Card Grading Hit 3.87 Million in October 2026, With PSA and CGC at Record Highs

PSA, CGC, SGC and TAG graded 3.87 million cards in October 2026, according to GemRate's October recap published November 1, with Beckett left out of the count. PSA graded 2.79 million and CGC 966,000, both record highs in GemRate's data. Trading card games did most of the lifting: by our addition of GemRate's category figures, TCG and non-sport cards made up about 2.72 million of the total, roughly 70%.

The October Numbers

Per GemRate:

• PSA: 2.79 million cards, up 13% from September and 41% from October 2025, a record in GemRate's data
• CGC: 966,000 cards, flat on September and up 82% year over year, a record, including about 70,000 semi-rigid AUTH cards CGC added to its population report
• SGC: 55,000 cards, up 20% from September
• TAG: 53,000 cards, up 5% from September

GemRate also lists two smaller graders outside that 3.87 million total: AGS at 84,000 cards (up 33% from September) and PCG at 38,000 (up 12%).

GemRate left Beckett out of its September and October counts and says Beckett returns in the November report. October had 21 business days, the same as September.

GemRate's October post puts the month-over-month gain at 20%. Its September recap reported 3.52 million cards, which makes October about 10% higher by our arithmetic, and GemRate's own per-grader changes (PSA up 13%, CGC flat) point to the same 10%. CardGrade reported the same 3.52 million September total on October 1.

CGC's record also leans on those AUTH additions: without the roughly 70,000 AUTH cards in October and roughly 60,000 in September, CGC graded about 896,000 cards against about 902,000, slightly down, by our arithmetic.

Trading Cards vs Sports Cards

GemRate's category graphics split each grader's October total:

• PSA: 1.88 million TCG and non-sport cards (up 4% from September), 912,000 sports cards (up 37%)
• CGC: 782,000 TCG and non-sport (down 1%), 184,000 sports (up 9%, and up 159% from a year earlier)
• SGC: 51,000 sports, 3,000 TCG
• TAG: 50,000 TCG, 3,000 sports

Added together, that is about 2.72 million TCG and non-sport cards and about 1.15 million sports and misc cards, by our arithmetic. PSA's sports volume jumped the most: about 246,000 more sports cards than in September, roughly three quarters of PSA's monthly gain, while its TCG volume added about 72,000.

What It Means for Collectors

Two companies grade almost everything in GemRate's four-grader count: PSA and CGC together handled about 3.76 million of the 3.87 million cards, roughly 97%, by our arithmetic. Our take: if you collect Pokémon, One Piece or other TCG singles, most graded sales you compare against will carry a PSA or CGC label, so it pays to know how the two differ. Our CGC vs PSA guide compares them, our PSA grading backlog story covers turnaround, and our October card sales story covers the money side of the same month.

Where to Go From Here

GemRate's November report, so expect a bigger jump next month partly because Beckett is back in the count. If you would rather open real cards than wait on a grading queue, the Polkastarter marketplace gives you a free mystery pack at signup, and every Lootbox lists its contents, values, and chances before you open.

Details checked November 7, 2026. Grading counts are as published by GemRate from population reports on the dates given and can be revised. Nothing here is financial advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with GemRate, PSA, CGC, SGC, TAG, Beckett or the other companies named.

Sources

• GemRate: October 2026 Grading Recap, published November 1, 2026, accessed November 7, 2026
• GemRate: September 2026 Grading Recap, published October 1, 2026, accessed November 7, 2026
• CardGrade: September grading volume rises 9% as CGC sets a record, published October 1, 2026, accessed November 7, 2026