CGC 9.8 means a comic graded Near Mint/Mint 9.8 on a 10-point scale by Certified Guaranty Company, the industry's dominant third-party grader — a book with, per CGC's published standards, only minor imperfections visible on close inspection: a nearly perfect cover, tight staples, sharp corners with the smallest allowed wear. The grade arrives sealed in a "slab" — the tamper-evident plastic holder with the label that made graded comics a tradeable commodity class. Why it matters in one number: the difference between a 9.8 and a 9.6 on a key modern book can be hundreds of dollars, per regularly documented auction results.
This is an explainer on how grading works from the graders' published standards and market data — and to be clear up front, this site doesn't appraise collections or predict values.
Who grades comics, and why does third-party grading exist?
CGC, founded in 2000, pioneered independent comic certification: your book goes to the company, graders inspect it, and it returns encapsulated with an assigned grade on the label. Competitors followed — CBCS is the other major service, per both companies' published materials. The reason third-party grading exists is trust. "Near mint" meant one thing at one shop and another at the next, and mail-order buying was a coin flip. A slab converts a seller's opinion into a company's warranty, with a certification number you can look up in CGC's public registry. The market noticed: graded keys now anchor the high end of the hobby, and record sales have run through the system — a copy of Action Comics #1 sold for about $6 million at auction in 2024, as the auction house and press coverage documented, and top-priced copies at that level are graded, slabbed, and registry-tracked.
How does the 10-point scale actually work?
The scale runs from 0.5 (Poor) to 10 (Pristine), with names at each band and strict criteria published in CGC's standards guide. The bands collectors actually live in:
| Grade | Label name | What it means, per CGC standards |
|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | NM/MT | Nearly perfect; tiny imperfections on close inspection |
| 9.4 | NM | Near mint; small allowances — the "collector standard" grade |
| 6.5–7.5 | F/VF range | Presentable reader copies with visible wear |
| 4.0 and below | Good and under | Substantial wear, defects, or incomplete pieces |
Graders evaluate cover, pages, spine, staples, and corners against these bands, using agreed reference points rather than vibes — though the hobby's running argument about grader subjectivity is documented in every era of the practice, and honestly, 9.6-versus-9.8 calls remain the most debated border on the scale.
What else is on the label besides the grade?
Three things that matter as much as the number. Page quality (a separate assessment, typically cream to off-white to white on older books). Restoration detection — the label states detected restoration, trimming, or color touch, and a restored book trades at a steep discount to unrestored at the same technical grade, a fact the market enforces consistently. And the certification number, verifiable in CGC's online registry, which records the book, grade, and label notes — the slab's real function is that audit trail, not just the plastic.
Should you submit your own comics for grading?
Run the arithmetic before the envelope. Grading costs per book — CGC's published fee schedule tiers by declared value and turnaround speed — plus shipping both ways and membership where applicable, against what the graded copy would realistically fetch versus the raw one. The documented rule of thumb: modern books reading NM or better with real demand can justify fees; reader-grade books almost never do. And a submission can hurt: a book you believed was 9.6 that grades 8.5 with a restoration note now carries that finding permanently in the registry. If you're considering it:
- Check recent graded sales for your exact issue and census count in the grader's public registry.
- Compare fees plus shipping to the graded-versus-raw price gap.
- Press conservatively — no cleaning, no repairs — and pack to standard.
- Decide before submitting whether a lower-than-hoped grade is a risk you accept.
Is a slab right for every collector?
No — and the honest version of this hobby says so plainly. Slabs protect and standardize keys and expensive books; they also put a comic you might want to read behind plastic. Many collectors run both systems: high-grade keys graded, everything else raw and readable. What the grading system established over two decades is a common language for condition; what it can't establish is what a book will be worth later, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. Buy the book, learn the scale, and let the slab serve the collection — not the other way around.
For more context, read What CGC's 10-Point Comic Grading Scale Actually Means.