Making The Grade is a monthly department here on The Buzz that ran all year long in 2019 -- its first complete season so far. Its a place where newly slabbed cards and a few pick-ups get the spotlight -- a little show-and-tell to get people talking and thinking about cards beyond "What's it worth?"

Sometimes I picked cards for fun, sometimes I chased 10s, but other times I slabbed with some longer-term "investment" thought -- and I don't even do that often. (My go-to is to simply slab stuff that I like.) The card you see up top? You can firmly place it in the red-hot fun file. The card at right? You can put it in the long-term keeper stack along with the guy below him, who had plenty of appearances in the series this year.

As one of a couple of 2019 retrospective posts I have planned -- they're at least on my to-do list at least until other work pops up -- here's a look at the series where I talked about 158 new slabs this past year. You can see them all at the links below.

January -- Making the Grade: Patrick Mahomes, The Mick, Tommy Chong, Whitney Houston, botched cardboard & more

February -- Making the Grade: Patrick Mahomes, Bo Knows, Wendy Peffercorn, Tom Brady, Super Bowl stars & more

March -- Making the Grade: Young MVPs, iconic Hall of Famers, Silent Bob, March Madness, a Future Superstar & more

April -- Making the Grade: Vince McMahon, Steve Austin and WrestleMania icons plus Ronald Acuña Jr. & more MLB stars

May -- Making the Grade: Baker Mayfield, JLo's Rookie Card, Joe Cool, Nuke LaLoosh, Hailie Deegan & more past gems

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

July -- Making the Grade: Aaron Judge, Jayson Tatum, Ric Flair, Michael Jordan, Ronald Acuña Jr., Billy Ripken's bad bat knob, Chrissy Teigen's Rookie Card, The Big Lebowski's ink & more

August -- Making the Grade: New Vladdy, Acuña, Rally Squirrel, Undertaker, Juggernaut, Michael Jordan, Paige, Kurt Cobain, The Bad News Bears' ace ... and Keith Comstock's beanballs?

September -- Making the Grade: Joe Namath's ink, Dak & Jerry Rookie Cards, Saquon Barkley, Lonzo Ball, 1990s NFL classics, high-grade vintage, The Four Horsewomen of NXT & more

October -- Making the Grade: Ronald Acuña Jr. heaters, Clerks, Ernie Davis, hot ink, Supergirl, Catwoman & real Nuke LaLoosh

November -- Making the Grade: Dak Prescott, Luka Doncic, Magic Johnson & John Cena rookies, Robert Mueller, the first perfect Keith Comstock, Meghan Markle's MLB card & more

December -- Making the Grade: Rare Shohei Ohtani, Star Wars, Pete Alonso, Tim Duncan, vintage, several WWE stars & more

--

Need even more? See previous months' Making The Grade posts by clicking here (scroll down)

--

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

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 ...

The Card: Joe Namath 2015 Topps 60th Anniversary Rookie Reprint Autographs #T60RAJN
The Reason Graded: Buzz first met this NFL legend almost 20 years ago and landed the ink for free thanks to some luck while autograph hounding but when it comes to certified autographs of this icon I didn't have any until recent years. Why? He's always been a pricey auto but that has come down a bit as he's been a steady signer and doesn't have quite as much hobby heat as the guy at the end of this month's list. This release was how Topps burned off its Hall of Famer autographs via packs on its website once its NFL deal was done, so the influx of big-name autos helped make the supply even stronger at the time perhaps without added demand. I scouted them all where I buy and this one looked near-perfect to me in both its centering and that ink. Seriously, look at that signature ... that's a perfect Namath auto.
The Grade: BGS 9.5/10

Reality Check: I absolutely thought I had a BGS 10 contender with this one, though I submitted it before I picked up my better loupe and I probably didn't check the back as closely as I should have. Either way, it's still a very solid card in my stash. I don't grade autographs all that often -- I fear results I won't like on those -- but this one I had to. Most of them landed this grade with only one higher so I don't feel bad about not landing a 10.

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

Continue reading →

SportKings is back and one of the surprises in store for this one is that the legendary brand will be found in blaster boxes this time around -- with a hit in every box -- without a premium price. 

This time around, it's SAGE creating the brand that stems from the 1930s, and while we'll have more details for you if you keep reading, the big key today is that there's another surprise as this one has arrived.

Blowout Cards will be giving away the contents of a 20-box case on Friday at 11 a.m. (Eastern) right here on BlowoutTV.

Continue reading →

If you watch a Dallas Cowboys game, odds are you'll see him at least once -- typically after a win or some kind of replay that generated a reaction from the owner's box high above the 50-yard line.

But one thing where Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn't often found is in packs of NFL cards but Panini America has a new rarity coming soon showing him as one of the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Continue reading →