How to Read a TAG DIG Report and Its DINGS

Check which report you have

TAG’s April 2026 help page distinguishes Regular reports from Score reports with DIG+ detail. Regular ordinarily uses the familiar grade scale without an overall 1000-point score; the page notes an automatic scoring upgrade for Regular cards that achieve Pristine. Individual annotation metrics are not necessarily the overall card score.

Start by matching the certification and card description to the slab in front of you. If you are comparing listings, open each actual report rather than assuming that two similarly labeled cards expose identical fields. Keep the report URL with your inventory so you can return to the underlying evidence instead of relying on a cropped screenshot.

Read the map before counting the marks

DINGS is TAG’s term for defects with notable grade significance. The important questions are where a marked feature is, what type it is and how strongly it affects the result. TAG’s clarification guidance expressly says defects do not have equal weight. The total count therefore cannot be converted into a simple points-off formula.

Our suggested review order is front, back, then each highlighted region. Write a short observation for every question you actually have. If a mark is difficult to see, use the report’s available image controls and compare with the card in hand while keeping it in its holder. Do not conclude that an annotation is false simply because one phone photograph hides it.

Worked example: count is not severity

Consider an illustrative comparison with no claimed real submissions. Card A has one prominent defect affecting a key area. Card B has several smaller visible issues. Without knowing the rubric and severity, the fact that A has one marker and B has three tells you very little about which should grade higher. Counting annotations throws away the information the report is designed to show.

A second trap is comparing a rounded summary measurement with a more precise map value. TAG’s support guidance notes that those displays can have different precision. Record the exact field and digits you are reading before claiming a contradiction. Do not average unrelated measurements or turn a display rounding difference into your own revised grade.

Keep population and rank in their proper scope

The illustrated DIG guide explains population, ranking and chronology fields. Where shown, those describe the report’s TAG population and grading history. They do not count every surviving copy in the hobby or establish a sale price. Note the date and the exact issue represented before comparing numbers.

For your own research, keep three separate notes: condition evidence, population context and market evidence. A detailed condition report can improve the first without supplying the other two. A card may be appealing to you despite a low ranking, and a high ranking does not create a buyer. The practical benefit is a more specific description of the copy you are evaluating.

Ask a question that support can answer

If something appears incorrect, identify the cert, order and relevant report field. TAG’s support page asks for account and order information plus an explanation; it also flags a Mint 9-or-lower report without a DING as a possible data issue. Use that guidance to describe a missing field or inconsistency precisely, rather than demanding a grade based on an unrelated card.

Keep the original report view and your support response together. For a third-party purchase, distinguish the seller’s description from the grader’s record and ask who has the order information. A clarification request should seek understanding or correction of an actual problem. It should not imply that every difference of opinion creates a right to a free regrade.

Frequently asked questions