About
Built by collectors,
for the swirl.
The story
Every vintage Pokémon collector remembers the first time they tilted a holo under the light and saw it — a perfect spiral, hiding in the foil. Swirls are random artifacts of the original printing process, which means no two holos are ever the same. For decades, collectors have hunted them, traded them, and argued about them in comment sections. But no one ever gave the swirl what it deserved: a standard.
SWRL Grading was born from a simple frustration — a PSA 10 with a dead-center halo swirl and a PSA 10 with no swirl at all carry the same label. To swirl collectors, those are not the same card. Not even close.
Mission
Our mission is to make the swirl a first-class collectible trait. We authenticate, score, and immortalize holographic swirls with the same rigor traditional companies apply to centering and surface — and we present them with the reverence they deserve.
A Message From the Founder
People often ask me a simple question:
“What is SWRL Grading?”
For a long time, I believed the answer was straightforward. SWRL Grading was a company that evaluated and ranked holographic swirls on Pokémon cards using a standardized 100-point scale.
Over time, however, I realized it had become something much bigger.
SWRL Grading is a community for collectors who appreciate one of the most overlooked aspects of the hobby—the holographic foil itself. It is a place for those who understand the impact a perfectly placed swirl can have on a card and who recognize that some of the most memorable collectibles are defined by more than their condition alone.
Personally, I have always believed that a great swirl can create the feeling of owning something truly unique. While thousands of copies of a card may exist, the combination of artwork and holographic pattern on any individual card is entirely its own. In that sense, a special swirl can transform a card into a one-of-a-kind piece of art.
Contrary to what some may assume, SWRL Grading was never created to increase the monetary value of cards. In fact, assigning financial value to swirls is inherently subjective. There is no formula that can accurately determine how much more a card is worth because of a swirl, nor is that our objective.
Instead, the mission of SWRL Collectibles Inc. is to build a community around appreciation rather than speculation—a community for collectors who recognize and celebrate the beauty of holographic patterns.
At its core, SWRL Grading is designed to make collecting more engaging and more fun.
Modern collecting has become heavily focused on condition. Too often, a card's worth seems tied solely to whether it receives a perfect grade. Yet a card graded a 9 or even lower still contains the same artwork, the same history, and the same character that made collectors fall in love with it in the first place.
I collect cards across every grade level. While I appreciate card condition, what excites me most is the search for exceptional swirls. The thrill of discovering a perfectly positioned holographic pattern has brought me more enjoyment than chasing numerical grades ever could.
That passion is what inspired SWRL Grading.
We want to create the first truly interactive grading experience—one that rewards discovery, encourages community participation, and celebrates the artistic individuality of every card.
Because at the end of the day, collecting should be about more than condition.
It should be about appreciation.
It should be about discovery.
And most importantly, it should be fun.
— Dan P.
Founder, SWRL Collectibles Inc.
Vision
We're building the definitive record of every graded swirl on Earth: a searchable gallery of every graded card, per-card leaderboards, and a community where collectors can showcase their finds. Down the road: collector achievements and an AI swirl scanner. The swirl is just the beginning.