Ranked two ways
Screening spread is the money figure - cash left after costs. Premium ratio shows how many times the raw price a gem copy fetches. They rank differently.
The widest premium on the board
Magikarp
The Paldea Evolved Magikarp Illustration Rare carries the widest gap between its raw price and ACE 10 value of any card in this screen, making it the standout candidate for collectors weighing whether to submit. The artwork is a dense, inky composition teeming with tropical foliage, cascading water and bursts of colour that reward close inspection under a loupe, exactly the kind of intricate surface detail that benefits most from a clean, high-grade slab presentation. That combination of a large premium at ACE 10 and a visually complex print surface is what puts it at the top of this watch list.
All eight, card by card
Each screened card in its own dossier: raw and graded prices, the premium multiple, the estimated spread, why it's here and what could go wrong.
The whole screen in one table
Every candidate, one row each - built to be screenshotted. Sorted by screening spread.
What could go wrong
Grading is a bet on condition. The risks below apply to every card here - plus the sharper downside on the cards where a ACE 9 leaves little over raw.
- Condition cannot be judged from a catalogue image.
- Most raw cards will not grade 10.
- Grading fees, timelines and premiums all move.
- ACE 10 comps reflect recent last-sold prices; future realisations may differ.
What just missed the cut
Runner-ups from the pool that cleared the ratio bar but landed below the eight widest spreads.
Grading, premiums & how we screen
Everything worth knowing about grading with ACE - the UK grader - and how this screen is put together.
01Does ACE use half grades like 9.5?⌄
No. ACE grades in whole numbers from 1 to 10 — 10 Gem Mint, 9 Mint, 8 NM-MT, 7 Near Mint and so on down to 1 Poor. If you are used to a 9.5 sitting between Mint and Gem Mint, there isn’t one here: a card is a 9 or it is a 10.
02What does an ACE 10 actually mean?⌄
Gem Mint. Cards are authenticated and checked for alteration, given a centering score measured to 1/1000th of a millimetre, and then assessed on corners, edges, surfaces by the grading team. Every card is seen by at least 2 graders, one of them a Senior Grader.
03Do I get subgrades, and do they cost extra?⌄
You get subgrades for corners, edges, surfaces plus the centering score with the grade itself. What costs extra is the fuller Grading Report — a Points of Interest map marking the specific areas graders flagged and Additional Observations, which affect the overall grade but not the subgrades — which is bought separately per card. Worth knowing how they interact: no card grades more than one point above its lowest subgrade - a 5 on edges caps the card at an ace 6.
04What does it cost and how long does it take?⌄
Basic is £18 per card with a 30-business-day estimate. The fastest route, Luxury, is £120 per card in 2 business days. Core and Value are cheaper again but are AceSelect member-only tiers. Your invoice is generated once grading is complete and the submission is ready to return - you do not pay up front.
05What are the label options?⌄
Standard (free); Colour Match (£1 per card); Ace Label (£3 per card). The Standard label carries a gold highlight on a Gem Mint 10, Colour Match picks up the two most prominent colours of the card, and an Ace Label is hand-drawn artwork matched to that specific card.
06Can I submit from outside the UK?⌄
Yes — ACE accepts submissions from 58 countries, and inbound shipping via DHL Express drop-off is free with no customs paperwork. Return shipping is a fixed regional cost and the minimum is 20 cards (30 for Australia and New Zealand).
07What do the qualifiers mean?⌄
MC is miscut; OC is off-centre; A is altered; C is corrected; QA is qualified authentic. A qualifier describes a specific defect rather than a lower grade.
08Where do the cards actually go?⌄
Unit 5, Canada Close, Banbury, OX16 2RT. Ace Grading® Ltd is registered in England and Wales, company number 13365699.
What the spread actually buys you
An ACE submission is not one price, it is seven. On a card with a wide spread the extra fee for a faster tier is trivial next to the uplift.
| Service level | Per card | Turnaround | Uplift needed | Cards here that clear it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core · AceSelect | £12.00 | 75 days | £13.78 | 8 of 8 |
| Value · AceSelect | £15.00 | 60 days | £17.22 | 8 of 8 |
| Basic | £18.00 | 30 days | £20.67 | 8 of 8 |
| Standard | £25.00 | 15 days | £28.70 | 8 of 8 |
| Premier | £32.00 | 10 days | £36.74 | 8 of 8 |
| Ultra | £60.00 | 5 days | £68.89 | 8 of 8 |
| Luxury | £120.00 | 2 days | £137.77 | 8 of 8 |
Break-even is the grading fee grossed up for 12.9% selling fees. Postage sits outside it because ACE charges it per parcel, not per card.
How ACE grades
Whole numbers only. With no half grade to cushion a near miss, the distance between a 9 and a 10 is the whole premium.
Cards are authenticated and checked for alteration, then given a centering score measured to 1/1000th of a millimetre, reported as left, right, top and bottom percentages on the front and the back. Graders then assess corners, edges, surfaces. Every card is seen by at least 2 graders, one of them a Senior Grader.
Subgrades come with the grade. The fuller Grading Report — a Points of Interest map marking the specific areas graders flagged and Additional Observations, which affect the overall grade but not the subgrades — is bought separately per card. No card grades more than one point above its lowest subgrade - a 5 on edges caps the card at an ACE 6.
Qualifiers describe a specific defect rather than a lower grade: MC (miscut), OC (off-centre), A (altered), C (corrected), QA (qualified authentic).
Getting cards to ACE
What it looks like in practice - the labels, the packing, and what it costs to send cards in from outside the UK.
| Label | Price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | free | Classic look, with a gold highlight for Gem Mint 10s |
| Colour Match | £1.00 | Printed in the two most prominent colours of the card |
| Ace Label | £3.00 | Hand-drawn artwork matched to the specific card |
XY Black Star Promos · XY192
XY Black Star Promos · XY186
XY Black Star Promos · XY187
XY Black Star Promos · XY185
XY Black Star Promos · XY188
Each Ace Label above sits over the card it was drawn for — same set, same number. The artwork is ACE's own, from their label gallery. Colour Match instead prints the two most prominent colours found on the card itself.
- Sleeve each card, then put it in a semi-rigid holder, so nobody handles the card again before it is graded.
- Submit online, choose a service level, then enter the cards in the order you will pack them.
- Pack in submission order with the printed slip enclosed, and write the submission number on the outside of the parcel.
Submissions go to Unit 5, Canada Close, Banbury, OX16 2RT. Your invoice is generated once grading is complete and the submission is ready to return - you do not pay up front.
ACE accepts submissions from 58 countries. Inbound shipping is free through DHL Express drop-off points with no customs paperwork; return shipping is a fixed regional cost.
| Region | Minimum cards | Return shipping |
|---|---|---|
| Europe Zone 1 | 20 | €35 |
| Europe Zone 2 | 20 | €57.50 |
| USA | 20 | €35 |
| Canada | 20 | €45 |
| Japan | 20 | €57.50 |
| Australia | 30 | €57.50 |
| New Zealand | 30 | €57.50 |
| Crown Dependencies | 20 | €9.13 |
Last updated 20 Sep 2026
