1984 Fleer Update
Buzz Buys: Mickey Mantle, Rosario Dawson, The Babe, Bo's RC, WWE icons & newcomers, old magazines, comics & plenty more
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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MY LAST FROM THE PROJECT ...
The Card: Mickey Mantle 2021 Topps Project70 by Alex Pardee (/12,112)
The Price: $19.99 via Topps
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This artist captured most of the big-print-run attention in the second Project and this card that mashed his monster vibes with Mantle's 1952 Topps card and then 1981 Topps was the last one to get my attention and a buy last year. (Or was it this year?) Anyway, this one recently arrived in my mailbox and since this year's Project100 has arrived with a totally different approach and a number of changes -- not all good ones in my view -- I figured I'd drop this here. The print run of this won't be touched this year -- they're capped at less than half of that for 2022 -- but I suspect I'll be keeping an eye on the offerings. You should keep an eye on the past cards now if you passed before ... and keep an eye open on the new ones, too. You never know where the collecting winds and tastes might spark interest. Some monsters could be waiting.
Grab a box right here: None for this one ... click here for MLB boxesKeep reading for more interesting items ...
Potential Baseball Hall of Famers' Rookie Cards are easy finds
There are eight guys with realistic chances at being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame tonight (announcement is set for 6 p.m. EST on MLB Network) and there's one good thing to be had here for potential new baseball card collectors or veterans still needing them.
Most of them have Rookie Cards can be easily landed thanks to the timeframe when they were made -- and they have plenty of cards to chase in boxes made since.
The first lock of the bunch is former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, MLB's career saves leader (652), who is a contender for the highest Hall of Fame voting percentage ever. That mark is 99.6 percent of ballots and is held by Ken Griffey Jr. back in 2016. Unlike Griffey -- and others you'll see here -- Rivera has just one Rookie Card. It can be found in 1992 Bowman, a set that added gloss and white stock into the brand's repertoire along with a deeper checklist (and guys in street clothes). Rivera has more than 5,500 different cards but only one gets the RC label -- that's a rarity in this day and age that helps bolster its value. (If you want one, buy it graded. They have been counterfeited.) >> Check out his autographed cards (and more) on eBay
Who else is out there and potentially headed to Cooperstown?
Making the Grade (January): Patrick Mahomes, The Mick, Tommy Chong, Whitney Houston, botched cardboard & more
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: 2017 Donruss Press Proofs Red #327 Patrick Mahomes II Rated Rookie
The Reason Graded: Oh what a difference a year makes. This time last year, this parallel Rookie Card was a pull from a retail box where it didn't do much for me -- in fact, I had it set aside to send away when I revisited a box out of curiosity and there he was ... and he wasn't alone. Now, he's an MVP lock and one of the hotter Rookie Cards in the hobby after a 50-touchdown season. These Reds are only found in retail boxes and I figured I'd take my shot at getting it in a slab since it looked pretty clean.
The Grade: BGS 9.5Grade 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 B10 Total Population 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Reality Check: It was definitely that and what's surprising is that nobody else has pulled one and opted to slab it up. Yes, I know it's the rare autos from key brands that lead the way, but I think a slab for a card like this -- one where there may not be as many out there as other un-numbered parallels -- with a low pop could surprise you if you were a seller. (I'm not ... I stash my stuff 99.9 percent of the time.)
Keep reading for the rest of this month's new grades and additions.
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