Did you know that the most expensive Bowman baseball card is the 1953 Bowman Color Mickey Mantle, released by the Bowman Gum Company of Philadelphia? This card is one of the most sought after cards in its league and has sold for a whopping $162,000! Bowman monopolized the sports card manufacturing sector by manufacturing the Bowman baseball cards up until the 1950’s.
Also known as the R-406-4, the Bowman baseball box comprised 252 cards, each measuring 2 1/16 by 2 ½. Instead of the tinted background found in the 1949 Bowman baseball cards series, the cards from 1950 onwards were colored, with most cards featuring close-up shots or different poses of the players with different backgrounds. The back of the cards were vanilla colored, with a short write up about the player, including details like birth date, birthplace, batting style etc.,.
5 Celebrated Vintage Bowman Baseball Cards
While the Bowman baseball cards have released in their platinum collection, it is the vintage cards released between 1948 and 1955 that hold the most value for true baseball enthusiasts. Here are the top 5 Bowman baseball cards of note:
The 1953 Bowman Mickey Mantle: The popularity of Mickey Mantle pushed this card into being a highly prized post war collectible. The color photography made this card a rare find. The 1953 Mickey Mantle card portrays Mickey in his famous mid swing shot at the Yankee stadium.
1951 BowmanWillie Mays: This card portrays William Mays of the New York/ San Francisco Giants. This is one of the Bowman baseball rookie cards and is a high number card, making it a very valuable buy.
1954 Bowman Ted Williams: Signed by Topps in 1954, a Bowman Ted Williams card could not be released at that point of time. Therefore, when a Bowman Williams card presented itself to many accidentally, the card was deemed a rare find, owing to the fact that both Topps and Bowman had pulled it off production.
1953 Bowman Color Pee Wee Reese: Being a card from the “pure card” Bowman makes this one a valuable card. It was the first card to portray an action shot of the player. The card shows the Dodgers shortstop jumping high at second base as he revolves at double play.
1953 Bowman Color Stan Musial: A tough high numbered card to find, this card is doubly valuable because it belongs to the 1953 Bowman baseball cards color set. This photo was taken during the 1952 season. The card depicts a close up of Musial, with a wooden bat rack of the Polo Grounds shown as the background.
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