As someone who normally operates, in the so-called "first world" collecting arena, I am baffled by some of the prices for the Bowman Sterling brand. Prospect autos are all the rage, especially in the last 3 years, in which there has been a stellar or near-stellar class to pursue.
Shown above is one of the few Bowman Sterling cards that I possess. It´s a single swatch jersey relic. It comes out of a $50 per pack product. It is luminous, but is otherwise lacking in anything else that would suggest it´s from a premium, high-end brand.
But past is prologue....at least as Bowman Sterling is concerned. Until the past couple years, it was single relics like these and autographs on shiny stickers. It was a visual mess to say the least. (I was not a fan to put it mildly.)
These past couple years, the on-card auto content has at least been increased, so that there is more connection. There also is less emphasis on the relic portion of the checklist content. It seems a smorgasbord of prospect autos is what to expect judging from the box breaks I have seen.
Questions for those who prospect....
-Are there checklist elements in this set that are more desirable than other sets?
-Since this is the last release of the year, who missed the cut in other prospect-centric sets?
-Would you rate the appeal of these prospect autos over Bowman Chrome and Topps Chrome?
-Isn´t this now just a high-end version of Bowman Platinum?
-Is there a continuity element to collecting it from year to year?
I want to understand more about the Bowman Sterling phenomenon.
