When you think of iconic sports figures, you think of Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Michael Jordon, Walter Payton, plus many more. These players for ever changed the landscapes of their respective sport, and for many collectors, a number of their rookie cards have defined generations of collecting.
A 1986-87 Fleer Jordan, 1989 Upper Deck Griffey, or a 1952 Topps Mantle are works of art, some have even been displayed in museums, and many more are staples in collectors personal collections that adorn den’s and offices around the world.
Without a doubt, on the biggest names in sports today is LeBron James. Millions of us tuned in just to listen to him talk about his free agency decision, an unprecedented move. King James has helped redefine the Basketball card hobby. During LeBron’s rookie season, Upper Deck unveiled a new line of Basketball cards called their Exquisite Edition.
LeBron’s 2003-04 Exquisite RC Auto/Patch has recently been listed on eBay. Recent sales for an ungraded version have been in the neighborhood of $16,500. With a print run of only 99, game-used patch, and of course a gorgeous on-card autograph, this card has become of the modern era’s most iconic and desired cards among collectors.
Tough decision, a new car or that LeBron rookie card?
After just one game. Well, two if you count tonight’s pinch hit appearance. Dom Brown’s 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospect has surged in the last 24 hours, with single cards closing at $20.50 and even $18.40, his prices have seemingly quadrupled over night. Earlier in the week, the same card was selling for $3.75 and even $1.80.
Not a bad return on investment.
According to Bryce Harper’s Facebook profile, he may forgo his #1 Draft pick status and return to the College of Southern Nevada to pursue a Junior College National Championship.
On Tuesday, July 27, 2010, Harper posted:
“Probably going back to CSN to try to win a National Championship!!! :)”
I admire his passion to win a National Championship, but I think at this point he has nothing left to prove at the JuCo level and is only risking injury, or worse case scenario, a career by returning to CSN.
What ever you choose Bryce, good luck with your decision.
Without a doubt, the only person to receive more hype in their young career than Stephen Strasburg is Bryce Harper. Fresh off consensus 2010 Golden Spikes award, given out to the years best amateur player, and his Number 1 overall selection by the Washington Nationals in this year’s MLB Draft, this 17-year-old phenom has caught the eyes of the media and made believers out of many baseball fans.
When Topps announced the addition of the USA set in their 2010 Bowman release, collectors began to speculate about the possibilities of Haper being included in the set – and the possibilities of the Harper Superfractor.
Harper has had previously released USA themed cards released by Upper Deck in 2008 and 2009, along with a promotional 2009 Bowman AFLAC card handed out at the 2008 AFLAC All-American game. Not until now, has anyone released a real “chase” card like the Superfractor.
The 2010 Bowman Chrome USA Bryce Harper Superfractor is currently (back) on eBay. Much like it’s much publicized Strasburg counterpart, it’s original listings were all ended due to improper and false bidding. The current auction, at $4,600 with the reserve not met, is just a fraction of what the Strasburg superfractor sold for. Red refractor version of Harper, which are numbered to 5, have been selling anywhere from $2,200 (ungraded) to $13,000 (BGS Pristine).
This card certainly has the potential of reaching near-Strasburgian heights in regards to price, however, I am not sure how well the price will maintain once Harper is included in a Draft version of Bowman, presumably at the end of this year. Hopefully, as an autographed version.
This our first look at the 2010 Bowman Chrome Baseball product. A much anticipated release from Topps after the resurgence of the Bowman line from the first 2010 release. The 2010 Bowman product, fueled by First Prospect cards of Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper the release has surged towards Upper Deck Exquisite-esque prices nearing $400 per box.
With Strasburg slated to have another autograph in the set, the newly crowned hobby hero, should help fuel the release of this product. Topps has also announced that Strasburg will be available in the rest of their 2010 products.
Quite a few other coveted prospected have been rumored to appear on their First Bowman Prospect Auto card as well:
- BCP197 TBD
- BCP198 Adeinis Hechavarria
- BCP199 Aroldis Chapman
- BCP200 Dee Gordon
- BCP201 Brett Wallace
- BCP202 Kyle Gibson
- BCP203 Max Kepler
- BCP204 Shelby Miller
- BCP205 Miguel Sano
- BCP206 Brett Oberholtzer
- BCP207 Gary Sanchez
- BCP208 Jacob Turner
- BCP209 Josh Satin
- BCP210 Matt Davidson
- BCP211 Arodys Vizcaino
- BCP212 TBD
- BCP213 Robinson Chirinos
- BCP214 Trayce Thompson
- BCP215 TBD
- BCP216 Corban Joseph
- BCP217 Noel Arguelles
- BCP218 Tim Beckham
- BCP219 Yonder Alonzo
- BCP220 Juan Urbina
While this may only be a preliminary checklist that Topps has issued for the set, it is leaving most prospector salivating at the idea that once Razor exclusives could possible be featured in the product. Other top prospects include Cuban defector and Reds Top Prospect Aroldis Champan and the Minnesota Twins 2009 First Round pick Kyle Gibson, who has a consensus top 10 pick going into the draft, but was injured prior to the draft, causing him to slide to the 22nd spot.
Be sure to check back for updates, as we will be updating information as we receive it.
The product is scheduled to hit shelves on Wednesday, October 13, 2010.
After just about every major media outlet picked up the story of the coveted Stephen Strasburg 2010 Bowman Chrome Prospect Superfractor hitting eBay last month, there has been much anticipation to when the Red Auto parallel would surface.
While the $50,000 price tag slapped on the Red Auto edition of the card, may deter many novice collectors, as of 6/15 there had 16 offers submitted on the card. For a card of this caliber, I feel a straight auction is the best approach, and I am unsure if this version of the card can command the same premium as the Superfractor version, which sold for $16,000 and some change.
The recent national exposure of Strasburg has sent a resurgence of enthusiasm into a hobby that had been clinging to life support for the past few years. Beckett recently published an article on the gentlemen who won the Superfractor, who admitted he hadn’t collected cards since the mid-1990’s. This is also evident across numerous web forums, like FreedomCardBoard, where new collectors and other sport collectors have been religious seeking out any and all Strasburg cards in hopes of cashing in on some of the hype.
Now that every major “chase” card of Strasburg has surfaced, aside from the 1/1 Printing Plates, prices of the 2010 Bowman products have reached all time highs, and continue to climb. The market is flooded with Stephen Strasburg cards, yet prices have kept a steady price. Beckett reported that last month the average sell price of all Strasburg cards was $67.77.
And there is plenty more room for growth and profit.
There comes a time in every collectors life where they need to ask themsleves if now is the best time to cut their loses and attempt to sell a failed investment quest. Recently, a rash of low numbered, hard to find Maurice Clarett cards have popped up on eBay from a single seller, and it begs me to ask the question: “Is now the best time to unload your Maurice Clarett cards?” Clarett, who is 2 years into a 7 year prison term, will probably never see action in the NFL, but still remains a favorite for quite a few Buckeye collectors. Check out this amazing stash of Clarett cards to find their way on to eBay over the last week:
As of October 2008, Clarett has been blogging about his life in prison on The Mind of Maurice Clarett; although he does not have Internet access in the prison, he sends his entries to family members, who post them for him.
