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 ...

KING OF THE RING?
The Card: Elvis Presley in Kid Galahad -- 2022 Topps Elvis Presley: The King of Rock and Roll Pink parallel (/45)
The Reason Graded: I think I only bought one card from what was a Topps Now-style weekly look back at the career of The King from just a couple years ago -- and it was because of the boxing twist you see on this card. Couldn't tell you a thing about the movie and actually don't own a single Elvis CD -- much more Beatles here -- but the visual was unique to me so I grabbed, I believe, a five-pack of this card (likely in a past Buzz Buys) and landed this parallel as a bonus. It had been in my maybe-grade pile for a long time and as part of a variety-packed submission it finally made the cut. Why? How many other Elvis boxing cards do you know of? (I know of one ... this card's photo knocks it out cold.)
The Grade: CGC 10 (pristine)

Reality Check: There's only one other card in this parallel set graded to go with this solo slab -- a regular 10 -- but that doesn't surprise me that much. I don't think this would be that popular with collectors who might grade, but Presley is popular enough to have a ton of card appearances in his prime years and a number of posthumous releases as a giant and an icon of music ... and merchandise licensing, too. I figured I'd mix things up here this month and lead off with something different vs. some new football slabs as we enter that season or the obvious hot MLB names. (There's more NFL to come for both this time and in the coming months for sure.)

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 ...

MAMI'S HOME ...
The Card: Rhea Ripley 2020 Topps Chrome WWE Gold Refractor Autographs (/50) -- rookie-year auto
The Reason Graded: I picked up this one a few years ago for a pretty modest price -- about the price of a box back then -- and since then Ripley has emerged as the top name among a newer wave of stars who, barring injuries, should be helping redefine women's wrestling for some time. I had this one in my get-graded stacks for a long time as I don't often slab up auto cards -- I don't like surprises -- but I did it on this one and a standard auto earlier this year since they looked quite clean.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine) with 10 auto

Reality Check: As good as it gets and this card is a monster as it is. A raw copy pushed $500 not that long ago and a PSA 9 sold for that much as well earlier this year. A perfect 10 absolutely works for me on this one ... it's the best color here if you ask me, too.

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 ...

WILD THING!
The Card: Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) 2014 Topps Archives Major League 
The Reason Graded: As you can tell by the green label, this one is an older submission of mine ... but since spring training will be upon us soon I figured I'd lead off with an oddball classic and a card that has been pretty pricey in recent years despite being from a set where they showed up one per blaster box (if I remember correctly). The challenge here? Now even finding blasters is not easy ... they got ripped. Why? There weren't just basic inserts for some of the stars of Major League who got carded ... they signed, too. (Roughly one auto per hobby case.)
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: This one was clean so I knew I wanted to slab it -- the backs here have black borders that can be an issue -- and as it turns out this is the only 10 of a small bunch graded. That's a win for me.

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 ...

LEADING OFF WITH THE RECORD-BREAKER
The Card: Aaron Judge 2017 Topps Archives 1960 Rookie Stars
The Reason Graded: He has been an established slugger since his 52 homers as a rookie in 2017, but to a degree he'd fallen off card-wise (and power-wise) the last few years until smacking 39 in 2021 and his Yankees team record (and American League record) 62 homers this year.  I got rid of pretty much all of my RCs in 2017 -- no regrets -- to turn them into stuff I actively wanted (I'm still working rather glacially on some of those Clerks autograph runs) but some of my late-year Judge pulls and some inserts were saved along with my lone autograph. While I haven't yet slabbed my ink -- I probably will here at some point once I figure out what box I put it in -- this insert modeled after the memorable-but-overbearing 1960 Topps design was one that jumped out at me. Why? It was soooo clean.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: I was right and that pop shows me I'm not alone -- but it is surprising given how skinny the stock is here.

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 ... 

GOOD AS GOLD ...
The Card: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 2022 Panini Select WWE Gold Flash (/10)
The Reason Graded: If you recognize this card, well, there's a reason. Just a few weeks ago, I pulled it from a blaster box and thanks to CSG's quick, budget-minded services I turned this around fast and, well, this rarity pays for itself. This retail-only card is rare -- only nine others like it exist -- and it came back with a top mark since even the horizontal centering was clean. (That's not the norm from what I have seen with this release.) This is a pricey card right now so that was my main reason for slabbing, and now it's that much better.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: It's the only one that has been slabbed so far. How many might still be sitting in packs? Generally speaking, Select is a strong release worth your look in any format -- and I have other stuff here I intend to get graded.

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 ... and it might be the biggest edition ever.

BIG SEASON AHEAD?
The Card: Josh Allen 2018 Donruss Optic #154 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I pulled a pair of these from a number of rips -- probably deep in the archives here if you poke around -- but I never slabbed any of them back then, instead grading guys like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and maybe a Nick Chubb. Meanwhile, it turns out this guy might be The One over the long term from this rookie class. After this past season's successes and close finish at the end, I figured it was time to grade a pair of these and I'm still working through some of my past pulls to see if I need to grade more for this franchise QB.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: I was happy with this one (and I'll drop my other one here at some point later this season) as Optic stock can be hit and miss, particularly on the backs. Sometimes it's dents and wrinkles or minor dents but this one was clean. It looks like these do grade pretty well with nearly half of them getting this mark. An interesting comparison to make here? PSA has graded more than 2,500 of these with more than half being 10s, while BGS has graded only 160 and SGC has slabbed 320.

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 ...

THIS IS WHY YOU GRADE ...
The Book: The Amazing Spider-Man #361 -- first full appearance of Carnage (Marvel cards here)
The Reason Graded: As you probably read in a past piece where I previously graded my other newsstand copy of this iconic issue, I have a stash of early 1990s books that are all quite clean as I was picking off stuff from a bookstore without rack damage. I was more of an art fan/collector than a reader -- it was all about art and condition -- and this cover-price pickup came at a time where cards were starting to get too expensive to me in 1992 so I dabbled. I have had this stashed all this time and while the pop report here is heavy for sure ... how many of them can be newsstand 9.8s? I suspect it's a definite minority of that 5,000-some books.
The Grade: CGC 9.8 (Universal)

Reality Check: When I graded my other copy of this its pop was at 20,179 and there have been big gains at 9.4, 9.6 and 9.8. The eBay asking prices on this one for newsstand include $6,999 (not getting hit), $2,500 for a pair, just under $2,200, $2,000 and a bunch down to $750. Not that helpful. Actual eBay sales? Highs around $1,200 down to around $600 ... so definitely still a little all over the place. Recent sales are also still in that range for this key issue. No matter the timing or the price paid ... this is an example of why you grade good stuff. All it cost me $1.25 and grading fees.

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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 ... 

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A RARE ROOKIE CARD PARALLEL 
The Card: Calvin Ridley 2018 Donruss Jersey Number parallel (/18) -- Rookie Card parallel
The Price: $37.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was more of a premium pick-up for me yet still felt like a steal, too, as this is one of those rarer parallel type of cards where if you pass on one copy you might not see another again as it's a super-rare card in a release with a meaty, multi-format print run -- meaning some of the cards might never be found. It's relatively clean and I also had my eye on it for possible grading but there's a minor wrinkle or surface indent that could get a low mark (maybe). I probably won't risk that but it's no big deal as this one is staying in my school ties part of my stash. It doesn't hurt that he could have an even more dominating kind of season with future Hall of Famer Julio Jones on the move, though.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Donruss NFL (a few formats)

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