Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 25 (24 plus box-topper)
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 192
Base set completion: 
127 of 300 (42 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Johnny Bench, Dave Winfield, bullpen car, Sloane Stephens, Manny Machado, Jose Altuve, Gary Sanchez, Theo Epstein, Lou Gehrig, Jim Thome, Anthony Rizzo, Genie Bouchard, Tommy Wiseau, Cal Ripken Jr., Corey Seager, Sandy Koufax, Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Bo Jackson, Ted Williams, Roger Maris, Barry Larkin, Ernie Banks, Albert Pujols, Lindsey Vonn, Cody Bellinger, Wade Boggs, Alex Bregman, John Smoltz, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Brooks Robinson, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson

Rookie Cards (21) – Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Rafael Devers, Miguel Andujar, Dustin Fowler (SP), Sandy Alcantara (SP), Jen-Ho Tseng (SP), Victor Robles, Andrew Stevenson, Jackson Stephens, Anthony Banda, Austin Hays, Tyler Mahle, Parker Bridwell, Jack Flaherty, Chance Sisco, Luiz Gohara, Scott Kingery, Alex Verdugo, Dominic Smith, Francisco Mejia

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The finest set of 1909-11 T206 baseball cards is on the market -- and it's being broken up -- this month via Dallas-based Heritage Auctions where it's expected to be a record-breaker.

"For hundreds of trading card collectors, this is the auction event of a lifetime," said Chris Ivy, director of sports collectibles for Heritage. "This auction is the vault door swinging open to reveal treasures unavailable anywhere else."

It's a lot of 520 cards that includes nine PSA 10s -- only 13 in all exist at that grade -- and nearly all of the cards in this one are the highest-graded specimens of their kind for this landmark set. More than 100 of the cards are PSA 9s and only one is graded below a PSA 7 (it's a PSA 6).

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Andrew McCutchen to the Yankees, hobby vs. investing, autograph differences, big pulls and more as we end the month.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2018 Donruss NFL cards (jersey hanger box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 50
Base set completion: 
31 of 300 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Alvin Kamara, John Elway, Thurman Thomas, Adam Vinatieri, Mark Brunell, Cooper Kupp, Lawrence Taylor

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The King of Pop would have been 60 yesterday, but the thriller himself can be collected in many ways when it comes to cardboard alone.

The most-recent release that comes to mind (and the most-official one, of course) when it comes to cards for Michael Jackson arrived back in 2011 when Panini America released a set that brought him to cardboard in the modern era via two waves. They're ones that include his first memorabilia cards and other cards that might surprise you.

Why? Boxes of this one's second wave aren't that pricey, but they can deliver some big hits -- and we're not talking about music.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: eBay and lint (really), a redeeming story and big pulls from a few areas of collecting.

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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A HIGH-GRADE RARITY
The Item: 1959 Fleer Ted Williams #68 Ted Signs for 1959 SP (PSA 9)
The Price: $2,500 Buy-It-Now 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Today would have been Ted Williams' 100th birthday and this card is by far the rarest one from a unique and collectable set that examines his life away from the game as well as highlights up to that time. He signed a $5,000 per year deal to only appear on Fleer cards but this one was pulled for some type of contractural reason. Meanwhile, ironically, if you check the PSA pop report this card is the most-graded of any card in the set. (Likely since it's the most-valuable and others are all readily available.) Just 43 copies of this card have graded a PSA 9 -- and fakes exist, meaning you should buy one graded --  and none have graded higher.
Similar Pieces: Other Ted Williams cards on eBay 
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for MLB boxes

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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What:

What's buzz-worthy: Immaculate returns to the gridiron with all on-card autographs signed on acetate and more full-sized memorabilia cards than last year -- 50 percent more 1/1 cards -- as well as new signed inserts, according to the company.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2018 Super Break Hockey Super Packs
Arrives: Sept. 6
Box basics: One to three buyback cards per box
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Super Break returns to the ice with a mix of big names from the past and present possible in this one.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: A Sandlot mystery solved along with some big pulls from around the collecting world in today's edition.

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What:

What's buzz-worthy: Donruss moves to a jumbo-pack format with plenty of new stars and new energy for a new NBA season.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of what's to come.

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What:

What's buzz-worthy: Flawless takes to the college hardwood for this sophomore release with some of the biggest young stars in the game today back in their school colors as well as legends from the past.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2018 Topps Archives baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 8 (seven standard packs, one coin pack)
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 58 (56 cards and two coins)
Base set completion: 
50 of 300 (17 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Mike Trout, Johnny Bench, Derek Jeter, Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn, Andrew Benintendi, Yasiel Puig, Manny Machado, Miguel Cabrera, Nolan Arenado, Jim Bunning, Richie Ashburn, David Ortiz, Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine, Harmon Killebrew, Willie Stargell, Rod Carew

Rookie Cards (3) – Alex Verdugo, Jesse Biddle, Tomas Nido

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What: 2018 Leaf Grand Slam tennis cards
Arrives: October/November
Box Basics: Eight autographed cards per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's Buzz-worthy: Leaf Trading Cards returns to the court with what it calls its "most value-driven tennis release of all time." with nothing but autographed cards for this one.

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery.

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What: 2018 Historic Autographs Originals Strip Cards
Arrives: Oct. 17
Box basics: One buyback-auto booklet per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Historic Autographs dips into some vintage ranks once again with a new way to display old cards along with autographs from some of the biggest names in the sports world from nearly a century ago.

Keep reading for more information.

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Quick, can you name the hottest card coming out of packs of 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter?

It's not Ronald Acuña Jr., Shohei Ohtani or some newly discovered previously missing Wood mini ... it's card No. 83, Cryptocurrency.

Why? Who knows, who cares ... what people like is what people like. (Something like that.) The 1/1 Topps Vault blank back of the card you see above? It garnered 50 bids and went for ... wait for it ... $2,475. (Seriously.)

It's not alone, either, as parallel versions of this card are selling for far more than they should, but it's the power of a Rookie Card (yeah, that's it) driving this one.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: A big deal and big pulls from around the collecting world.

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What: 2018 The X-Files Seasons 10-11 trading cards
Arrives: Nov. 21
Box basics: Three autographed cards per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The cards will be out there when this one arrives from Rittenhouse Archives with a focus on just two seasons of the legendary franchise and the biggest autographs possible for the show, too.

Keep reading for more info and images.

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What: 2018 Topps Fire baseball cards
Arrives: This week only initially via Target stores
Box basics: Two hits (at least one autograph) per collector's box; blaster boxes and jumbo packs
Checklist: Click here to view

What's buzz-worthy: Fire returns for another season only at Target stores with artwork by Tyson Beck that gives new energy to the game with some of the biggest stars of today.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros — Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies
Season so far: Hitting .327 with 25 doubles, 23 homers, 86 RBI and 20 SBs in 93 MiLB games (Hit .154 in 20 games in Houston.)
Baseball America’s highlight line: "Tucker has not hit as a big leaguer yet ... but every time the Astros send him back down, he goes right back to hitting. Tucker hit six home runs in a four-game stretch this week. His last on Saturday was his most dramatic, as the three-run home run in the ninth capped off a five-run, ninth-inning comeback that clinched the Pacific Coast League’s Northern Division title. Tucker now has 23 home runs and 20 steals in the PCL, giving him a 20-20 season despite the fact that he spent nearly a month in the majors."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 700
First Chrome auto: 2015 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2012 Elite Extra Edition (and USA Baseball set)
Buzz’s card take: He's pushing 300 different certified autographs and his time in MLB this season might have softened the demand for the biggest ones a bit but he still figures to be a pricey player on those key cards. I'd look into his 2012 USA Baseball autos from when he was with the 15U team first (bargain hunting) before chasing the first Chromes.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2018 Donruss NFL cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 11
Cards per pack: 8
Cards per box: 88
Base set completion: 
72 of 300 (24 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ezekiel Elliott, Kenyan Drake, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Drew Brees, Terry Bradshaw, Julio Jones, Khalil Mack, Tony Dorsett, Mark Ingram, LaDainian Tomlinson, Todd Gurley, Bo Jackson, Earl Campbell, Landon Collins

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Fan Cave showcases, glimpses inside collections and big pulls to start the work week.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Reactions to 2019 Topps, Mike Trout's bubble, big pulls and busting WWE Undisputed by the case.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Nothing but impressive football and baseball breaks in today's edition.

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