Update: It sold for $33,600 back in August 2018.

--

Not all ticket stubs are the same -- and this one is far rarer than an iconic card in the hobby.

This Chicago Bulls stub from Oct. 26, 1984, hits the auction block late this month and it's one that could push the $10,000 mark according to Heritage Auctions. 

Why?

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Football Hall of Famers, NSCC chatter, World Cup cards, non-sports breaks and more.

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls from around the collecting world, NSCC chatter and more as we head into the weekend.

Continue reading →

Have you seen the latest crazy items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

--

THE ROYAL WEDDING'S BIGGEST CARD
The Item: 2012 Cryptozoic Fringe Seasons 1-2 Autographs Meghan Markle
The Price: $999 (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Beginning tomorrow, this American actress will potentially be known as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex as she's marrying into England's Royal Family. This is one of just a handful of trading card appearances for her in this Fringe set and this once was a relatively inexpensive signature. Now? It's pricey and a number of people will undoubtedly be interested in these cards as the international spotlight will be all over the story of how she's ended up the bride and everything that entails tomorrow. Members of the Royal Family are not permitted to sign autographs, so there won't be more to come on that front.
Similar Pieces: Other copies of this card on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for non-sports cards

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

Continue reading →

As you may have seen here via The Buzz Twitter account last night, a PSA 9 copy of Mickey Mantle's iconic 1952 Topps baseball card sold for a whopping $2.88 million via Heritage Auctions. 

It set a new record for The Mick but came up short of the record of $3.12 million set by a PSA 5 copy of the famed T206 Honus Wagner tobacco card.

“The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle is more than just a baseball card, it is pop culture art and the symbol of the card-collecting hobby itself,” said PSA President Joe Orlando. “This new auction record is not only a record for a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle or any post-WWII baseball card, it is now the new standard for any card other than the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner."

Continue reading →

Update (April 19): After 21 bids, the card stood at $2.88 million as it entered the extended bidding window (30 minute sessions).

--

The Mick is about to take on the record books once again.

A PSA 9 copy of Mickey Mantle's iconic 1952 Topps baseball card is on the auction block via Heritage Auctions and its bidding is already in seven figures as we count down the minutes until its close later this week.

Just five other copies of the card have graded this high among more than 1,500 slabbed by PSA and just three have scored higher. It's estimated to sell for more than $3.5 million by the auction house, given recent demand for lower grades, and that would put it atop the list of best-selling baseball cards -- atop even top sales of Honus Wagner's T206 tobacco card.

"This card is a towering symbol of American exceptionalism, from its celebration of our national pastime to the fearless ambition of creator Sy Berger's vision to the exaltation of a culture that could elevate a poor kid from the Oklahoma coal mines to the pinnacle of fame and acclaim," said the auction house's listing. "It is 10 square inches of the American dream, preserved virtually flawlessly for eternity. It is a commodity recognized and coveted by millions, yet available to only a tiny handful of the most-sophisticated collectors."

Continue reading →

The longest-running sports card and memorabilia authenticator has hit a milestone.

PSA has authenticated and slabbed its 30 millionth collectible and it's an iconic one -- a 2000 Playoff Contenders Tom Brady Rookie Card. The milestone came earlier this week with a submission of cards from a collector based in Tampa, Fla.

“PSA is certainly very proud of reaching this significant number,” said PSA President Joe Orlando. “We’ve had so many different collectibles come through the doors here over the years that it seems only appropriate that future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady’s signed Rookie Card was recognized as our 30 millionth certified piece.”

Continue reading →

One of the rarest cards of baseball legend Ty Cobb has a new known specimen -- and it's the eighth copy to be found in one location.

It's a 1909-11 T206 Ty Cobb with a Ty Cobb back and it was found by the same family that previously discovered a stash of cards known as "The Lucky Seven" two years ago. This eighth card has been graded and authenticated by PSA this week and will remain with the family. It was found between two books from the home of a relative who owned the other cards.

“The family’s intent is to keep this latest addition as a memento,” Rick Snyder, owner of MINT State, who initially reviewed the cards before submitting each of them to PSA for authentication and grading, told PSA. “It’s a family heirloom that reminds them of an event that changed their lives forever.”

Continue reading →

On this day in 1934 in Mobile, Ala., Henry Louis Aaron was born -- and 20 years later he made his big-league debut for the Milwaukee Braves.

Twenty-two years after that? Hammerin' Hank's career ended -- in the uniform of the Milwaukee Brewers -- with him atop the all-time home run list. All of this is a simple but impressive stat-sheet reality that you can revisit here but should know.

What some younger collectors may not realize, though, is that one of his baseball cards arrived noting his new record before it actually happened and before it was on the back of his card, instead of the year after as it really should have been. (It's actually among my favorite Aaron cards, too, making the birthday the reason you're reading this.)

Continue reading →

Even if Tom Brady doesn't get his sixth Super Bowl ring on Sunday, his Rookie Cards from 2000 will remain the hottest cards in the hobby as it's become abundantly clear that he's The One to those who target the all-time elite on cardboard.

The biggest challenge to chasing Brady RCs isn't really finding them -- you can, but they're not cheap -- the biggest challenge of them all might be finding wax boxes where you can pull one yourself.

But we've got a shot for you to do it over on the main site.

Continue reading →

Just 10 of the most-notable items in the sports world that were sold in 2017 totaled more than $6.7 million in sales, ranging from the $1.68 million Norman Rockwell piece you see here to high-grade copies of Mickey Mantle's iconic 1952 Topps card.

And they all had one thing in common -- PSA or PSA/DNA authentication.

"We certified a myriad of incredible items last year, and the list is full of sports history from top to bottom," said Professional Sports Authenticator VP Steve Sloan. "We'll continue pushing ourselves toward another great year in 2018, and look forward to what’s in store."

The Newport Beach, Calif.-based company recently took the time to examine the markets last year and touted its Top 10 for 2017. Keep reading to see everything on the list.

Continue reading →

It's the iconic autographed Rookie Card of the iconic player of today -- and maybe any day -- and it just keeps commanding big money at auction in high-grade.

It's the 2000 Playoff Contenders Rookie Ticket autograph of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

And this PSA 10 copy? Well, it recently sold for $85,000 on eBay -- and it's not alone.

Continue reading →

It was today back in 1969 that New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath delivered on his guaranteed upset of the Baltimore Colts -- and next month an elite specimen of his best football card will hit the auction block.

It's a PSA 9 copy of his 1965 Topps Rookie Card, and it's one of just five cards to get that grade -- and none have ever graded higher.

Continue reading →

It's not new and fresh from a pack, but the price tag attached?

Well, it's a jaw-dropper.

It's a nearly perfect copy of Nolan Ryan's 1968 Topps Rookie Card -- a hobby classic that's chased by both New Yorkers who remember his early days with an iconic World Series-winning team, but also the fans of a rugged Texan who struck out more players than anyone else in MLB history. (And maybe by a few Jerry Koosman fans, too.)

Is it worth that? Perhaps to the right deep-pocketed collector -- but maybe not for that much, though Ryan was MLB's first million-dollar-a-year player when he signed with the Houston Astros in 1980.

Continue reading →

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 packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... this is Hour 4.

The pack: 1991 O-Pee-Chee baseball
The cost: $3

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

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: A big collecting question and some big pulls for the weekend.

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls, big question, big chatter and discussions on Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Bruce Maxwell, Ken Griffey Jr.'s 1989 Upper Deck Rookie Card & more.

Continue reading →

One of the highest-graded copies of one of a wrestling icon's first cards has hit eBay and is already putting on a show.

It's the 1982 Wrestling All-Star Series A card of Hulk Hogan, and it's a card from an iconic set that was available via mail order three years before the first WWF (now WWE) cards arrived in packs from Topps.

Is it a Rookie Card? Is it not a Rookie Card? Doesn't really matter, brother, as it's already a big deal on eBay.

Continue reading →

There's an old saying that if something too good to be true, then it probably is -- and this collector recently got a reminder of just that.

With the recent health scare of pro wrestling legend "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, I decided it was past time to track down a copy of his 2005 Topps Heritage WWE autograph card -- a card that was never released in packs but had reportedly surfaced years ago.

It's not that I needed a Flair autograph -- I have it a few times and actually met him at a past show -- I wanted this card because I've always had an affinity for Topps' earliest years of WWE cards. This was Topps' first release in its current run, but Flair didn't make the cut as part of a crop of signers that includes Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, The Iron Sheik, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Trish Stratus, Stacy Keibler and so many more notables from the past.

I found one on eBay and examined the autograph in the auction photo closely even though it was certified by JSA. I checked other cards for sale from the seller to see if there were autographs that looked questionable -- everything looked fine to me and the card was affordably priced ($50) compared to another seller who wanted nearly $900 for a PSA-authenticated and slabbed copy (and I'm not a fan of its autograph). This JSA one was complete with sticker and a certificate noting that it was a witnessed autograph, not just an authenticated one.

But, I never even thought about whether the card itself was legit -- I figured somebody somewhere had gotten their hands on the original cards Flair was supposed to sign but didn't -- however I knew instantly upon arrival that the card was legit as one of Flair's face-first flops to the mat.

Continue reading →

If you've ever been interested in grabbing some high-end copies of cards from the landmark 1933 Goudey set and have the bank account that lets you do so, then a new sale from Heritage Auctions is for you.

Active until Sept. 21 is an auction breaking up one of the best PSA-graded sets of the brand that contains the traditional in-pack Rookie Cards of many legendary names.

And they're in sometimes-untoppable conditions.

Continue reading →

The National Sports Collectors Convention is nearly here and the months of preparation are culminating in the show of all shows for sports collectors for five days in Chicago.

There will be plenty to see, plenty to do and plenty to buy and Buzz has been watching the developments the whole way. We'll have galleries of images from the show floor and a few nuggets here and there in the coming days but there's already been plenty written leading up to the show that you can all find right here.

Here's a rundown of all past NSCC stories here on The Buzz ...

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big breaks, big collecting questions, big games, big hits and the big question of today ... "Will O.J. Simpson walk?"

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: A big vintage find, new MLB breaks, Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., The National & more ...

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls, vintage grading questions, WNBA show-offs & more.

Continue reading →

PSA has a couple of fan-friendly things to consider at this year's National Sports Collectors Convention if you're headed to Chicago.

If you visit the company's booth, you can enter for a shot at winning one of three game-used bats, pose for a photo with the bat you prefer for your own baseball card, and have it placed into a PSA slab -- free.

"The National Sports Collectors Convention is like the Super Bowl of the hobby, and each year we challenge ourselves to go bigger and better," said PSA President Joe Orlando. "So, this year we’re giving away Frank Thomas, Derek Jeter and Kris Bryant signed bats, all game-used and totaling over $10,000 in value. Each bat is graded a PSA/DNA GU 10. And that’s just the beginning of what will be available at the PSA booth."

Continue reading →