Buzz Buys: Autographs, Tiffy Time, patches, SPs, mags & more

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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 ... 

TIFFY TIME ... IS NOW
The Cards: Tiffany Stratton 2022 Panini Prizm WWE Premium Box Set (/199) & Orange Prizm (/99) -- Rookie Card parallels
The Price: About $60 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: She's the new NXT women's champ and that is likely going to mean more people are looking for her 2022 Rookie Cards from Panini America where she arrived in the meaty Prizm debut but actually didn't make the cut in all of the other sets from last year. Why? She was very new to WWE even when this first set arrived. I picked up both of these this spring when it seemed very obvious her time -- what she calls "Tiffy Time" -- was coming in NXT and I suspect it won't stop here. For more on her background, check out my previous Buzz Buys where there were more pick-ups. In short, I'm sold on the in-ring potential here and the over-the-top character work, too. These also will both eventually be slabbed cards in my collection.
Grab a box: WWE boxes are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

A TRANSCENDENT LEGEND
The Card: Hank Aaron 2018 Topps Transcendent Origins Sketch Reproductions (/83)
The Price: $11.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Hall of Famer and former home run king is criminally undervalued and under-appreciated and that means it's not hard to find bargains on his newer cards. It's a bit of a shame Aaron didn't lead things off in 2023 Topps Heritage like he did in 1974 -- Aaron Judge got that nod -- but this card is a different kind of animal. This is from the landmark brand that took baseball cards to a new level and yet it was super-affordable since ink isn't in play. Art cards aren't always popular -- and some pieces in this brand can be odd -- but this one is somewhat comfortable.
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARD ... PLUS SOME
The Card: Paige Van Zant autographed & inscribed 2015 Topps Knockout -- Rookie Card (Fanatics Authentic)
The Price: $45
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This former UFC star turned wrestler and now card-breaker of sorts -- really -- popped up in AEW in late 2021 and was there into last year. That's what got me looking for some slabbed RCs and certified autos ... just something to have in the stash to check that box in the wrestling collection since she didn't have any AEW cards. I didn't land a RC in a slab -- still on the list as I'm being picky -- but I had her first Chrome here in a past item and this time I'll present the ink I went with. This is a Fanatics slabbed RC with a full, clean auto and an extra touch and that worked for me for the price (less than some retail box SRPs on the shelf). It's not graded but the case presents it better and is its authentication. At time point I may still add a Chrome auto -- those have full sigs -- but a lot of the other stuff simply has a "PVZ" auto.
Grab a box: UFC boxes are here.

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THAT YOU, LEBOWSKI?
The Card: Relaxed Fit Jonesy 2021 Panini Fortnite Series III
The Price: $1.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one is clearly an homage to The Big Lebowski and I had to have it, dude. In fact, I grabbed this raw copy and a slabbed parallel that you'll see soon in Making The Grade. I'll say more (but not too much more) then. 
Grab a box: Fortnite boxes are here.

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FOUR OF A KIND ...
The Card: Huston Street, Nick Swisher, Rich Harden & Joe Blanton 2006 UD Ultimate Ensemble Signaures (/25)
The Price: $15
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This brand is one that is a sweet spot of sorts for me with my PC player who was just arriving in full on cards -- autographs, memorabilia, patch cards -- in brands like this around that time. I didn't open boxes of all that -- they were too pricey for me considering the "miss" boxes but those prices pale in comparison to today -- but I did pick off a lot of his singles over time. And, like a lot of stuff, over time, prices come down on a lot on singles as players disappear from the game. With everybody here retired, the price is probably about right ... and I'd probably do more if they presented themselves.
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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A FLASHIER ROOKIE CARD
The Card: Adley Rutschman 2021 Bowman's Best Refractor -- Rookie Card parallel 
The Price: $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy's lone RC is in this set thanks to the checklist botch and while I was looking for a slabbed copy but striking out I just decided to grab one of these. Why? Just to have something there. He's had some impressive moments, making him worth dabbling with on cards when cheap. Overall, he's still high-profile, so that's perhaps easier said than done.
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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CARDBOARD PERFECTION ...
The Cards: Bo Bichette 2022 Topps Heritage photo variation 
The Price: About $35 total ... because I really like this one.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This photo set is a bit awkward as I took them all at different times as they arrived. When I saw this variation pop up -- I believe from the high series despite being a regular series card number -- I needed it and so I bought one, and another, and another and a lot. Why? I wanted a strong slab candidate ... which might not be easy here. But he's easily among my more-collected players and this photo is a classic in a number of ways, making that 1973 Topps design better than it did back then. At least that's my take on it.
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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SCOUTING FOR THE FUTURE
The Card: Austin Theory 2022 Panini Impeccable WWE Gold (/35)
The Price: $7
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This relative newcomer to WWE is one who will be in the big picture sooner than later -- his WrestleMania match this year was against John Cena -- but card-wise he's not all that pricey. Why? Not totally sure but the potential is there and he doesn't have a boatload of stuff like some names. His RCs and other early cards are in 2020 WWE releases but this one was too rare on the volume side and too cheap from a premium brand for me to pass.
Grab a box: WWE boxes are here.

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NO INK AT THE (TIFFY) TIME ..
The Items: Tiffany Stratton autographed 8-by-10 photos (Blue one BAS authenticated)
The Price: About $40
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pairing came into my stash in the recent past -- before her first certified autos arrived in 2023 Panini Prizm WWE -- and these are also far, far cheaper than a lot of those auto cards, which have stickers where her name gets scrunched down hard. (I suspect a shorter autograph will be coming at some point with the auto cards to likely come in 2023 but we'll see.) I try to land ink for notables if they have cards or a signed promo photo if they don't -- now that she's the NXT women's champ for the first time, I suspect there will be more interest. For more on this front, check out a past Buzz Buys where I mentioned finding her ink previously ... and other cards.
Grab a box: WWE boxes are here.

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A LEGENDARY THROWBACK
The Card: Christy Mathewson 1980 Perez-Steele Hall of Fame Art Postcards First Series (/10,000)
The Price: $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This landmark set cards from the past was a showcase of legendary past players -- many without a ton of more-modern cards at that time -- and these were an oddity of sorts in that they were serial-numbered, too. (Not a normal thing for 1980.) As more players entered the Hall, more were added in later series, while the cap of 10,000 copies was always in play. The first set here -- No. 00001/10,000 -- was presented to Ronald Reagan at the White House, while younger collectors were introduced to Dick Perez's artwork as part of Donruss' Diamond Kings cards in packs beginning in 1982.
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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ROUND & ROUND ...
The Card: Hoss Radbourn 2013 Panini Cooperstown Collection Colgan's Chips Discs
The Price: $1.65
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Hall of Famer won 60 -- yes, 60 -- games in 1884 with a 1.38 ERA over more than 678 innings pitched, striking out 441 batters. Really. "Old Hoss" remains an all-time record-holder with that 60 -- it won't be touched -- and he also won 48 games the year before as part of a 300-win career in just 11 seasons. More trivial fun? In 1886 he was captured flipping the bird in a team photo (he was a character) and you can read more about him here. He appears on very little cardboard -- about 30 cards -- with this being one of five from Panini's first two Cooperstown sets.
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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BARGAIN-PRICED ...
The Book: Drew Barrymore autographed Find It In Everything publisher-edition book
The Price: $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This used and slightly scuffed-up book -- no serious damage just not as pristine as I like them -- was a steal with that simple signature being part of this publisher-edition copy. Barrymore has done a few books with signed editions so her "DB" signature isn't all that rare, but her higher-profile in entertainment can mean strong prices here and there on some things. (These typically do sell for a few times more than this.) The heart is fitting here as the book is a simple collection of photos where she spotted hearts out in the world and snapped photos. Sometimes they were obvious, sometimes they were not. They're all in there along with one more she added herself.
Grab a box: Non-sports boxes are here.

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DRAWN TO THE SET
The Cards: Jay Leno, Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho ... plus all others in the 1998 Topps WCW set
The Price: Not much as it was in a lot deal ... several sets and other items for like $60. 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This set was part of an album buy that had this one and a few others in it long ago and I simply snapped a photo of these three key cards from the set before I put it all away. These three are among their first traditional "Rookie Cards" here, though other international sets do have cards for Jericho and Guerrero. This set actually includes a number of debuts for big names ... about 30 ... with the chase being certified autos. (Finding hobby boxes here isn't likely happening ... at least on the cheap. If the boxes say something about stickers on the front, those are retail editions.)
Grab a box: WWE boxes are here.

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ROOKIE CARDS? (NAW ... )
The Card: Rafael Palmeiro 2000 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion Edition -- "rookie cards" maybe? (No, but fun thought ... keep reading)
The Price: Pocket change
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pick-up in advance of Father's Day is one that has some interesting trivia attached. At left is Patrick Palmeiro who was around nine here, while at right is Preston Palmeiro who was probably about four years old -- a guess given his date of birth and maybe the fingers he's holding up. They're his sons, of course, but what makes this interesting is that both were draft picks and have MiLB time. The older son played three seasons (2012-14) after being a 22nd-round pick of the Pirates out of UAB, while the younger one is a 28-year-old now in Triple-A ball for the Angels. He was a seventh-round pick of the Orioles back in 2016.
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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ALWAYS-PREMIUM FEEL
The Card: Nick Swisher 2006 UD Ultimate Game Patches (/50)
The Price: $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one is right in my wheelhouse in so many ways -- a three-color patch from the Oakland years made to low volume and on the cheap. I'll buy them all day like this ... and I have a number of them to show for that. (This one is the same brand as my previous mention on this front. Not much else to say.)
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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FLASHES OF GREATNESS? (PROBABLY NOT.)
The Card: Hudson Card 2021 Leaf Memories 1990 Base Autographs Green Spectrum (/35)
The Price: $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy was breifly the go-to guy for the Texas Longhorns when Quinn Ewers went down with an injury against Alabama and had meaningful time in four games with two wins and six TDs in that stretch. I picked up this one during that Alabama game -- kind of on a whim -- and it sat and sat and sat ... just like Card did when Ewers returned. This year, he will be a Purdue Boilermaker and played "as advertised" in the spring after transferring for his senior year. Maybe there's hope for my whim yet ... but I'll stick to Alabama guys from now on.
Grab a box: Football boxes are here.

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PROMOTIONAL DEBUT
The Item: Cameron Diaz, The Mask 8-by-10 promotional photo 
The Price: About $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This promo photo for the Jim Carrey film was in minty shape for a couple of color spots from a foreign substance that I thought might rub off with a cloth ... but didn't. (Typically if images were used by publications in the past a lot of stuff written on them is in grease pencil that can rub off. Not this time.) At a glance this image -- from Diaz's film debut -- looks good but I kept tinkering with the two spots to remove whatever it was atop the gloss and now there are a couple of surface spots/scuffs. My bad. A minty fresh copy of this in a PSA slab -- yes, they do that -- would be a good item that will command more than $8 but finding minty fresh copies of stuff like this that got used and then often times discarded isn't always the easiest thing to do. (Or, if it's from a press kit with a lot of images and big names asking prices can be a little nutty.)
Grab a box: Non-sports boxes are here.

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SIGNED FOR CHARITY
The Card: Mandy Sacs 2023 One Dope Photographer autographed kiss card (/199)
The Price: $35
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was created by a professional photographer who does many of the various photo shoots for WWE stars and other pro wrestlers (among others) that they post to make that money over on Instagram. In this case, these were signed (and kissed) to raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Shot/designed by @onedopephotographer on Instagram, this one was priced a lot lower than a lot of unsigned WWE kiss cards can sell for and Rose, while not a tough auto to find, can still sell well despite her exit. I bit after seeing a tweet on this and they sold out quickly for her and a couple of others.
Grab a box: WWE boxes are here.

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OTHER HALF OF A LOT ...
The Card: Dominik Dijakovic 2020 Topps WWE NXT Roster Autographs Bronze (/99)
The Price: About $5 in a lot deal
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card was a throw-in in a past lot buy of mine and since he's back recently in NXT he's been a demolisher of sorts with plenty to say. (The character is growing on me, actually.) I had plenty to say about that initialgraph when I saw it, but I think I managed to avoid pulling him in my boxes for the most part ... a really good release where I have opened so many boxes.
Grab a box: WWE boxes are here.

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MINI MACE
The Card: Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) 2022 Topps 206 Star Wars Series 2
The Price: $1.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This film icon has a lot of memorable roles and a lot of Star Wars cards, too, but when I saw his name on the T206 checklist where these intergalactic icons hit tobacco cards like it's eons ago? Well, I had to grab one.
Grab a box: Star Wars boxes are here.

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SURPRISE FIND ...
The Cards: 1999 Austin Powers Collectible Card Game starter decks (three)
The Price: Approximately $2 each
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This trio of decks was a really unexpected find during a check of the toy/gaming aisle at a closeout chain where I typically grab old comics repacks and maybe a book here and there. Why? They're pushing 25 years old and that's just not normal ... even for a retail junk store. How'd that happen? No idea. I grabbed three decks since they were cheap and it turns out that these include a lot of extras as starters for the gameplay and they're all identical with the best two cards (last two in gallery) only in there once. This movie is a memorable one to me with a lot of cameos and characters and most have cards here, though it's in a gaming context. The booster boxes (packs) include everything and most of the better cards. I may open a box of those here at some point if I find one on the cheap as I think there's some fun cheap-slab potential if you land a good card and it's well-centered and otherwise clean.
Grab a box: Non-sports boxes are here.

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DIFFERENT-STYLE ARTWORK
The Items: Mick Foley & Asuka -- Rob Schamberger 11-by-14 unsigned prints
The Price: About $15 apiece? (It was long ago ... but there was a sale and bonus items.)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pair of prints was a pick-up long ago where a buy of X-amount got some autographed bonus items -- you have already seen those if you're a long-time reader. These caught my attention for the combo of price and a different approach than a lot of the work from this official WWE artist.
Grab a box: WWE boxes are here.

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YO, JOES ...
The Cards: Joe Namath 1981 TCMA Greats ... no-number/with number variations 
The Price: About $3 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pair of throwback cards isn't anything all that special -- though there is an error and variation in play here -- but retro card sets like this aren't all that common for NFL vs. the mess of stuff you can find for MLB. When I saw these cards of "Broadway Joe" on the cheap and being very clean they were an easy pick-up.
Grab a box: NFL boxes are here.

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TRIVIAL THROWBACK
The Card: Al Schacht 1988 CCC 1939 Play Ball reprints
The Price: About $1.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This reprint card came upon my radar awhile back after I saw something somewhere -- probably some small MLB Network segment that got me to look -- and it was so cheap I said "Why not?" What's the deal? Click the card image here to read it ... he was a former player turned ballpark act as you can probably figure by the photo. Like "Old Hoss" Radbourn, he doesn't have a ton of card appearances ... but this reprint is one you can find rather easily.
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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AN ELUSIVE PROMO ... SEEMS TO BE FOR ME
The Item: Rene Russo Major League promotional 8-by-10 photo 
The Price: $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I mentioned an unopened press kit for this movie last time -- it had all of its photos in a sealed pack, something I have never seen before after buying these for years -- but for a long time this particular photo was an enigma and a tough one for me to track down unlike all the rest. (I already had one and likely wrote about it here in the past ... but grabbed another.) Why? For whatever reason, this portrait that was not directly from an on-field scene in this baseball movie was not commonly placed into most kits. I'm guessing based on a couple of old kit buys and looks, that this image was included in kits sent to the "movie people" at publications and not in kits sent to "sports people." Unfortunately it has her name written on the photo in Sharpie but it's otherwise clean.
Grab a box: MLB boxes are here.

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CALLED UP
The Card: Kayden Carter 2020 Topps WWE Women's Division Roster Autographs Pink (/150)
The Price: $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This veteran of NXT finally got the call to the main roster with her tag team partner, so I figured now's the time to pop this one up here. It was deep in my stacks of buys but since they were in NXT so long (albeit tag champions for a stretch) I never posed it here. Her first WWE cards were in 2019 when she was known as Lacey Lane so it's been a very long wait to get to Raw.
Grab a box: WWE boxes are here.

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THREE OF A (LOW-GRADE) KIND ...
The Mags: Paul "Bear" Bryant -- Sports Illustrated, TIME and Alabama Alumni News magazines 
The Price: Around $15 for the lot ... and almost all of that cost was shipping. 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This trio was a lot deal for the iconic Alabama Crimson Tide football coach with the TIME cover being a big fav of mine (if minter than this) with the Sports Illustrated right behind it. I've had these sitting for a while now and I've actually upgraded on the middle one with a copy that will be slabbed at some point for my school ties stash. The lot was so cheap I couldn't pass on it (like $2 apiece) ... and the SI while not a top-grade copy is also clean enough to consider slabbing. (I probably won't ... my wait list is deep.)
Grab a box: College football boxes are here.

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FOUND VIA PHONE (HOME)?
The Toy: Gertie (Drew Barrymore) E.T. Funko Pop! figure 
The Price: About $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one was a throw-in to get free shipping along with a blaster box from one of the big chains ... why? Well, beyond the free shipping I'm on a minor Barrymore kick with non-card stuff here and there as there's simply a boatload atop of boatloads of options for collecting beyond the card realm for her and her long career with tons of varying roles. This isn't a really rare or even a super-remarkable Funko Pop! really ... but I do mark E.T. as being among my earliest movie memories, so that probably got me a little bit here, too. (I was in either kindergarten or first grade when it arrived ... I fell asleep at the drive-in, yes drive-in, before it even ended.)
Grab a box: Non-sports boxes are here.

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GOING SOLO ...
The Mag: Elizabeth -- WWF Magazine, May 1992
The Price: $9.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Randy Savage and Elizabeth appeared on a boatload of wrestling magazines back in the day but not that many of them had her flying solo. This one isn't her best cover -- there are some portrait sessions with her and the WWE championship that win on that front after Savage was champ -- but with this one being high-grade and a BIN from a dealer I regularly buy from, I threw it into an order with a number of items. It's a low-priority slab candidate, too, given how it looks.
Grab a box: WWE boxes are here.

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PROMO CARD POWER
The Card: Jerry Springer 1998 Comic Images Jerry Springer Show Promos 
The Price: Pocket change as part of a $9.99 promo card lot
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I've been pondering a new department here on The Buzz for some time now -- something else once or twice a month like Buzz Buys -- but haven't yet found the time to flesh it all out and I say that since you're seeing a lot more than this one card in this photo. (It was shot that way on purpose.) Meanwhile, Springer's death in late April got me thinking of his cards and I realized had this one in a lot deal so here it is. It's interesting as it's a promo card from a set announcing a set that ultimately never got made. Ironically, I have a signed copy of this same card in a slab somewhere in my stash as I met him at a college speaking appearance eons ago.
Grab a box: Non-sports boxes are here.

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