Making the Grade (Sept.): A big Crown, King Felix, WWE stars, Cody Rhodes, Soundgarden, The Freeze, Mike Trout & 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 mix of new slabs and some recent pick-ups.

BIG RETAIL PULL NOW VS. THEN
The Card: Christian McCaffrey 2017 Crown Royale Platinum #88 (/49) -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: With the NFL season (perhaps) finally coming, I'll let this guy kick things off since it's a rarer card and one that I figured would grade well but did have some fears about with one of the back corners showing some funk. I pulled this one from a mega box (or whatever it was called for this one) while sitting in a snowy Walmart parking lot back in the day only to be bummed that my autograph guaranteed in the box wasn't there ... it was Panini Rewards points. I was more hung up on that than appreciating this card back then, but he's been a playmaker in the league -- so much so I actually got rid of my Donruss and Optic RCs of him without getting them graded. Instead I decided to slab this one.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It graded better than I had expected -- I was thinking probably a 9 but optimistically a 9.5 -- and I consider this one a win. It's razor-sharp and clean except for that one corner and on the back it may not hurt as much. Either way, I'm good with this one. Only 12 total cards of McCaffrey from this release have been graded and this is the only for this parallel. There have been nine copies of his standard RC graded and only four cards overall equal this one with nothing higher.

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

SECOND EDITION OF A SUPERSTAR
The Card: Felix Hernandez 2003 Everett Aquasox Grandstand (second edition) #15
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up from a MiLB dealer for just under the price of a blaster box without hesitation as it's a card that pre-dates his MLB Rookie Cards by a year. I have one stashed away from a team set in a box in my stash -- I had considered it for slabbing but it never made any final cuts -- but what I didn't realize is that this is from a re-issue set. At some point after Hernandez blew up, the team did a re-order on its cards with this second version having a different logo in the upper left. Otherwise, they are identical. Now I may need to get my other one graded just so I have both in slabs.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This mark is the only grade that this card has gotten, meanwhile the original has nothing higher but marks as low as a BGS 8 and five more copies in slabs overall. He'll go down as an all-time great for the Mariners and will probably be retiring at some point soon so that's another reason I might look at some of his stuff. I'm not sure there will be any dramatic bumps in his overall card values -- perhaps modest ones if you can find some bargains -- but I'll take the ironclad first card over any RCs in his case. (I pretty much have to say that after getting rid of all RCs that I had years ago.)

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RARE ROOKIE CARD?
The Card: Cody Rhodes 2007 Topps WWE Heritage III Ringside Rookies #RK1 -- Rookie Card insert
The Reason Graded: Back when AEW was initially teased, I knew I needed to find one of these ... and that's not the easiest task. These were inserted in a bonus pack of four cards from a 20-card set in special blasters that year and they were only released at Walmart stores and in apparent limited fashion. (The boxes looked completely different than regular boxes and aren't easy finds now.) They weren't that big of a deal then but Rhodes is the most important of the four rookies in the set and this comes at the same time as his only standard RC. Other rookies in it are Santino Marella (fun) and then Deuce and Domino (meh). That foursome is probably why I didn't buy a few blasters of this as I already had ripped a hobby and had everything except for these bonus cards. (Never pulled Rhodes.)
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: This is the only copy graded by PSA and I went this route because of a very slight edge spot on the upper left under the bumper. I wanted this one slabbed no matter what and I figured PSA might not hurt me as much as BGS on that smidge of dark cardboard showing on an otherwise clean card. I wasn't bummed by a PSA 9 here but there was a bummer bit of a story with these cards for me. Back in the day I spent $10 apiece on two of these knowing I'd be slabbing the best or maybe even both. The other copy I got was trimmed dramatically short on the top edge (by somebody doing it intentionally, not somebody at the factory -- it was way too short) so this was my only option for a slab. They could end up being tough to grade, too, with hard and chippy Heritage stock and the way these are packed some inner framing of the blaster box is likely what damages the top cards. And if I remember correctly, that top card is always the rookie.

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NOT OUTSHINED
The Card: Soundgarden 1991 Pro Set Superstars MusiCards #238 (logo on top left) -- Rookie Card (?)
The Reason Graded: There are two different versions of this card from this dirt-cheap but landmark music release from way back in the day -- Pro Set moved the black box up top to the bottom and re-cropped the photo on another version. The variation isn't why this one is here, though. I've busted tons of these boxes (they are that cheap) to try and land elite-graded copies (PSA 10, BGS 9.5 or higher) for some key cards because that's not easy at all. Why? The stock here is so wafer thin and chipping-prone that you could open a case and have 20-some copies of a card with nothing come close to an elite grade, especially if grading via BGS.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: This time? Well it had me like this as I got the top mark on a card that seems to be a bit more graded now than when I sent my stuff in late last year. (Yep, Corona delays put the bulk order into even slower territory ... it happens.) This one is razor sharp and clean on both sides -- edges can be trainwrecks on both along with awful centering on many copies -- though I was worried about the tiny single dot in the pink stripe. It was so clean I had to send it. What's the secret? Well, my cleanest cards came from a run of jumbo packs (in theory more cards in the middle might mean less wear on their edges) but even that is not fool-proof. I recently ripped another super-cheap jumbo box and nothing was slab-worthy. I have a few more slabs from this set in hand for future MTGs and still have more to grade at some point. Why? For the challenge ... and I like them. (It ain't about the dollars on these but high-grade cards might surprise you here and there.)

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SAFE SLABBING
The Card: Mike Trout 2017 Donruss The Elite Series Blue #ES-24 (/249)
The Reason Graded: Want to play the grading game to see how you can do? Your safest bet to spend some money to make some money is with this guy who seems to appeal to all types of collectors and in a few ways with slabbers. Is it a super-pricey card? No, but a high-grade copy of a card like this or others might become a $40-50 card (or more) if there aren't a lot of other copies out there and if you're patient as a seller. I'm not a seller -- I just noticed how this card I pulled looked flawless ... so I put it in my grading pile.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: I was right on this one as it earned top marks ... but a majority them have lined up that way on this one. No worries ... it's a safe slab. A look at eBay shows somebody asking $40 for a PSA 9 and a PSA 10 has a $150 asking price. Actual sales? Well, there weren't any when I looked but raw this is a card that would be relatively cheap. Long-term? Trout might be the safest guy to grab and slab and sell years down the line. I'd do earlier stuff from popular brands or serial-numbered cards ... at some point even numbered stuff at this kind of level will start to dry up and boxes will be nowhere to be found at some point, too.

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GOING WITH THE FIRST
The Card: The Imprisoned Princess Leia -- 1977 Topps Star Wars #89
The Reason Bought: I've been going back and forth for some time now trying to decide which of many Princess Leia card appearances for this scene would make the cut and make my grading order. Why? It's a memorable moment that takes a science fiction trope (a character ogles the female in some form or fashion) and turns it on its head. "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper," she says to insult Luke Skywalker as he stares at her before removing his helmet and tell her the rescue plan. It helps define Leia as a different kind of character -- and then she gets into a gunfight during their escape, too. This card from the original Star Wars set is that scene but not the exact on-screen moment -- but it was recognizable enough that I grabbed it for less than a blaster earlier this year. I'll still probably grade a newer card showing something from this moment in some form or fashion but now I don't have to ponder it as much.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: Check out the volume of the copies that are graded better than this -- there aren't many and that's how a pop report should look. (It almost often always does with vintage, though typically that 10 number might be a goose egg.) This one is clean enough that had it not had that larger printing dot on the upper right edge it would probably be at least a PSA 9.

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HAD TO DO IT
The Card: The Freeze 2018 Topps Opening Day Team Traditions and Celebrations #TF -- "Rookie Card"
The Reason Graded: I only had one copy of this one to grade and I knew it probably wouldn't check in at a 10 since one corner was just slightly tweaked, but I thought there still might be a slim chance at a 10 so I sent it. Either way, this is the kind of oddity cardboard that I love to see in slabs because it has no peer. The Freeze is a character in an Atlanta Braves stadium race -- a former college sprinter vs. some random fan picked that day -- and they have to run the warning track of the outfield during a mid-inning breaks during games.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: This one graded as I expected. It's the only copy graded which is not that surprising. Nope, just me grading stuff like this I guess ...

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MATCHING SET OF SLABS
The Card: Miss Elizabeth 1991 Titan Sports WWF Playing Cards (4)
The Reason Bought: I picked this group up for roughly $10 a card because it was something different and I liked the idea of a matching suit for this 1980s wrestling icon. I didn't even know this set existed -- it's not that much of a priority to me even knowing that it does -- but there have been a number of cards graded from it between Hulk Hogan, Undertaker and The Road Warriors who were known as Legion of Doom for this set. It's always good to have some different and potentially interesting slabs in your stash.
The Grade: BGS 9.5 on all suits*

Reality Check: Of more than 40 total cards in this release, nothing has graded higher than a 9.5 and these four are the only ones for her other than a BGS 8 out there. Most cards from these decks check in at this grade, by the way. I think a matching set has some good appeal here ... not sure I'd do singles.

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THE RIGHT COLOR
The Card: A.J. McCarron 2014 Panini Hot Rookies Rookie Signatures Red Holofoil #331 (/15)
The Reason Bought: I picked up this slab for around the same dollar amount as the volume made here because, for me, it's a player with some school ties, it's the correct parallel color and even has a serial-number that matches his NFL uniform at that time. Simple as that -- and I didn't have one raw anyway due to its scarcity.
The Grade: BGS 9.5/10

Reality Check: It's the only one graded -- and it would have cost me more to slab it had I owned one already.  Six of his 10 cards from this release have this grade and nothing higher. Since he's not exactly torn it up in his NFL career there aren't likely to be more graded, either. (Unless I do some grabbing and slabbing.)

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MILB MISTAKE
The Card: Joe Mauer 2010 Disabled American Veterans Minnesota Twins set #56
The Reason Bought: I picked up this card for $5 from the same MiLB dealer I mentioned earlier thinking it was a different card. The listing was for this card but its pic showed one of his earlier cards that would have been a steal for $5 as a slab. (It was right before this card and I thought this one was the cheaper of two copies available ... I didn't read the title.) My bad. These apparently were stadium giveaway sets for a number of teams in the past with that approach helping them end up in the MiLB dealer's hands. The card backs are identical on each card -- a DAV ad of sorts -- so they don't have as much appeal and aren't as expensive, but they are out there and are definite oddball cards for a lot of players.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: It's the lowest-graded copy but I can live with my $5 mistake ... no biggie. It's one of those unusual cards where if I had to get rid of it there could be more than $5 interest. For now it will reside in my slab boxes.

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CURIOSITY GOT ME ...
The Card: Jose Canseco 1987 Topps Tiffany #620
The Reason Bought: I landed this one for less than $3 and you're probably wondering why. Well, "Why?" is what got me to bite here. What is it? It's a rarer Tiffany version of his first basic Topps card and it's printed on bright whiter stock with a glossy finish. These rarer sets can yield some strong cards if in high grade for key names, but the centering you see here is what got me when I found a set in the wild and opened it back in the day. This card is not one I pulled and it looks fine other than the centering. I bought it because of curiosity -- I needed to know why it got this grade.
The Grade: PSA 4

Reality Check: This one has about an inch-long surface crease in the middle of the card. It doesn't look really bad -- and it isn't bad enough to notice in a photo since it doesn't wrinkle the front that hard -- but it's definitely there. The funny part of this experiment of mine? I didn't check the pop report before I grabbed it ... it's the worst copy of them all and the rarest grade to get.

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VINTAGE CHALLENGES
The Card: John Johnson 1974-75 Topps #66
The Reason Bought: This is the one vintage NBA player I collect and I can't explain how tough it is to land high-grade stuff from this era for this sport. I mean, it's possible, but closer to the im-possible in many instances. This card isn't an elite grade but I needed it (I'd prefer an 8) and it was less than $10 ... so I did the deed.
The Grade: PSA 7

Reality Check: This overall pop report seems very low in volume and that's probably in part to the centering, printing and cutting being so bad here so often along with all of that black ink that should be prone to snow. Seeing the pop report numbers I don't feel too bad about a PSA 7. I also know it's easily in better shape than the dozens of copies I picked up long ago and added to through the years before grading even existed. (I'd pretty much grab them when I saw them as long as they were cheap.) With just two PSA 9s and a PSA 10 nowhere in existence, this feels good for the price.

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GRADER'S GONNA GET THESE HANDS!
The Card: Braun Strowman 2016 Topps WWE Heritage #5 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: The WWE's top big man has a few RCs out there (not that many compared to other sports) and this one was one of my favorites with its 1986 Topps re-do that is better than the original in countless ways. Well, other than the stock's surface texture and the tight wrappers that were used. That top right corner is the biggest flaw here but I think this copy was the lesser of all evils between print spots, surface divots and centering among the copies I have. I was hoping for a PSA 9 but also was worried about some other things with these cards ... so this one went in for slabbing.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: Those worries? Well, the lights in the ceiling of the arena there are seen on every card but they look a bit like missing ink unless you check under a loupe ... so that I worried about. Now that I have it back, it's that corner that derailed things for sure. The rough stock here is definitely an issue -- that scared me off of slabbing via BGS -- but the scarier part here? This is the highest-graded copy ... somebody out there somehow landed a PSA 5.

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