I currently have 17 books at CGC getting graded, there are some classic books like Secret Wars #8 from 1985 all the way up to the Joshua Cassara Red Hulk Variant from 2025 which is limited to only 3,000 copies.

I'm beyond stoked to get this order back in the near future, CGC is running about 3-6 months on turnaround. I'll post the results here on Mantel when they return.

💎 Today I tried something new for the first time — and honestly, I think it's kinda underrated. At the Sports Card Expo I kept seeing higher end vintage slabs with this little diamond sticker on them. So being curious and young I asked a few dealers, and they all said the same thing: MBA — Mike Baker Authenticated. If you’ve never heard of it, here’s the deal: Vintage is all about eye appeal. The higher eye appeal the more value it has. Just because two cards have the same grade, doesn’t mean they look the same. One might be way better centered, have sharper corners, or just have way better color. MBA, is a trusted source which says “Yeah, this card stands out within its grade.”
And if it does, they'll give it a Diamond sticker — Silver, Gold, or even Black if it’s crazy good. This sticker can actually bump up a cards value up to 5x. Mike Baker the owner of this company was actually one of PSA’s original head graders — so he's a very trusted source in the hobby. They also offer a digital service which I am trying out with my MJ PSA 5 Rookie to see if it’s Diamond-worthy… 🤞
Let’s see what happens 👀

If you’re into this kind of stuff — rare cards, eye appeal debates, hobby talk — pull up in the NEW Tropic Collects Mantel group:
👉 tropiccollects.com/mantel

Let’s talk cardboard. 🗣💬

If you've never heard of C3 Grading then allow me to introduce you. For only $9 per card you get high quality slabs with free color matching labels, free autograph authentication, free subgrades, free return shipping, free horizontal slabs, date stamped slabs, and the fastest submission process in the hobby! All you gotta do is select a quantity, ship, and that's it. They do everything else for you. What's even better??? If you use my code "BIGC7" at checkout you get $1 OFF every card you submit, so that's only $8 per card! More than that?! If you submit 100 or more cards you get an additional $1 OFF. Imagine getting 100 cards graded for only $700 total 🤯

Sports cards and TCG included! Up to 180pt cards graded!

Make your submission today at c3grading.com!

Nikola Jokic RPA /99 out of 2015 Noir… would you send in to Beckett? My guess is it’s a BGS 8-8.5

Came across a shoebox from my childhood with some collectibles. Question for the group here, if one does not find any data on a particular card as far as grading is concerned, is it a red flag? Would you take a chance and send a card to get a grade without any previous data to work with? Appreciate anybody’s input