Is Norm Charlton [Refractor] #178 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1993 Finest · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Norm Charlton [Refractor] #178 sells for $69.00 against $35.50 raw: a $33.50 spread, 1.9× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($62.41) clears the raw price after an economy-tier ~$25 fee, so a near-miss still comes out ahead. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses the 10 — measure it before you submit.

Raw (NM): $35.50
Grade 9.5: $69.00
PSA 9: $62.41
Gem premium: 1.9×
As of: Sep 3, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Norm Charlton [Refractor] #178: net result of grading versus selling raw, by outcome and fee tier
If it comes back…	Sells for	Economy / bulk (~$25.00)	Standard (~$50.00)	Express (~$150)
Gem — Grade 9.5	$69.00	+$8.50	−$16.50	−$117
PSA 9	$62.41	+$1.91	−$23.09	−$123
PSA 8	$45.12	−$15.38	−$40.38	−$140

Net = sale price − $35.50 raw value − fee. Fee tiers are illustrative; plug your grader's current price into the calculator below.

Expected value — how often does it need to gem?

Norm Charlton [Refractor] #178: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$64.06	−$21.44
50%	$65.70	−$19.80
75%	$67.35	−$18.15

At the standard fee this submission does not break even at any realistic gem rate unless the miss lands above the 9 price.

Full grade ladder

Raw conditions & history →

Norm Charlton [Refractor] #178 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$69.00
9	$62.41
8	$45.12
7	$40.69

Run your own numbers

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