Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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MY BEAR NECESSITY
The Item: Paul "Bear" Bryant autographed & dated/inscribed (Oct. 18, 1976) 8-by-10 photo (BAS authenticated)
The Price: $219 ... high for me but it's the perfect item for me
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was a jaw-dropper of a find for me during a random search of Mill Creek Sports' superstore for autographed stuff earlier this year and I've saved it for football season, specifically this month, to present it and tell its story. It's personalized and that makes it perfect for me this time ... and to top that, the signed date -- the legendary Alabama Crimson Tide football coach and football icon who won 323 games dated everything signed like this -- might as well be on Buzz's actual birthday. (It's close ... close enough.) The odds of this existing or one being signed on my actual birthday? Well, I'm sure there were a number of things to sign on this Monday and I'm also very sure he wasn't sitting down to sign requests on a gameday when I kicked things off in the world. So, this is perhaps as close as it can get. The quality and condition of the photo are perfect and the ink is perfectly legible, too. Now, is his autograph really rare? Not particularly, but he died in January 1983 well before sit-down and paid signing sessions were en vogue for sports legends and he's still in high, historic demand despite Nick Saban equaling him and/or re-writing the Alabama record book in more recent years. It's the perfect item at a perfect price and it will always be mine.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but football cards are here.

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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 ... and this time around it's a bit heavy on autographs I've picked up over, say, the last year.

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TURTLE POWER!
The Card: Kevin Eastman 2019 Topps The Art of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Green Artist Autographs (/99)
The Price: Around $30
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is an autograph from one of the original creators of the TMNT franchise that has been seen in countless comic books, video games, movies and other stuff out there in the world for years now -- a franchise among franchises. I'm not sure how rare his autograph is out there in the comic book world -- typically, artists do signings somewhat regularly -- but for trading cards he signed about 30 different options in this release that included one artist auto and one sketch card along with a very nice premium-style set ... and I think that is it for his cards. Poke around here on The Buzz and you'll see how these sets look and how I did pretty well opening a couple of them in the past. Why? The prices dipped rather dramatically in the year or so after they arrived but they have picked back up price-wise and aren't the cheapest of ripping options now -- but the sketches can be nice enough to pay for it all sometimes. I figured this auto was a key one in the long run, so I added this to go with my others. And, if you want to add some more pop culture trivia here, Eastman was the editor and publisher of Heavy Metal magazine as well as married to Julie Strain, a model and "The Queen of B-movies" who has appeared in BenchWarmer sets and helped create other card sets herself.
Grab a box right here: 2019 Topps The Art of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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What: 2021 Topps Transcendent Collection baseball cards
Arrives: Nov. 24
Box basics: 55 autographs and more per box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Transcendent is back once again with the familiar lineup of high-end inclusions that will set the stage for deluxe cardboard with a VIP event and more within its limited boxes.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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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 ...

BIG BAT LEADING OFF ...
The Card: Fernando Tatis Jr. 2019 Topps Chrome Gold Refractors #203 (/50) -- RC parallel
The Reason Graded: Buzz found this rarity of a top RC in the absolute same box as the card that batted lead-off here last month -- and when that one graded really well I knew that this one would end up in a slab, too. Easily one of the best boxes I've seen for any non-premium product in years of collecting. I figured they needed to be slabbed together and matching grades would be cool, too.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: A matching pair is what we ended up with here -- and this also reinforces the fact that this was one of the best boxes I've ever seen. I was a little surprised to see only six copies of this card graded, but they're all at least a 9.5 with only one topping this mark. Meanwhile, 14 of them have been graded by PSA -- five 10s -- so perhaps some of Tatis' big-spending fans are also PSA fans, too. (Looking at you, Phil Hughes.)

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

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What: 2019 Historic Autographs 1969
Arrives: Nov. 20
Box basics: Three relic/chase cards per six-card box (24 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Historic Autographs looks back a half-century to a year that generated plenty of headlines in history whether it was in the news, pop culture, the sports world or beyond.

Keep reading for more information.

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What: 2019 The Bar Pieces of The Past Series 1 trading cards
Arrives: Feb. 4
Box basics: Two 1/1 relics and three other relics per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Super Break once again takes a look at history with "more value per case than ever before" as it guarantees more one-of-a-kind cardboard creations in this line.

Keep reading for a gallery and more info.

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Note: A break from The National coverage for this month's Making the Grade as Buzz preps to be at the show later today. Look for plenty more from Cleveland here soon.

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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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Collectors who are into American history beyond the sports realm have one destination to start with first at the National Sports Collectors Convention at the IX Center in Cleveland.

That spot is the Blowout Cards booth.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... this is Hour 5.

The box: 2011 Topps American Pie trading cards blaster box
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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It was 50 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play and one of the faces you can see on the famed cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band above can be yours.

No, seriously, one of the props on that cover of The Beatles' iconic album that dropped in the United States on this day in 1967 is available in the newest Heritage Auctions sale running now until June 17.

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The Beatles' iconic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band arrived in the United States 50 years ago tomorrow, helping forever change the musical landscape with songs such as "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "With a Little Help from My Friends" and, of course, its title track.

The sonic experimentation (and heavily parodied album cover) stands up after all those years and the four members of the band will be hitting toy stores soon as part of the anniversary, adding to a wave of merchandise that also includes similar but smaller blind-wrapped mini figures for Yellow Submarine.

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What: 2017 Super Break Heavy Hitters
Arrives: Feb. 15
Box basics: At least two items per box (four boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: Super Break returns with a high-end release that includes buyback cards, memorabilia and 30 Super Draft coupons for a May 6 draft of big, big names.

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