I Sent 10 Cards to Ace Grading UK — Here's What Came Back
I'd been meaning to send these off for ages. Not for any dramatic reason — just life, work, the usual excuses that turn "I'll do it this week" into six months. I finally sat down, packaged up ten cards from my own personal collection, and sent them to Ace Grading UK. Here's exactly what came back, subscores and all.
What I Sent
Ten cards, a real mix of vintage Japanese holos and modern English pulls. Five of them were Ampharos — no prizes for guessing my favourite Pokémon.
| Card | Set | Grade | Surf. | Corners | Edges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhydon (1st Ed.) | Magma VS Aqua: Two Ambitions | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| Dark Gyarados | 25th Anniversary Promo | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Ampharos ex | Rulers of the Heavens | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Ampharos (Reverse Foil) | Dragon Frontiers | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| Ampharos (1st Ed.) | Shining Darkness | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Ampharos (1st Ed.) | Wind from the Sea | 6 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| Ampharos (Illustration Rare) | Chaos Rising | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Squirtle (Art Rare) | Pokémon Card 151 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Rayquaza VMAX | Crown Zenith | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Eevee ex | Prismatic Evolutions SPC (Black Star Promo) | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
The Highlights
Three perfect 10s came back, and honestly none of them were guaranteed going in. The Rayquaza VMAX (Crown Zenith) and Dark Gyarados (25th Anniversary) both came back gem mint straight down the line — 10 on surfaces, corners, and edges each.
A confession about the Dark Gyarados
Here's the honest bit: that Dark Gyarados wasn't stored safely at all. It was sitting loose in bulk — I just liked the holo pattern enough to send it off on a whim. It came back a perfect 10. Sometimes you get lucky.
The Chaos Rising Ampharos — the first proper Illustration Rare treatment that Pokémon has had — also came back a clean 10 across the board. It's by far the best piece of art Ampharos has ever been given, and it was genuinely satisfying to see it graded perfectly.
The Squirtle my partner adores
Funnily enough, the Squirtle (Art Rare, Pokémon Card 151) is the only card in this whole submission my partner genuinely loves. She's all about sunny beach holidays, sand, and crystal blue waters — and she loves turtles too. That was the main reason I wanted this one graded: to give her a first graded card that actually reflects the things she loves. It came back an overall 10, even with edges landing at 9 rather than a clean sweep. Double win either way.
My Ampharos Collection
Ampharos is my favourite Pokémon, so five of the ten cards I sent were Ampharos in one form or another, spanning 2002 through to 2026. The results were a real spread — an 8, another 8, a 9, a 6, and that Chaos Rising 10.
The one that got a 6 — and why I sent it anyway
The Wind from the Sea Ampharos (1st Edition, 2002) is genuinely the cleanest copy of that card I've ever seen in hand. It's got a beautiful swirl pattern across the holo above its tail that I love. But it has a small lift/fold on the top right corner — repairable in theory, but that kind of damage hits the surface score hard regardless of how clean the rest of the card looks. It came back a 6, with a 5 specifically on surfaces. I sent it anyway, because I wanted the honest grade on my favourite copy, not just the number I hoped for.
The reverse foil with the print line
The Dragon Frontiers Ampharos has a noticeable print line running through it — a manufacturing mark from Pokémon's printing process, not damage. Even with that, it came back an 8, which I was genuinely pleased with given the visible flaw.
The one that flew back from Japan
The Ampharos ex (Rulers of the Heavens) has its own story. It was actually purchased in Japan and brought back to the UK by one of the Trinity members, @Geohcards — who I genuinely begged to track one down for me. He went looking for the cleanest copy he could find, and he's clearly got a good eye for it, because it came back graded an 8. Appreciate you, mate.
The Surprise
Not every result went the way I expected. I thought the Team Magma's Rhydon (1st Edition) was a strong 8, maybe a high 9 — it looked clean to the eye. It came back a 7, with a surfaces score of just 6. Genuinely puzzling from where I was sat, which is exactly the point: grading catches things under proper lighting and magnification that casual handling and a quick look just don't reveal.
The Eevee that just missed a 10
The Eevee ex (Black Star Promo, Prismatic Evolutions Super-Premium Collection) surprised me a little too, though the other way round — I genuinely thought I had a shot at a 10 on this one. It came back a 9. Cards like this with such colourful, vibrant borders are honestly quite hard to judge for edges and corners just by looking at the front — the busy border pattern hides a lot. A 9 will absolutely do.
Went In Blind
I didn't submit these expecting a specific outcome. I sent what I liked, and I'm happy with the results either way — every one of these cards is part of my own personal collection now, not stock for sale. If you've been putting off a submission the way I was, my honest takeaway is: it's less daunting than the delay makes it feel, and even the lower grades are worth knowing for certain rather than guessing forever.
Overall, I'm overjoyed with the level of detail in the Ace labels — it genuinely makes the whole card pop.
Thinking about submitting your own cards? Trinity Cards TCG is an official affiliate partner of Ace Grading UK.
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