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 ...

TICKET TO HISTORY ...
The Ticket: Woodstock (Aug.15-17, 1969) -- three-day ticket ($24)
The Reason Bought: There are more than a dozen different styles of tickets for this historic event in music and pop culture history and none of them are all that rare -- and that makes for an interesting grading market. High-grade tickets can be priced like they're non-existent yet about 60 percent of the full tickets that are slabbed check in at a PSA 9 or 10 and raw tickets (assuming they are real ... but there's a chance they might not be) can be found on the cheap under $100. I knew quite awhile back that I wanted one in a slab and I was patient with my window shopping until I spotted this one. I wanted a three-day style but there are single-day tickets that are very traditional-looking and I finally spotted this one at a good price (just under $100) vs. the same thing with asking prices for 9s and 10s that are as high as $1,000. Actual sales for higher grades are typically anywhere from $200 to $700 on eBay with a lot of irregularity -- and BINs just under the $200 mark quite often. In short, they're findable.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: More than 3,750 different full tickets have been slabbed for Woodstock and this version -- one of three types in the PSA pop report for a three-day ticket -- is the easiest and the only one with more than 1,000 copies slabbed. In fact, the number of 10s for this style is higher than all but two of the entire slab totals for other styles. I didn't sweat the grade as the flaws on this one seem minor -- I'm imagining some minor black ink "snow" on there perhaps dropped it a grade but generally everything here is clean to the eye with no obvious flaws. That's good enough for me as beginner or one-time dabbler. Modern tickets for big artists can be quite pricey when slabbed as availability is often an issue, but I'm assuming a bulk "find" of these happened at some point back in the day given the high-profile event and all that went into it.

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 ...

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WITH CLAWS I
The Card: Wolverine sketch card by Skip Charron -- 2017 Upper Deck Marvel Annual Sketch Cards (1/1)
The Price: $24
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There are a boatload of quality sketch cards out there in the world that seem seriously undervalued right now despite the fact that everything is one of a kind. This one is nice -- a color piece of an iconic character -- but these types of cards are also really the kind of item where one can't say "go grab all of these" as they are one of a kind and they can all be so different between artists and subjects. Why does this one lead off this time? To make that point -- if you can't find boxes, don't like prices on new Rated Rookies who haven't even hit your store shelves yet or just want to try something different ... then you might check out stuff you might not have at this time a year or two ago. That's what I did here.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... see all Marvel boxes here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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Ok, it's not the weekend, but this was slated to be sent last night -- further proving that it was a busy one on The Buzz this past week. Here are 10 stories worth a look if you missed out. Check 'em out & hit the subscribe button at right if you want email updates.

This Week's Big Hit?
It seems that 2017 Donruss' arrival has collectors talking and there's fun to be found inside its packs. Click here to start with variations and find links to checklists & more. After that, check out a Buzz Break of a hobby box right here.

Keep reading for more ...

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The newest small star of the big screen world that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be a big deal once again very soon on the auction block.

How?

The original art used for the first comic book appearance of Laura Kinney, aka X-23, will be hitting the open market next month via Heritage Auctions.

X-23 is the new star played by Dafne Keen alongside Hugh Jackman in Logan, which has raked its way to more than $104 million at the box office in the United States alone since its release less than one week ago. (It's up to $295 million world-wide.)

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Hot comic books for Logan, big pulls, rare wrestling boxes, Kris Bryant's most-iconic Rookie Card and then things went "boom."

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The final trailer for Logan has arrived in advance of its arrival on March 3 and it appears that the latest movie in the X-Men/Wolverine franchise will carry a darker and more violent tone despite having one of its main characters being just 11 years old.

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