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 buys/submissions over the last few months.

MY RAINBOW IS COMPLETE ... I THINK
The Card: Nick Swisher 2015 Panini Prizm USA Baseball Black Finite Prizms #6 (1/1)
The Reason Bought: So, Buzz hasn't gotten his hands on as much wax as normal out there in the retail wild these days -- I'm just not camping out at 5 a.m. -- so that's actually been a good thing for when rarer cards present themselves. One example is this 1/1 card that popped up slabbed recently and I grabbed it because I think it completes my rainbow (I'm not organized enough yet to know for sure but I'm 99-percent sure) and, more importantly, it's one of a few instances where I own game-used memorabilia seen on a card. That jersey? It's in my stash ... though he didn't play a lot that summer. (The No. 11 jersey was sold via Hunt Auctions in a bulk lot of USA stuff from several years in several groups long ago and I found it a few years after that.) Oddly enough, there's a decent chance that this card cost me around the same amount as the jersey ... actually, the jersey might have been cheaper.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It's the only card that's in existence so the pop report shows that and won't ever change. What I'm not sure of is whether any of the autographed cards for him on the checklist from this release were ever actually made -- or are they might all be out there in a box or two mis-packed. Not one has ever surfaced. (You never know.)

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

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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 ...

GRADING THE PHENOM
The Card: Baby Yoda ("The Child") 2019 Star Wars Living Set #58
The Reason Graded: I picked up a few of these since I knew they'd be hot -- it set a record with 9,663 copies sold that shows how it definitely was in demand. However, that volume is significantly higher than anything else in the set and that  can also lead to lower re-sale prices as those who bought in bulk want to move them. (They have more competition.) Grading-wise, this one is the big leader, too, but I still wanted to chase a 10.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I came close but ultimately checked in where most cards here do. Nearly 50 cards from the set have been graded and this guy is on 29 of them. Only two other copies have five or more graded copies and that leaves the rest as population-one cards. I didn't get a 10 but I'm fine with this mark as the stock does seem like it might be a tougher grade than other types.

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

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a little bit of everything.

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RARE STUFF 
The Card: Addie Joss 2019 Panini Flawless Legendary Jumbo Materials Sapphire (/7)
The Price: Just under $80
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I don't pony up this big for single cards all that often, but something grabbed my attention here. Actually, it was a mix of a few things (beyond just the price) for a Hall of Famer who only has memorabilia cards in only a few releases (Diamond Kings, Flawlesss, National Treasures) from just the last two years. First, price. Second, this one has a huge swatch and based on the look of it, I'd bet big money that the material came from a $12,426 pair of game-used pants sold by Lelands in late 2017. Third, Joss played just nine years -- 1902 to 1910 -- won 160 games in that span and fell ill in spring training the following year and died at age 31 from tubercular meningitis so it's not some decades-later coach-worn piece. (Learn more about his career here  -- and there's a ton more here that's also interesting.) For memorabilia and cardboard, there's just not much to go around for him and my gut feeling about this one's price felt even better when I checked eBay completed sales to see easier versions of this card pushing $200. With the price of those pants -- and the fact that there are no known jerseys out there beyond anything hanging out at the Hall of Fame per the auction house -- there could be fewer jumbo cards like one this made in the future and a finite volume of memorabilia cards in general for this notable name from the past. I'd grab 'em while you can if you have any interest.
Grab a box right here: Panini Flawless (all years)

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... this is Hour 8.

The pack: 1998 Bowman football wax pack (hobby)
The cost now: $6
The cost then: $2.50

What's inside this pack? Keep reading ...

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