My observation is that the serial numbers up until about 4 years ago were rather random, but all started with the number "0". I recall in a discussion with a former PSA grader that the 08xxxxxx slabs were graded at shows and in his opinion those tended to be overgraded since they were mainly for the "big" dealers.
Then of late, the past three or four years, they have shown a pattern of being in some type of numerical order i.e. 157xxxxx to the current 189xxxxx. This closely coincides when PSA went to the 1/2 grade scale.
Another observation is that the early graded cards, (the ones with the font that has a diagonal through the zero) had a reputation of being overgraded. As a result, many of those cards would get reholdered to have a newer looking flip without changing the grade.
Overall, I don't think there's any question that the PSA grading standards, in terms of assigned grades, are tougher now than they were 20 years ago. However, in my opinion, advanced card doctoring wasn't that pervasive as it is today, so there's probably a better chance of getting a doctored card in a slab today than one would get twenty years ago.
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