Making the Grade (June): The Dream Team, Ronald Acuña Jr., Bart Starr, Mike Trout, Deadpool, Kelly Hu's rookie & more

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 ... a super-sized edition this time around that's heavy on MLB and NBA but with a few surprises.

The Cards: 1991-92 SkyBox #544-546 Team USA puzzle
The Reason Graded: I picked up a box of this one for roughly $16 late last year (a bargain price) and pulled two sets of these puzzles, which was good. Why? Because grading these and the other notables from the iconic Hall of Famer-loaded Dream Team is pretty heavy and this one has been on my to-do list. I landed most of the notables more than once but just one Jordan that was noticeably off-centered. These glossed cards on the puzzle could have issues that the standard cards don't have simply because of their surfaces, but mine were clean. I will revisit my second set to see if anything stands out. I may go the PSA route on the other set for variety's sake if I see anything that would make me wonder about potential grades.
The Grades: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This one was a stressful one as I had hoped for matching grades. Thankfully, that's what I got and that's where most cards land for all three pieces of the puzzle. This is a textbook example of the kind of cardboard that can make you some money with grading, too, as they're no more than $10 total raw, while BGS 9.5s together should top $100 in some cases and asking prices for the middle (Jordan) card alone can be steep. It's memorable cardboard from the past with nothing but iconic players involved, so there's still good demand -- and that's another reason why I slabbed. Wax boxes aren't all that plentiful, either, compared to other boxes around that time.

Keep reading for the rest of this month's new grades and additions.

The Card: 2018 Topps Walmart Holiday Snowflake #HMW50 Ronald Acuña Jr. RC
The Reason Graded: This photo is perfect to me and it's clear that he simply tattooed the ball. (Unlike other versions of this photo sequence that appear on other versions of the card.) The short-printed Series 2 card uses this same image, but I don't want to chase that one price-wise and that made this was an alternative. I jumped all over this one for grading when I saw how clean it was from my first Buzz Break of Holiday Boxes last year.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I had visions of a Black 10 here but I'll take this grade. The graded volume here is very low and most copies of this card grade this well, but it is a clean card. I also think this card should be rarer than his standard RC in Update and has to be a lower pop report kind of card, too, as people default to the standard one for slabbing. Only time will tell on that front in the long term, though. Why? Boxes of this are far cheaper than Topps Update.

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The Card: 2018 Topps WWE Women's Division #25 Ronda Rousey
The Reason Graded: Ronda Rousey's first year in WWE was an eventful one that wasn't without some ups and downs as she adjusted from the real fights in UFC to the performances in WWE -- a job that also requires the ability to talk convincingly. While that could be hit and miss, her cardboard generally got a good amount of attention. This was her first in-pack Rookie Card from a brand that yielded them pretty often. It's not a rare card but there were a lot of cards with minor condition tweaks on corners from going through packaging. I pulled this one from one of my last of many blasters and it looked absolutely flawless, so it went into my grading submission.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It's among the best copies and there are none higher -- so I was right. She's taking time away from the ring, which won't help demand for her cards, but this and my high-grade Topps Now debut card make a good duo in my WWE stash.

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The Card: 2017-18 Panini Threads Dazzle #29 Ben Simmons
The Reason Graded: I'm a big fan of last year's Threads with its jumbo memorabilia cards and these Dazzle parallels that can basically be found in some form in nearly every pack. Simmons' Rookie Cards from the year before this one's arrival get plenty of attention and that's perhaps why I threw this one into my to-slab pile. (There could be a chance I somehow thought it was an RC despite there not being a logo. Oh well.)
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It's the highest-graded -- and only graded -- copy of the card. I still like it, though. My stash of NBA graded cards is small compared to the other sports, but this one will join a group of big names on cards that stood out to me for varying reasons. It also seems like the type of card that could be a tad condition-sensitive with soft cardboard and all that foilboard along with a dark bottom edge. You'll see more Dazzles in future months.

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The Card: 1993 Star Miss USA #12 Kelly Hu
The Reason Graded: OK, do you do any late-night COMC.com surfing? I do and that's where I found out this set even existed. It's from a set made by a card-maker best known for making minor league baseball cards around this time, but Star also made iconic NBA team sets in the 1980s. This 100-card set has just a few "names" who went on to entertainment careers and Hu is one of them and by far the biggest. You can see her on The Orville now -- and land certified autos in that set -- and she also had ink in The Vampire Diaries and Arrow. Her IMDb credits are extensive with roles in The Scorpion King, X2: X-Men United, one of the Friday the 13th films, Growing Pains, The Doors, Sunset Beach, Nash Bridges, CSI:NY and plenty more. Before all of that, though, she was Miss Hawaii and that yielded this "Rookie Card." Rather than pay nearly $5 for a card raw, I found a box where I pulled at least four copies and this was among the cleanest ones.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It graded well, and it's the highest-graded copy with a surprising three other cards -- all graded long, long ago. I'm actually surprised there were other copies graded before mine.

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The Card: 1989-90 NBA Hoops Sears Superstars #88 David Robinson RC
The Reason Bought: I grabbed this one for $9, which seemed low considering the bit more obscure status of the set this came from and it's a premium grade. The set was a small boxed release sold via the Sears catalog and it showcased The Admiral on his "in action" second series card -- but with a yellow border.
The Grade: SGC 96

Reality Check: I am a bit of a sucker for early Robinson cards and Hoops in particular in that it was the first NBA release that I dug into hard after briefly dabbling with and basically throwing away my small stash of 1988-89 Fleer cards. (They weren't baseball, so I thought they were not valuable.) Then Hoops arrived and changed things in feeble minds like mine.

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The Card: 2012 Topps Heritage #207 Mike Trout
The Reason Graded: This was my second copy of this Trout I pulled last year -- and one of them came from a Value Box that you can still grab today on the cheap with a pair of hobby packs inside. This is his first Heritage card, not a Rookie Card, but the power and appeal of the brand (and Trout) are driving interest and prices for this card in strong condition.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: The pop report of this one is far higher than I had expected, but the split between PSA 9s and 10s is a lot closer than it is for other cards that are in demand from recent years. (Many seem to almost default to 10.) The stock and those bottom edges and corners are definitely a key here. My centering isn't great but I'll take a PSA 9.

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The Card: 1992 Impel X-Men Series 1 #43 Deadpool
The Reason Graded: I pulled this in a past box break -- actually two in one box -- and opted to slab it since this character has really taken off in recent years. This is a "Rookie Card" of sorts in that it came in a widely available pack, while an earlier fully official card came polybagged with a comic book. This one has been graded a few times and I was surprised by my grade figuring it would be a PSA 9.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: It was very clean other than its centering so that's what helped it get the 10 nod here. I'll definitely take it. Boxes of this one have always seemed tougher than other releases before and after it -- perhaps because of the popularity of the artist for everything, Jim Lee.

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The Card: 2018 Topps Heritage High Number #600 Shohei Ohtani RC
The Reason Graded: I ripped a ton of Heritage High Number last year and have several copies of this guy and others of note. This one stood out as the best-centered of them all so I figured I'd slab it up. I balked at sending it to BGS fearing a grade I wouldn't like as the Heritage stock really looks a lot different under a loupe, so I figured I'd go the PSA route to handle any sting I might get.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: No sting as it graded as well as any other top card -- and that seems to be where most are landing.

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The Card: 2015 Topps UFC Chronicles #34 Arianny Celeste
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up for $11 figuring I'd add some UFC flair to my slabbed stash and Making The Grade. The top grade was and the price was the initial appeal here -- but then any hesitations I had were gone when I checked the pop report. This is a cheap card from a low-end brand that's quite hit-driven, so there are other cards that certainly get a look first when it comes to grading from this release.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: It's a pop report 1/1 -- that's probably because she has many other cards that are more notable.

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The Card: 1990 Upper Deck #54 Ben McDonald RC (error card)
The Reason Graded: I picked this one up raw several years ago and it was clean save for a corner that got nicked after this rarer error was pulled from a pack back in the day. Because of that, I figured it might get this kind of a grade but I also figured I'd slab it because it's just not a card you see that regularly. (The error is that it has the Orioles logo instead of a Star Rookie logo.)
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: It's on the low end of the pop report, but I'm fine with that knowing how few of these have been slabbed. It was a huge card back in the day as he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 MLB Draft. Finding them isn't that easy -- pulling them even tougher. I'm a sucker for errors and variations from certain sets (1987-1991 ... the heyday of chasing errors) and high-grade slabs of some of these cards are tough because you can't just simply go buy a cheap box to land one. You will see more error slabs here in the future for sure.

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The Card: 1991 Topps Tiffany #278 Alex Fernandez RC
The Reason Bought: Sure, this isn't a big card now but, like McDonald, he was a high draft pick and had plenty of attention when he arrived. This was a buy where I figured "Why not?" on as it was just $2. Finding Tiffany cards -- the rarer glossy white-stocked and quite limited version of the factory set -- isn't easy for 1991 compared to the late 1980s sets. Is this a money buy? Nah. (It's been on my MTG tarmac some time now and this one is finally here as this month has a lot more cards. Read: Filler.)
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: It is what it is ... a $2 card. He's also better than I remembered, though, winning 107 games in 10 seasons with more than 1,250 strikeouts.

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The Card: 2018 Donruss Optic #36 Ozzie Albies RC ("The ATL" variation)
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up because the price seemed a little on the affordable side for the grade -- just $9 -- which is less than I would have paid to submit it how I typically get stuff graded. You've seen Ronald Acuña Jr. here a few times but this guy has been on my radar to a smaller degree with slabs, too, since he's on a team that seems like it's on the rise with a number of homegrown young players.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: This isn't a tough 10 based on the pop report, so that probably explains the price. The tough cut on the cop edges of Optic cards have kind of scared me off from submitting any -- they're more slightly textured than smooth like a blade was dull. It may not hurt the grade based on the looks of this one.

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The Card: 2015 Topps Heritage Gum-stained Back variation #462 Felix Hernandez
The Reason Bought: I landed this card for just $5, which seemed underpriced for the card type and grade -- these subtle variations that have a light box of white ink on the backs simulating the dust/staining from a piece of gum. As I said above, I'm a sucker for errors and variations, though this isn't one that was done on accident and then corrected. (It's a parallel.)
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: Finding people who grade a ton of non-hits and non-rookies isn't that easy -- and the pop report proves it. While I knew this was a solid grade for a good card from a popular brand and a solid star veteran, I didn't expect this to be the only one graded. Last time I looked, the only raw copy of this card on eBay will cost somebody $10 if they want it, so, for $5, it feels even better to me as a bargain buy.

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The Card: 1991 Upper Deck Final Edition #17F Jim Thome RC
The Reason Bought: Here's another bargain pick-up of a different kind as this one cost me just under $9. It's one of just two Rookie Cards for this recently elected and often-overlooked Hall of Famer -- his other RC is 1991 Bowman. It's a toss-up as to whether this boxed set card is rarer than the other -- Bowman might be the toughest standard 1991 box to find in my mind -- but neither is that tough.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This is a strong grade for a card from this era of Upper Deck stock -- it's super-thin -- but it looks like most of them grade this well. The overall grading volume surprises me a lot on this card, but it may be a scenario where a some people bought up cases of sets in the past and slabbed them all. (That might explain how they grade well, too.) The PSA pop report is also high with more than 2,200 10s and more than 1,850 9s based on my last check.

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The Card: 1990-91 Pro Set Super Bowl (160) #36 Bart Starr
The Reason Bought: This one was a pick-up that is probably on the surprising side to some of you -- but maybe not to those of you who were around back then to know how fun and successful the company was at the time. Pro Set didn't last due to over-production and sloppy printing and cutting -- people were complaining about it even back then compared to the other companies from what I remember -- and when it comes to slabs and Pro Set this is a challenge perhaps better left for somebody else to take on. The surprises? The grade and that this was a $16ish pick-up for me. Why? because it fits my school ties, it's 1990 Pro Set, and it's a top grade with the risk taken by somebody else.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: When's the last time you saw a 1990 Pro Set card -- any release -- in this grade? For the standard set, there are nearly 4,000 cards graded and not one has a BGS 10. Again, zero. The pop report shows only 350 BGS 9.5s -- and 200 of those are listed as being for Emmitt Smith's Rookie Card. (I'm betting that's not accurate ... unless they're mostly in the possession of one person/entity and locked away. They should be all over eBay with that volume but ... no.) This boxed set isn't as popular with just two copies of this legend's card slabbed. My freshly opened set yielded a few clean cards of favorites that I might slab -- Starr was one of them -- but I opted to pick up this Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl MVP instead of getting mine graded for about the same price. There are simply no locks at a 9.5 or better for cardboard from that era.

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