What actually makes a card an HSA 10

A 10 is not a subjective call at HSA. Each card runs through a calibrated scan that measures centering to a tenth of a millimetre, then a grader reviews the flagged regions.

Centering must fall within 55/45 front and 60/40 back. Corners must be sharp under 10x magnification with no fibre lift. Edges must show no whitening along any run.

Surface is the most common downgrade: print lines, roller marks and gloss breaks are all visible to the scanner even when invisible to the eye.