Vintage Pokémon (1999–2003):
often printed off-center
lots of surface wear
holo scratches from binder storage
edge whitening from shuffling
age-related fading
Modern Pokémon (2016+):
cleaner print quality
fewer miscuts
better surface protection
but more common print lines
texture cards hide some defects
Vintage cards are graded with more tolerance for factory flaws.
Modern cards require nearly perfect surface to get high grades.