Making the Grade (Nov.): Lebowski, Tua, seriously old change, Banks, Bo, Bliss, Barrymore, Broadway Joe & so much 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.

Click for a closer look.

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

TO SEE WHAT CONDITION MY CONDITION IS IN ...
The Album: The Big Lebowski soundtrack (Mercury, 2014 -- first pressing)
The Reason Graded: As you can probably tell, I'm a dabbler with grading in a few -- but not yet all -- directions, but the notion of having a pristine item encased for permanent protection to be appreciated as an artifact of sorts appeals in a lot of ways. Video games, Funko Pop! figures, other toys, VHS, tickets, press photos and more can be graded just like cards, comic books, magazines and coins. I've tried grading VHS and there's a chance I might do more there with a different company that I use for pretty much everything else, but vinyl is one that, well, I jettisoned most of what I had long ago. That means this was more of a first project than just a first try. (I didn't have much vinyl as my early music-buying years were where the Sony Walkman and then CDs were a thing or emerging, not records.) I spotted this soundtrack cheaper than it might have been elsewhere and it's an original, so I grabbed it with an eye for a slab with Texas-based Tuned In Grading as this one is memorable as more than just a soundtrack but a film that's a cult classic with tons of interest and action beyond a couple hours of screen time. And the total package is cool front and back with scenes and even key characters noted.
The Grade: Tuned In Grading 9.0 (sealed)

Reality Check: I did this one to basically to go through the process and see if I liked the results and then to decide how I would approach doing more. It seems based on their grading scale and description that a 10 isn't easy -- that's fine in my book and that took away some of the grade-shock here. (A nine is fine in all realms, really, but we all want perfection and in some genres a nine has a few slots above it on the scale. Not here.) There isn't really a pop report just yet (but I know of at least one copy*) and it appears that the typical overall grade is a meshing of five applicable sub-grades -- record, cover, inner sleeve, labels, shrink -- but since this is a sealed record only two of those are in play. They both clicked at nines for me -- the cover here had a small bend on the back, while the shrinkwrap has a couple minor spots on the right side but I didn't notice one of them previously. I wasn't totally surprised as I knew the small bend would hurt me but everything else seemed strong. Part of me wants to try something vintage that's not sealed next time, but that's easier said than done in terms of balancing condition, an item I like and price -- I know of a few I'd try but I'm a stickler for condition and this kind of grading isn't quite as cheap as others but still less than some so I'd want something with an appealing grade. Plus, if it's not sealed then other things get looked at ... that you can't examine unless you're buying stuff in-person. Part of me also thinks albums without shrink-wrap could look better in the sleeve but I haven't really read up on what the musical devotees prefer. I think, generally, I dig it but I think for storage and size I like the idea of slabs for CD, DVDs and stuff that's more game-sized more ... but the size here also makes all the details you see on the back of this one as well as that main art on the front pop a bit more, too.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

A PERFECT CARD
The Card: Tua Tagovailoa 2021 Panini Luminance Bright Beginnings Jerseys
The Reason Bought: To me, regardless of that grade, this is a perfect card. It's got a simple full-bleed design to start but then adds on a pretty aggressive typography that works with its action photo, finds a perfect way to nestle a jersey swatch in there without ruining a perfect photo where he's not even touching the ground and is in a uniform where all the colors balance everything else, too. The only thing that could have made this card better would be an on-card auto starting around his foot on the left. I have bought other copies of this card -- only to be bummed by the condition -- but had this one instantly on my radar when I spotted it months ago. Eventually I grabbed it.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: A 10 on a memorabilia card isn't the norm -- from any company -- and because of that and what I like about this card I paid up for it a bit more than most other slab buys. No regrets ... and it's still the only 10.

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GOING REALLY OLDSCHOOL ...
The Coin: 1864 U.S. Penny (bronze)
The Reason Bought: As part of my variety push, a small number of coin types have been on my radar lately -- more types of areas and novelty slabs as I'm just dabbling -- and this one goes down as the "it's old" category. How old? Abraham Lincoln was president and the Civil War was still happening. About 15 states didn't exist. Baseball cards didn't exist. Automobiles didn't exist just like countless things I could mention ... telephones, combustion engines, dynamite, barbed wire, Coca-Cola, the zipper and on and on. It's probably now the oldest thing I own, too, and it didn't break the bank for that to happen.
The Grade: NGC VG 8 BN

Reality Check: I don't even care about the stats here as 1864 is the number that matters and for the price -- less than $30 -- and only 19 of these are graded in VG ... to me that says the serious collectors aren't appreciating these and I'm good with that. (I wouldn't pony up the number of pennies it would take to land something from this time in one of those higher marks above.) You can find un-graded old coins on the cheap but higher-graded copies will cost hundreds as, well, they simply shouldn't exist 159 years later. Really, neither should this one, though serious coin fans who can dabble with much older coins from long, long ago ... this works for me.

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A BIG PULL FROM GAMING ...
The Card: Alexa Bliss 2021 Topps Slam Attax Chrome WWE (UK) Orange Refractor Autographs (/25)
The Reason Graded: I ripped a few boxes of this one-time wonder and it delivered pretty well with a lot of color and low-numbered parallel cards but it's not the safest rip if you're looking for autos -- they're not in every box -- and this was the only one I pulled. I don't mind it as I landed a good name on a rarer color. I knew this would get slabbed at some point and here we are. The printing quality on these cards is among the cleanest Chrome I have ever seen -- any year, any sport and I've seen plenty -- and I will likely rip more and grade more at some point as long as they are findable.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: I was fine with the grade but also admittedly surprised. But with sticker autos cards still get handled to have the ink applied ... so I'm sure something small could have been there.

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JUST CHILLING
The Book: Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2 No. 1 -- Peach Momoko Trinity Comics variant (/1,500)
The Reason Bought: This cover image is just so chill and it's a detailed piece from a popular artist who has plenty of demand for autographs and more on pieces at shows, Peach Momoko. She signed a bunch of these that are in yellow CGC slabs -- more than 100 witnessed and signed -- and then there are other a few other variant versions, too, between nameplates and sketches. Add a few-hundred more inked ones there. I already had her auto from a past Marvel set, so I kept it simple and cheaper here with a grade that's a notch lower than most modern collectors prefer but really it looks the same at a glance.
The Grade: CGC 9.6 (Universal)

Reality Check: The overall low volume here is what perhaps causes a premium for a higher-grade copy but over time when most copies are the highest grade, well, I think there's one direction to go for them price-wise ... unless there's no chance for more issues getting graded. These were made for San Diego Comic-Con so there's a cap -- and the variants are limited to like 800 copies from what I read ... so it may just come down to how much other Baby Yoda/Momoko stuff that could arrive in the future, too.

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NEW LABEL, FAMILIAR CARD
The Card: Drew Barrymore as Sugar 1995 Batman Forever Metal Movie Previews
The Reason Bought: I already owned this card in a different company's slab that I submitted in the past -- poke around in The Buzz Archives here and I'm sure you will find it -- but this popped up as the only graded card with a lot of others (base, inserts and parallels) from the same release for a modest price so I grabbed it. I think this was my first look at the new CGC slabs, which I'm fine with -- especially in comparison to the blue labels.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: These cards aren't super rare or generally super-pricey but it is an insert -- you get six of the eight cards in the set per box -- but that stock, black backs along with some odd centering on backs could make top grades here tougher than some might think ... and Metal is pretty popular. Now, this isn't as popular as Metal Universe stuff, either, but they are not exactly new cards. Since I collect Barrymore stuff here and there, this was a no-brainer.

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THAT LITTLE EXTRA
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps UK Edition -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: Like I have mentioned here before, I've made an effort to track down a lot of the parallel releases of this RC -- not all of the parallels just the basic versions of the various parallel releases using this look -- and this is a prime example. Why? I think I landed it a bit cheaper than others and, well, I needed it. Plus, as you can see below, it's a better buy than other options.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: Yes, most copies check in at a 10 -- not really a good thing here -- but the flagship RC is pushing an obscene 31,000 copies graded with more than 28,000 of those checking in at a nine or 10.

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A MONÉ MAKER?
The Mag: Sasha Banks (aka Mercedes Varnado aka Mercedes Moné) Muscle & Fitness Hers July/Aug. 2016
The Reason Graded: Just finding this mag took months after I remembered its existence and put it on my radar. They just don't pop up in eBay World often and for whatever reason there's no place to find back issues for this past title. That's odd as this title had some a number of WWE crossover covers back in the day with stars doing cover spots and extensive interviews and I remember one box store that had a meaty magazine section back then having literally dozens of these back then ... I just wasn't casually collecting that many mags, especially non-WWE ones. (Makes me think unsold copies simply got destroyed and back issues were only offered digitally.) Meanwhile, this might still be her only WWE years solo magazine cover for an American title all these years later -- WWE shelved its mag around (maybe even before) the time she arrived in NXT. She has one solo PWI cover in the Moné years and some international stuff, too, but not much else.
The Grade: CGC 9.6 (Universal)

Reality Check: I only landed one of these as part of a four-mag lot of the WWE names to appear there and then a couple others where there were some minor discoloring issues as the paper here isn't the thickest or a kind meant to age all that well. But I picked my best copy to sub after a long wait and was pleasantly surprised. I did not have the issue pressed and there's a decent chance that I might have done better if I had. These issues all have square-bound spines and at least one of the other WWE covers had an issue where the oil in its glue was showing through the paper on the front ... thankfully it wasn't this issue. I don't know how that affects grades but it deterred me from slabbing the other WWE star on that one that I might have pondered for a slab. (You'll see them all in a future Buzz Buys now that I have revealed this one.)

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SOME RETAIL APPEAL
The Card: DeVonta Smith 2021 Panini Absolute (retail) -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: With Alabama guys, I try to track down an auto, a mem card and maybe some RC slabs if they aren't the money names or have iffy autographs -- this guy isn't really a money guy and his auto (though I have it) is rough ... so RCs got a look. It was hard to pass on this one in an old label that is now a CGC 10. Why? It cost me less than it would to grade one.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: A majority of these cards check in at the top mark which is a little surprising with all that foilboard but I don't hate it. I think this one is well-balanced visually and they printed cleanly.

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AN ICONIC REPRINT
The Card: Satchel Paige 2016 Topps Berger's Best (1953 Topps reprint)
The Reason Graded: Every once in a while when I do a bulk sub, something simple or slightly oddball will sneak its way into an order with it looking like it could land a 10 or at worst be a filler card for a pricey one I'd never land or really ever even think to chase. This is probably both -- a reprint of Paige's first Topps card (but not his RC). It's not rare, it's not pricey ... but it looked really, really clean to me.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: Not sure what nixed this one from a higher mark ... it was a bummer a it's not pricey. It happens. I'd rather have a surprise on something like this vs. an autographed card I paid big for and had big expectations attached to. This will still have a solid little spot among some icons and reprints in my stash but obviously the top marks on simple cards are where a better slab value resides.

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SOME LOW-GRADE ICONIC FILLER
The Mag: Joe Namath -- Sports Illustrated July 19, 1965 -- First Cover (subscription copy)
The Reason Bought: This cover is the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle of SI covers if you ask me and it's also the origin of Namath's "Broadway Joe" nickname. This is an issue I hadn't seen often in person -- if so, I probably would have grabbed it -- but in the last couple years I went from none to almost a half-dozen copies of low/medium grade. I'm good with that. And as long as they're not junked up I'll probably add more. This is my second low-grade copy and I intend to grade some of my raw issues here, too, in the coming year. Why? It's just a big cover in general if you ask me, not as easily found, and even when it's beat up it's still got visual appeal. (Most of the damage here is down low and on the spine ... the main part of the photo is clan and appealing.)
The Grade: CGC 4.5 (Universal)

Reality Check: Only four subs copies have been slabbed -- compared to 17 for newsstand -- and this one is tied for the worst ... along with the other one I own. Since then, one more has checked in at a 5.0 and the there's the biggie at a 7.5. (Newstand all check in between 4.0 and 8.0 with one 8.5, nothing better.) I will grade more, if not all, of my copies here as this one is, well, as iconic as it gets if you ask me. I'm perfectly fine having a run of low-grade copies.

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BARGAIN BROTHERS
The Card: Mark McGwire & Jose Canseco "Oakland's Power Team" 1988 Fleer
The Reason Bought: My earliest baseball card memories are of some 1980s Topps cards an older distant cousin owned, opening some 1984, 1985 Topps and Fleer packs (sometimes in volume) in my Little League years and then nearly completing the 1985 Topps MLB sticker album. All of those were lost to time but I started collecting more intently and seriously in 1987 and by the time this simple card arrived both of these sluggers were established on cardboard, on the field as part of a dynasty team and in the record books as prolific rookies and as a speed-power guy for Canseco in the 40-40 Club. This isn't a pricey card, but I do remember buying one of these and some other 1988 Fleer cards -- Eric Davis and a dual-rookie card from the set back when a 30-cent card was in the ol' display case to lure investors like Little Buzz -- during my first visit to a "real" card shop that was hours from where I lived.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: I saw this one as a cheap acceptable-grade slab and grabbed it with a couple other cards. It's totally the kind of card I'd grade if I knew I hd a top mark coming back ... but it's not that easy. There's only one 10 and nothing else higher than a nine ... that made me feel a little more pleased with a nine for around $8-9 in a lot. Elite marks on a lot of stuff from that era just isn't easy ... so in some cases those top grades will get more attention than you might think.

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FROM THE CLUB
The Card: James Naismith 100 Years of Hoops -- 1991-92 NBA Hoops
The Reason Bought: I recently decided to dabble over in Derek Jeter's neighborhood -- Arena Club grading -- since they now have a pop report of sorts going and the prices on their attached marketplace are at times super, duper cheap. This one was a miss for me as this is a base card -- not the insert version that I had in the past and remembered -- but for $3 I figured I'd bite and get a closer look at their standards though their site shows you where they say they spotted cards' flaws. Generally, all but one card out of a half-dozen I did looked fine ... so it's just a matter of time for more users and for cards to build up for them. A lot of their marketplace slabs are affordable small stuff from the past like this -- so that could be good or bad depending on what you're looking for.
The Grade: Arena 9.5

Reality Check: Mine checked in at the highest-graded copy, which I thought was a little odd but at the same time I'm not sure I expected three even to have been graded. Atop that, the wrappers for these cards back in the day did cards no favors ... so this grade might actually be tougher than you might think. My most-interesting Arena pick-up will probably be revealed here in the coming months ... this one is just one of my starters.

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GAMING FROM THE CLUB
The Card: Grookey 2o21 Pokemon SWSH McDonald's 25th Anniversary
The Reason Bought: No, I'm not going all-in on gaming ... but my Pikachu from this heavily graded McDonald's set from the makers of Pokemon was a cheap past pick-up, too. This one was just $2 and, well, I figured that was a fun price for that grade to present here.
The Grade: Arena 10

Reality Check: That price for a 10 was cool as, well, the grading standard here doesn't seem iffy -- it looked like a 10 to me -- and, ultimately, that's a big part of my first few buys ... just to gauge the scale used. This one is a smidge off-center left-right but most graders allow for that (and I think they should) if everything else is up to snuff.

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A RETRO ICON
The Card: Nolan Ryan 1990 Upper Deck (5,000 strikeouts tribute)
The Reason Bought: The early Upper Deck stock is not all that friendly when it comes to elite grading with obvious challenges being centering and corners but then the edges (especially backs) can be killers if you do well on the first ones. Really, it might be safer to let somebody else do the subbing and then pick off their wins -- or the near-misses -- as long as the price is right on simple cards like this one. This is just a base card but it was an iconic one at the time -- one of three for Ryan in the set if I remember correctly -- with it being a Vernon Wells art tribute after his historic feat. It was something seen in pretty much all sets that year from all card-makers but it was nice if you were collecting then.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: The pop report reflects how these often work ... only two 10s and just 10 percent of this graded checking in at a 9.5 with a decent volume overall. Grabbing this one was good enough for me to cross it off my maybe-slab list. I think a minor corner spot was what dropped it as everything else looked good if I remember correctly ... I boxed it away in my stash long ago.

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INTERNATIONAL EXTREME I
The Card: Rob Van Dam 1996 BBM Pro Wrestling (Japan) -- international Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: This guy has literally shown up almost everywhere in his career and this pre-dates his earliest "Rookie Card" scenarios for traditional in-pack cards by years. ECW ultimately only had oddball sets and then cards/stickers packed with toys -- those wouldn't be RCs but they feel like the closest thing to them as official promotion-approved cards -- so, in my mind, this is his RC. His first WWE cards (RCs using traditional definition) didn't arrive until 2002. I paid up for this one along with a Sabu and Mick Foley in the past -- all with debuts via BBM -- and have a couple others I still need to find but these are the best.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: Mine checks right in between where the most copies are and then the one top copy ... BBM stuff is generally very clean from packs but given this one's age that option is becoming less and less possible.

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ALL THAT COLOR
The Card: Jaylen Waddle 2021 Panini Prestige Xtra Points Orange -- Rookie Card parallel (/75)
The Reason Bought: It's a rarer RC parallel from a lower-end brand that perhaps still has a big print run, making cards of this volume possibly harder to find over time as boxes will remain out there unopened to some degree over time despite all of the popular rookies. That was at least a thought I had when I saw this one ... I like the colors here for the Dolphins but also that he's in the colors that matter more to me with the college uni. This covers both bases for me with my team shown and showing where he ended up.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: The light spots on the left corners probably got this one pushed down ... all good as I didn't pay that much and I still might have paid more if I had spotted this card in-person.

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HIGHER-GRADE THROWBACK
The Card: John Johnson 1975-76 Topps
The Reason Bought: This vintage fav of mine was an easy pick-up as this is a card that, at a glance, looks a lot better than its grade ... I think I already had one -- that or this was sitting in my files for a long time -- but this was a nice addition.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: This one's couple of issues appear to be minor spots on the top and bottom edges and probably that one spot on the photo in the middle ... still a really nice card for an eight and a no-brainer for me for vintage NBA. Many cards can be rough even out of freshly opened packs.

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A SIMPLE VARIANT
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps factory set variation -- RC parallel
The Reason Bought: Like I said for the UK card, I've had a focus on grabbing many of the various versions of this basic RC -- this being a photo swap only found as a bonus in factory sets. It's not that big of a deal as it's not really an improvement and there's one in every set ... but look at that volume graded. That's low.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: This was an affordable pick-up and I'm fine with nines ... really more of a filler for my 2020 slabs for him but it let me check it off. Heck, with these being so cheap there's a chance I have more than one sitting somewhere. I'm also fine with that.

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ROOKIE YEAR ODDITY
The Card: Aaron Judge 2017 Topps Gypsy Queen Fortune Teller minis -- RC-year insert
The Reason Graded: Back when he was tearing things up as a rookie smacking all those home runs, I actually got rid of a lot of most I pulled -- and I bought boatloads of MLB packs back in 2017 -- to turn them into Clerks autos back when that one first arrived. Judge cards that I pulled later in the year survived my purge as did some other odd stuff like this -- a mini-ish insert and GQ was the home of a lot of inserts in its earlier years. This one? Not so much ... which is probably why I kept it. With his big 2022 season, I popped this and a couple others into a bulk sub.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: I liked the result as it felt like a decent card, though oddly they didn't slap a RC logo on it like a lot of insert cards get. I think corners on these can be hit and miss as these can bounce around in packs as a smaller card vs. the base.

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A ROOKIE PICK
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps X Pete Alonso
The Reason Bought: I have only picked up a few of the small-set cards for Bichette in his rookie year but some of them are growing on me now a few years later -- either as bargain buys or oddball challenges. I found this for about $10 and since it's a top mark and a rookie-year card I bit. I also like his batting stance photos more than other options ... though this design is admittedly funky.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: With nearly all of these checking in at the top mark, this price is probably appropriate as, well, they're mostly the ones competing with other slabs.

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DIPPING DOWN
The Card: Cora Jade 2022 Panini NXT Teal -- Rookie Card parallel (/49)
The Reason Bought: This grade is lower than I'd normally go for a buy, but I'm a realist and this one is a rarer parallel for a key NXT name with potential, though there have been some ups and downs in her time so far. The issue here? On pretty much everything -- I have written about this before between Buzz Buys and past Making The Grade months -- there is a line (a gloss scratch or sometimes indent) to the right of her head on pretty much every card I have ever seen ... sometimes it's light, sometimes it's more pronounced ... but it's always there.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: Two of these have been graded by PSA and they both checked in at this mark ... and I doubt there will be any 10s and maybe, just maybe, a nine could be possible. That is, of course, if the centering, stock quality and gloss issues that can make for bad card backs all cooperate. I'm very sure the centering is what bumped this one down along with the problem spot.

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HULKING UP
The Card: Hulk Hogan (with Wendy Richter & Cyndi Lauper) 1985 Topps Cyndi Lauper
The Reason Bought: Hogan's "Rookie Card" (in packs) arrived in 1985 Topps WWF -- though he had oddball stuff for years and the iconic Wrestling All-Stars card -- and this cameo card is from the same year with some other very important wrestling history around him. Lauper helped bring the WWF to MTV with a Captain Lou Albano video appearance weaving its way into WWE's "The War To Settle The Score" on MTV followed by "The Brawl To End It All" and then it all fed into the first WrestleMania in 1985. The mainstream exposure was a big, big deal for all involved as wrestling was emerging as a bigger thing in pop culture and a national cable entity. This card set documented Lauper's place in music at the time and has a number of Richter and other cameos in wrestling and those in the singer's camp who got WWE screen time. But ... this card was the only one showing Hogan.
The Grade: CSG 8.5

Reality Check: I submitted the first one of these that BGS ever graded and it's in a past MTG. I have opened a number packs for this one and have had some rough results with the high gloss sometimes being an issue ... but I grabbed this one on the cheap in advance of submitting my best one or two copies -- I think I'll have a top-grade contender -- in the coming months. Why? I like the oddity and history of this card. The volume via CGC here isn't bad but there's still nothing above a nine.

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INTERNATIONAL EXTREME II
The Cards: Maki Itoh 2018 BBM True Heart -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: Long before the pizza cutter on opponents' foreheads, the heavy volume of middle fingers and profanity -- yep, that's her thing -- Maki F. Itoh, aka "The Cutest Wrestler In The World" was apparently pursuing a career as a Japanese pop idol and also dabbled with wrestling ... or something like that. (Details here ... pop stuff really isn't my area of knowledge ... on any continent.) While she's been in the business for about a decade, this appears to be her traditional Rookie Card (in-pack release regardless of oddball cards) coming from one of the annual BBM sets. It has more of a rookie feel, too, with her gear now being a very consistent red-and-black look vs. this.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: I have pulled a few of her cards from my small volume of Japanese wrestling packs opened and I have picked off some certified autos and other stuff ... and since I own so little I have slabbed most of them. I picked up these two and when they arrived they were so clean I couldn't decide which to submit so I sent them both ... a double win.

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BACK TO THE BEGINNING ...
The Card: Princess Leia Organa -- "Liberated Princess" 1977 Topps Star Wars
The Reason Bought: This card from one of the original series of Topps Star Wars cards in 1977 really looks so much better than its mark and that's why I grabbed it. I think there's a slight print dot on the right yellow border a well as some minor roughness on an edge and a corner, but this still looks a grade or two better than a seven if you ask me.
The Grade: PSA 7

Reality Check: This one also was around just $10, so that's one more reason I grabbed it. Yes, there are a lot of these graded -- it's a landmark set that will always get slabbed in some circles (registries) -- but it still felt like a solid slab.

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MORE GOLD STRATUSFACTION
The Card: Trish Stratus 2001 Fleer WWF Ultimate Diva Collection Gold -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: My second Gold parallel here is one that checks in a bit higher than the first I showed off here last month -- yet it was still lower than I had hoped for. Fleer stuff is a definite challenge for grading unless you ripped long ago, instantly sleeved or paged stuff and got super lucky with clean cuts. A lot can go wrong with the stock on these sets -- and I think mine (I found an entire Gold set) was probably from leftover Fleer auction stock as building Gold sets here wasn't probably the easiest thing to pull off.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: This checks in as the only graded copy -- I'll take that -- though some others for her in this parallel set aren't one-of-a-kind slabs. I think more fans are revisiting the Fleer years as, well, boxes are nowhere to be found and there's a lot of good stuff in there beyond the handful of iconic RCs from the year after this.

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