EDITORIAL POLICY

How we check a card.

We identify the card, follow the source and separate facts from opinion. Unknown facts stay marked as unknown.

Effective 08 August 2026 · Last reviewed 27 August 2026

Card identity

We match the athlete, year, publisher, program, card number, parallel and format before comparing images or prices. A similar card never stands in for the one named.

Sources and sales

Publisher pages and official checklists establish identity and print runs. Asking prices show what is available. Completed sales support price conclusions.

The publication gate

A finished article needs a collector question, an original claim, inspectable sources and the exact cards that make the argument visible. A summary of familiar facts is not enough. A generic athlete photograph is not a substitute for the card.

Automation may find candidates, normalize data, check links and prepare a draft. It cannot turn missing evidence into a publishable conclusion. If the angle is weak, the identity is unresolved or the visual proof is missing, the result is HOLD or NO POST.

English and Spanish versions must carry the same conclusion, evidence state and material card imagery. A translation can change rhythm; it cannot change the facts.

Research status

VERIFIED: A source supports the claim.
PARTIAL: An important detail is still missing.
MISSING: We have not found the required source.
BLOCKED: We could not check the source because of access or technical limits.

ICX Moment Score v3.0

A 0–100 comparison of the athlete, the moment, the card’s place in the story, scarcity and market activity.

Formula: ICX = 0.15A + 0.15M + 0.30C + 0.25S + 0.15L. A is athlete strength, M is the moment, C is card role, S is scarcity and L is liquidity. Each card page shows all five inputs.

Card role matters. A major first card, RC, inaugural-set anchor or defining early image can be important even when it does not show the athlete’s greatest sporting achievement. Later price gains never affect this input.

Scarcity and liquidity use hard numbers. Scarcity follows the final print run on a logarithmic curve. Liquidity needs at least two completed sales of the same card, parallel and format. Listings do not count as sales.

Missing data produces a range. We do not score an unknown print run or thin market as zero, and we do not invent a midpoint. The range becomes one score when all five inputs are confirmed.

Why v3.0 remains current: it corrected the underweighting of origin cards and set anchors. A later 49-card outcome review found only nine below-2× controls and mixed holding periods, so it did not justify another weight change. Earlier v2.2 and v2.1 results remain in each card’s score history. Moment Score measures collectible quality; it is not a price forecast.

Market Pulse

ICX Watch Priority is a separate release-time research screen: athlete demand 20%, card identity 30%, confirmed scarcity 30%, moment 10% and source completeness 10%. Later price gains never enter it, and the score is not a price forecast. A market position unlocks after two exact completed raw-base sales. The stricter appreciation list needs at least three, a recent sale and a median 1.75× above launch. It describes what has happened; it does not predict what happens next.

Low print runs

A small print run makes a card interesting to research. It does not make the card a buy.

Commercial independence

Rankings are not paid placements. Tracked eBay links are marked as affiliate links and never affect the Moment Score, ranking or evidence state. Publisher-provided product, sponsorships and owned inventory are disclosed beside the affected content.

Corrections and dated research

Each card record carries a checked date. Material corrections update the visible page and its review date; uncertain facts remain labeled rather than silently filled.

Risk disclaimer

Collectibles can be illiquid and volatile. Taxes, fees, condition, authenticity and resale timing materially affect outcomes. Nothing on this site is financial, tax or legal advice.