The world lost a Pulitzer Prize-winning author on Friday as Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, died at age 89.

An iconic book in American literature and a staple of educational reading, the novel was the only one Lee published in her career -- until a year ago when her second, Go Set a Watchman, arrived 55 years after Mockingbird.

While the story of her book is well known, her life really isn't as she intentionally lived out of the spotlight after her literary success. Lee granted no interviews after 1964 and made very few public appearances in the past and, as a result of this, signed copies of her book are relatively rare given the potential demand. (Translation: They've always been expensive but can be found.)

Continue reading →

Ichiro Suzuki is the newest and biggest name on the Topps Authentics roster and the memorabilia division of Topps revealed his first autographed items on Wednesday and it all starts at the beginning of his MLB career.

Up first? Autographed 8-by-10 versions of his memorable 2001 Bowman Chrome Rookie Card.

Continue reading →

The 58th Grammy Awards have come and gone but the Grammy Foundation's auctions have plenty of time remaining on eBay with autographs and memorabilia from some of music's biggest names of today available -- and some big names from the past, too.

Among the more than 100 auctions is the ensemble you see above. It's the priciest piece of memorabilia as the bidding stands now -- three original copies of books self-published by rock icon Jim Morrison, the lead singer of The Doors.

An American Prayer, The Lords: Notes on Vision and The New Creatures were printed in 1969 and 1970 and just 100 copies of Lords and Creatures were made. Just 500 copies of Prayer exist. The copies belonged to a friend of Morrison and are being sold in one lot. Its opening bid is $5,000. (Update: The books sold for $17,755 after 55 bids.)

The most-expensive item so far is a pair of tickets to next year's Grammys and the after-party. Keep reading for the basics on a few more Grammy auctions.

Continue reading →

It was no surprise that one of the stars of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the new droid in the franchise's universe. Why? Because it was seen everywhere before the movie's arrival, allowing us to marvel at the idea of a real robot -- a head atop a rolling ball -- being part of the action and not someone in a suit or something that's purely computer-generated.

If you didn't know, that robot was BB-8.

However, the news from Topps this week was a surprise as it's going to have a BB-8 autographed card in 2016 Topps Star Wars: The Force Awakens Series 2 when it arrives late next month. How?

Continue reading →

What: 2016 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Platinum autographed baseballs
Arrives: March 1
Box basics: One autographed baseball per box (12 boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's autographed baseball chase brand is back for 2016 with a new batch of stars and legends along with some specialty logo balls that help add variety to the chase.

Keep reading for more and a gallery of what's in this one.

Continue reading →

Ichiro Suzuki will be marching toward 3,000 career hits this season, but that doesn't mean there won't be time for a private signing.

In fact, it's coming up later this month via Mill Creek Sports.

Continue reading →

As part of the unending pre-Super Bowl coverage, fans will inevitably hear more about a guy who's not been seen on cardboard much in recent years.

It's Carolina Panthers tackle Michael Oher -- the subject of The Blind Side, an Oscar-nominated film from 2009 that starred Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw as his adopted parents.

Oher was a first-round pick out of Ole Miss in 2009 and was a member of the 2013 Baltimore Ravens, which won it all. But since then he's battled injuries and was released by the Tennessee Titans before the Panthers came calling. His story being revisited could spark added interest in his football cards.

Continue reading →

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is the latest Topps Authentics player and his autograph line debut arrived on Tuesday with a rainbow of 2016 Topps Chrome Jumbo Autos as well as signed memorabilia.

The Superfractor opened at $499.99, while the basic auto was $89.99. Four other colors were limited between five and 50 copies and priced in between.

Continue reading →

What: 2016 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Football Mini Helmets
Arrives: March 15
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box.

What's buzz-worthy: After more than a year on the sidelines, TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures football brand returns to the field with some extra potential twists for collectors.

Continue reading →

It's February and that means that we're set for the Super Bowl and some mass-marketing from SI.com over the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

And in reality the hype for both already has begun.

The last time we saw Ronda Rousey, she was suffering the first loss of her UFC career. Up next she'll be in the annual issue for the second year in a row. More publicity won't hurt her already-in-high-demand cardboard. She's one of a long list of athletes to appear in the issue and part of an even longer list of models who appear on cards and have certified autographs and even memorabilia cards for collectors to chase.

For the traditional models, there actually were SI Swimsuit card sets released each year from 2003 to 2009 from Stellar Collectibles and then a later retrospective set. In those sets, we got autographs, memorabilia cards and even paint cards from photoshoots. Meanwhile, for many of the athletes who have appeared in the issue since, there are autograph appearances in sets like Topps' Allen & Ginter (and many other sets) where collectors can also sometimes find the models. Kate Upton and Chrissy Teigen have been found there for example, and they sell very well.

Here's a rundown of a few sports stars who we've seen in the issue.

Continue reading →

What: 2016 Leaf Memorabilia Treasury
Arrives: April 2016
Box basics: Five memorabilia pieces per box.

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf Trading Cards follows up its Memorabilia Vault release of last year at a lower price point while still packing the same type of surprises inside with autographed and notable items from the sports world and beyond.

Keep reading for more.

Continue reading →

A big business deal announced last June probably didn't generate much Buzz for collectors then, but it's a big deal that's already helping shape MLB fans' collections.

Last year, Fanatics signed a 17-year-deal to handle the electronic stores on MLB.com and team sites -- and as part of the move that began this year collectors of autographs and game-used memorabilia are already seeing more options on their teams' sites. The pact runs through 2033.

So, what might be found on the sites now?

Continue reading →

Buzz has spent a lot of the off-season watching MLB Network because there's plenty going on when it comes to transactions, baseball chatter and there's always time for documentaries.

And there's Intentional Talk, too.

But watching a lot of the Network also got Buzz wondering about autographs of many of the people on the air bringing the news to us. Many are former players who have certified autographs that were placed into packs of baseball cards -- but there are some who have far fewer cards than others. Who might cost you the most between Billy Ripken, Kevin Millar, Sean Casey and Peter Gammons? It might be surprising -- but the first challenge is to just find a signed card from some of them.

It's surprising that a card company hasn't attempted some type of card set focusing on the Network (signed or not). An unsigned set would immediately become a favorite of through-the-mail autograph seekers -- and probably a good piece of marketing for MLB, too.

Keep reading for a rundown of the MLB Network roster when it comes to certified autos ...

Continue reading →

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

What's Buzzing Today: Some 2015 Panini National Treasures, a Ruthian Pull, Derek Jeter's documents, redemption replacements and some big card company rumors ...

Continue reading →

A.J. Styles is reportedly set to make his WWE debut sometime in the next week with the annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view set for Sunday in Orlando and the Raw and Smackdown tapings also in Florida next week.

That's good news for wrestling card collectors since he's a relatively plentiful autograph, a potential popular name for the story lines heading into the biggest time of the year with WrestleMania coming soon, and he's also a bargain auto to pick up at the moment.

How much of a bargain?

Continue reading →

What: 2016 Upper Deck All-time Greats Master Collection trading cards
Arrives: This week
Box basics: 58 cards and one mystery redemption per box

What's buzz-worthy: Take the biggest names in the sports world (and the Upper Deck stable of signers) and take it all high-end. How high-end? The cost per box to dealers -- not the price to the public -- is north of $10,000. What does it include? Among the inclusions in each box are an autographed acrylic box-topper, a 25-card autographed base set, a 30-card acetate Master Collection Puzzle set, one Michael Jordan Diamond card, one autographed Masterful Paintings card, one dual auto or dual cut auto card and one mystery redemption.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

Continue reading →

Four NFL rookies are set to sign autographs for fans at the 2016 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl FanFest on Saturday as part of the college all-star bowl's festivities.

Fans who are in Carlson, Calif., for the event will have the chance to meet Stefon Diggs of the Minnesota Vikings, Ameer Abdullah of the Detroit Lions, Dorial Green-Beckham of the Tennessee Titans and Nelson Agholor of the Philadelphia Eagles during a three-hour window during the six-hour event, which is sponsored by Panini America. Players will not sign other items -- just Panini photos produced for the event.

Continue reading →

Martin Luther King Jr.'s place in history is quite substantial and he appears on a decent amount of cardboard for a historical figure, but a cut autograph of the civil rights icon is not so easy to find.

He appears on fewer than 10 cut autos with the first coming from Upper Deck back in 2004.  That 1/1 card was in the 2004 SP Game Used Patch Cut Signatures set.

Continue reading →

BenchWarmer has released the checklist for its update to a set from last year that includes only new cards and is on its way to hobby shops now.

The brand is 2016 BenchWarmer Daizy Dukez Update Edition and this follow-up to the previous release includes all-new content — no previously released cards — all with the short-cut denim theme we have seen before.

There are 10 cards per box and eight boxes per case in this one -- keep reading to see the entire checklist.

Continue reading →

 
What: 2016 TRISTAR Signature Series Special Delivery
Arrives: Feb. 18
Box basics: 10 envelopes per case -- each with an autographed piece of memorabilia (or redemption for item)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Signature Series line of packaged memorabilia returns with a new selection of pieces possible and with every other case containing one "Hot Hit" item that typically sells for more than $500.

Keep reading for more.

Continue reading →

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

What's Buzzing Today: Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza, Johnny Manziel, Steiner Sports, BGS 9.5s, Star Wars and more ...

Continue reading →

What: 2016 Onyx Preferred Players autographed baseballs
Arrives: Feb. 9
Box basics: One signed baseball per box (three boxes per mini case; 12 total per master case)

What's buzz-worthy: This MLBPA-approved product includes iconic baseball players from today's game with a mix of future prospects and chase baseballs, too. Among the names? The reigning Rookie of the Year award-winners Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa as well as current and past MVPs such as Josh Donaldson and Mike Trout.

Keep reading for more.

Continue reading →

Steiner Sports has landed the biggest rookie in New York these days for an exclusive autograph deal.

The rookie is Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis.

"It quickly became apparent that Kristaps is on to something special in New York," said Steiner Sports CEO Brandon Steiner in an announcement on Thursday. "He is mature beyond his years and a true talent on the court. Steiner Sports has held a valued memorabilia partnership with Madison Square Garden since 2010 and we are looking forward to seeing Kristaps' growth at The World's Most Famous Arena as a member of the Steiner Sports family."

Continue reading →

What: 2016 Leaf Greatest Hits baseball cards
Arrives: March 2016
Box basics: Four buyback cards plus one Cal Ripken Jr. Metal autograph.

What's buzz-worthy: Some of the greatest hits in the history of baseball cards will be found in this buyback brand along with a Salute to the Ironman.

Keep reading for more.

Continue reading →

Collectors who submit certified autograph cards to PSA in the future will notice something extra noted on their slabs now if they opt for an added feature from the grading and authentication company.

It's a grade noting the quality of the autograph.

"PSA has long been in a unique position since we offer the top certification brands in both PSA trading card grading and PSA/DNA autograph authentication," said PSA President Joe Orlando. "For years, we have provided card and autograph grading services in separate fashion, but now those services can be provided in one complete package."

Continue reading →