), top border modestly wider than bottom (~60/40 T/B) — acceptable for the series. The blue borders show the characteristic chipping/wear of this issue most visibly at the bottom-left and bottom-right corners, which appear lightly worn with minor rounding rather than sharp; top corners look crisper but cannot be confirmed razor-sharp. Surface gloss appears reasonably intact with no obvious creases or staining visible, and print quality looks clean with no notable snow or bleed. The main grade-limiter is the corner wear on the bottom two corners, suggesting NM range (7) is most likely, with NM-MT (8) possible if corner wear is shallower than it appears and EX-MT (6) as the floor if the blue border chipping is more significant in hand.