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 ... it's some of all of those.

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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 ...

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Comic Book Certification Service has a new owner.

It's Beckett Media and CBCS will join the Beckett brands alongside Beckett Grading Services and Beckett Authentication Services.

“The entire CBCS/Beckett team is committed to growing the hobby, both in North America and internationally,” said Jeromy Murray, Beckett’s VP for grading and authentication. “We can’t wait to begin connecting with comics collectors and retailers at shows, conferences and hobby shops world-wide.”

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So, a collector walks into a card shop and buys a raw Michael Jordan Rookie Card ... stop us if you've heard this one before.

This time, though, the card went to Beckett Grading Services for examination.

The result?

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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 the second grading diary here on The Buzz ...

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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: Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza, Johnny Manziel, Steiner Sports, BGS 9.5s, Star Wars and more ...

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We all know which Rookie Card of Ken Griffey Jr. is the most-memorable, but there's one rarer parallel-type version of one that recently sold for big, big bucks on eBay.

It's the 1989 Bowman Tiffany card -- one printed on glossy, super-bright stock only found in limited factory sets -- and a perfect BGS Black copy recently dominated on eBay. With Griffey destined to get the Cooperstown call in a few hours, this one was worth the spotlight.

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We all knew that Connor McDavid was going to be a big deal and we all knew his Young Guns Rookie Card from 2015-16 Upper Deck would be kind of a big deal, too.

But what about a perfect BGS Black label specimen? Well, one of these sold this week so we know how big it can get.

How much?

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When Topps Chrome arrived in basketball, it was a bit simpler time than it is today -- so much so that the brand was a retail-only release because the idea of merely Chroming a set perhaps wasn't a sure thing.

Plenty of time has passed since 1996 and in that time so has the career of Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant who was a rookie back in 1996-97 Topps Chrome.

The best card in that landmark product is arguably Bryant's Refractor version of his Rookie Card and this copy is the best of the best of the thousands that were pulled and saved since then.

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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.

For the first grading diary here on The Buzz, it will be a mix of cards graded for a few reasons.

The Card: 1993 Upper Deck #449 Derek Jeter
The Reason Graded: This was pulled straight from an underpriced factory set and looked very clean except for a tiny spot on the back -- Buzz figured it might push into the high grades even with the gloss issue. These cards are also not easy to pull from wax or sets cleanly because the high-gloss cards often stick together, peeling away specks of paper. Another reason? This is an iconic card that's worth grading if you own a clean one.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: The SP Jeter rookie is the one people chase, not this one. This one's $20 on eBay -- and perhaps undervalued considering how they grade on the pop report. BGS 9s and higher are really much rarer than people think.

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With Bowman Draft officially arriving tomorrow, eBay will undoubtedly be buzzing with the newest can't-miss future stars' first MLB cards.

But Bowman's not just a big deal for high-grade Chromes and Superfractors. Vintage Bowman in top grade -- like this 1954 Bowman Mickey Mantle -- can generate some looks, too.

This card, in its grade, is a 1/1 specimen. It's a card that can give any Superfractor a run for its graded money without any of those golden swirls or a dollop of autograph ink.

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There was a time when Tiger Woods owned the course and owned the hobby.

His successes helped relaunch golf cards into the mainstream for the first time in years, and his 2001 Upper Deck Rookie Card was the most-graded card of any kind in the history of Beckett Grading Services. More copies of that one were slabbed than even the iconic baseball cards of players who broke single-season home run records. More copies of that were graded than even Ken Griffey Jr.'s Star Rookie card from 1989 Upper Deck, which is arguably the 1952 Mantle of today for many collectors. More copies of that were graded than anything Bowman or anything else.

Now is not that time.

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One collector took the challenge of completing the 2012-13 Panini Flawless basketball set -- something that can only happen a few times because every card from the super-high-end brand is limited to just 20 serial-numbered copies with a diamond embedded inside.

Now, it's time to see just how priceless Flawless can be as the set is on the auction block.

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How hot is the Young Guns RC of Connor McDavid even after his recent injury that will leave him sidelined for a chunk of this season?

Well, if the $200 price tags didn't tell you enough, then this should.

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With what might be Kobe Bryant's final season in the NBA -- a record 20th campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers that started last night -- it's inevitable that some collectors will be looking to land an autograph of the guy who's already among the league's greats.

But what about a perfect BGS 10 copy of Bryant's first autographs -- cards signed all the way back in 1996 for Score Board when he was just a traded draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets on his way to Los Angeles in exchange for the esteemed Vlade Divac?

Well, based on this eBay auction for a pair of perfect BGS 10 copies, you might need a Vlade-esque kind of salary to land them.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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