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 ... another super-sized edition with some new inclusions like comic books and magazines.

FRESH OFF THE TRUCK
The Book: Captain Britain No. 1 (1976 Marvel UK magazine, with mask) -- first appearance of the character
The Reason Graded: This one arrived back in my hands from CGC on Sunday, so I'll have it lead off here as it's as fresh as it gets in my stash of slabs -- and it actually presents a question for people familiar with pressing. (Help a newb out!) First, the back story ... I picked this up probably 30 years ago via Mile High Comics for more than I would have normally spent back then -- probably around $20 -- for a NM-MT copy. For all these years, it was in its magazine bag with one of their old round condition stickers still attached before I recently decided to dig it out for slabbing. Why? It's obscure -- it's a newsprint-style, magazine-size book released only in the UK -- and it's pricey when it's in elite grade. (We'll get to that.) This debuting character is one that had evolved a lot by the time I had gotten into comics (around 1990) and he was the leader of the British X-Men group, Excalibur, which launched as a standalone title in 1988. As part of collecting key issues and artist favorites back then, I tracked down this debut that was mentioned on the back of his 1990 Impel Marvel Universe card. (That set is what drew me into comics.) I knew this copy wasn't perfect, but it was close and I figured it was best to get it slabbed despite some paper-texture funk (the vertical black lines in white areas around the nameplate and corner box). I assumed some of that might lighten up as part of CGC's pressing/cleaning process. If it helped at all, I had figured it might get it closer to one of those top grades.
The Grade: CGC 9.4 (Universal)

Click for a closer look

Reality Check: This one checked in lower than I had hoped for as I had thought a 9.6 might be realistic -- but the only dramatic difference here vs. higher marks is the dollar signs and probably some of that funk. (My back cover wasn't as clean as I remembered so my gut feeling may be moot.) A 9.8 copy of this has topped $5,000 on eBay while ones in my condition have been around $1,500 ... so it's still a good slab. (I'm sitting on it like everything else in my stash.) ... Here's where I can use some help from the pressers/slabbers out there, though. It seems like pressing may have actually added to the funk or emphasized it in spots. Some of the white areas definitely have more of that showing now, not less, particularly around the right side of the No. 1 box and the "free inside" mask circle where there's plenty of white paper. It's absolutely the same book (minor pulp spots are there as they were when I sent it) but I was surprised by the paper texture seemingly being emphasized (or not as clean) after pressing. (Click on the image above right -- ignore the color difference as that is likely due to my photography skills.) You can see more dark spots/texture of the paper visible -- perhaps it's from ink on the inside page showing through? I assume I'm not the first to press one of these -- or that they wouldn't press these if it would make its condition worse. I didn't have this on my mental list of outcomes, and naturally, I wondered whether this dropped me a grade and it will always bug me now. Perhaps this happened because the cover is newsprint and not white paper? The time it takes for pressing has had me not doing that on nearly all other submissions but this one -- my first sub I had pressed -- left me wondering if it helped at all. (If I could do this one all over again ... I would not have.) By the way, the color you see peeking out the right side? That's a perfect mask tucked inside the issue just like the cover promises from almost 50 years ago. All in all, I'm glad I graded this one and I think it's the priciest comic book in my stash ... but it definitely prompted some questions.

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

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This one is a quick idea for a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's something to think about.

This time? Five Kobe Bryant cardboard basics to own.

A ROOKIE CARD
It's clear that a lot of people who aren't seven-day-a-week collectors have been picking up Kobe Bryant basketball cards since his death in late-January, and the easy starting point for someone -- regardless of budget -- is a Rookie Card. His best Rookie Cards are from major manufacturers and most of them show him in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform or at least use Lakers logos. He has a ton of draft picks and early cards, too, but his 16 Rookie Cards all from the 1996-97 season are the ones to consider first. Here's a rundown of the brands -- Bowman's Best, Collector's Choice, E-X 2000, Fleer, Fleer Metal, Flair Showcase, Fleer Ultra, NBA Hoops, SP, Topps, Topps Chrome, Topps Finest, Upper Deck, UD3 and Z-Force. They're all in demand but they have always been relatively findable and vary in price. Topps Chrome, Topps Finest, Bowman's Best and SP are arguably the better ones, so they'll cost more, while Collector's Choice and Hoops will be on the cheaper side. There are parallel versions for the Chrome and Finest cards, too, and there are also fakes for some of the basic cards here to be weary of. I'd grab one that's been graded by BGS, PSA or SGC only. My Favorite? Probably Finest (above) as I was actually able to find one in a pack long, long ago ... I also once had a Chrome ... but traded it. (Story for another day.)

Keep reading for four more basic cards to consider for Kobe Bryant.

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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 ...

The Card: Kobe Bryant 1996-97 Upper Deck #58 Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I actually bought this card more than a year ago and thought I had it waiting in my stash of cards to present here at some point but, after doing some searching, realized that I never took a photo of this iconic 1990s card and it had been waiting for its time to appear. Unfortunately, we know why this NBA legend has been on the minds of many sports fans out there this week so here we are. I picked up this Rookie Card back then since it was a decent grade for a decent price -- just $9 -- and I didn't ever pull one way back when. It doesn't have any obvious flaws on the front, so it looks much better than its grade, too. (Sub-grades on the back of this slab are all 9 or higher except for an 8.5 on corners and one corner shows why.) The shocking news of this week has created a frenzy of interest for Bryant's RCs and autographs -- and a card in this same grade (not an elite grade, really) sold for $200. Mine will remain in my stash.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: The pop report on this card is a lot stiffer than I had expected with this being the most-common grade and fewer than 600 checking in higher. I had expected there to be more but I suspect the pop reports on this card could change a lot in the coming months -- and it will be interesting to see if any ever reach BGS Black status. Bryant has a number of RCs -- more than 20 -- and this one is unique in that it doesn't show him in his Lakers uniform. The debate as to whether Bryant's cards will hold values in comparison to what people are paying right now is an interesting one over on the Blowout Forums where there are a number of discussions. I think this is a scenario that may defy common collecting logic -- I'd think that anything is possible in this case and there are a lot of buyers right now who will pick up cards and stash them away forever, leaving a smaller volume of stuff available for everyday collectors to grab on eBay and other market hot spots. Finding unopened boxes won't be an option for a lot of his Rookie Cards that people want to track down, either.

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

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