Reported: collectors flag suspected relabeled PSA 10-style slabs, and a QR code check that may help, with limits (Oct 2026)
PSAcardReported (collector forum, summarized by a third-party publication); unconfirmed; PSA had not commented as of Oct 29 per source
Community and public-source information only. This is not an authentication. Slab Watch is independent and not affiliated with PCGS, NGC, PSA, Beckett (BGS), SGC, CGC or any grading service. Always verify on the grader's official site and contact the grader directly.
Summary
Following the duplicate-cert PSA 10 Dragonite report, a third-party publication summarized collector-forum findings from Oct 28–29, 2026. A forum admin decoded the QR code on the back of the two slabs carrying one cert number: the one reported as suspect encoded the PSA cert address with an extra "/psa" at the end. The admin reported testing about 1,300 other PSA QR codes and finding none ending that way, while photos of two more suspected fakes did. The leading theory in the thread, which is not confirmed, is that printed text is lifted off a genuine label and reprinted with a higher grade and a real, public cert number that has no PSA image on file. Forum users have posted other vintage PSA 10 listings they consider suspect; none has been confirmed fake, and Slab Watch is not repeating them. Per the source, the admin later said publishing the test had already weakened it, and a suspect slab with a clean QR code has been flagged.
Reported diagnostics
- Raw QR text ending in "/psa" after the cert number has been reported as a red flag; a clean code clears nothing
- Decode with a reader that shows raw text: per the source, Safari adds /psa to every PSA cert page it opens, so a phone camera can show it on genuine slabs
- High-grade older certs with no PSA image on file are reported as the main target, because there is no photo to compare
- Label spacing and type should match another PSA slab of the same era
What to do
For any high-value PSA slab: run the cert yourself at psacard.com/cert, compare the card to PSA's image if one exists, search past sales of the same cert number, and decode the label QR code with a raw-text reader. If the cert has no PSA image, treat the label as unproven and ask for more provenance. If you already own a flagged slab, keep it sealed, photograph front, back and label, and contact the platform and PSA.