Both boxes are opened for the same thing: 1st Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs. 2026 Bowman came out May 13 and mixes paper cards with Chrome prospects; 2026 Bowman Chrome came out Sep 9 and is all Chrome. The paper cards are not what collectors chase. We price every 1st auto in each release from sold comps. From the Sep 25 mark to the Oct 1 mark, Bowman's autos moved −0.3% and Bowman Chrome's fell 14.1%. Bowman also has the bigger names right now: its top auto sells for $153.35, Chrome's for $47.00. Chrome is the cheaper way to an auto from a sealed box: two autos for a lowest ask of $515 against one auto for $385 in Bowman (Oct 3 asks, not sales).
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Two indices of 1st Bowman Chrome autos, six autos by name, two hobby boxes. The index rows decide the headline. The auto rows show who the money is on. The box rows are asks.
| Read Oct 3, 2026 | 2026 Bowmanreleased May 13, 2026 | 2026 Bowman Chromereleased Sep 9, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| What is in a hobby boxChecklist Insider, read Oct 3 | 20 packs of 8 cards · 1 autograph 100 paper base cards, 150 paper prospects, 150 Chrome prospects, Chrome Prospect Autographs (87 signers, 76 of them 1st Bowman autos) |
6 packs of 10 cards · 2 autographs All Chrome: 100 base cards, 100 Chrome prospects, 104 Chrome Prospect Autographs |
| 1st auto index levelOct 1, 2026 mark · sold basis · 100 = the release month | 76.88BB26 · 2026 Bowman 1st Auto Index · 100 = May 2026 (release) · 65 of 79 1st autos priced | 85.87BCB26 · 2026 Bowman Chrome 1st Auto Index · 100 = Sep 2026 (release) · 41 of 95 1st autos priced |
| Same six days, both sidesSep 25 → Oct 1, 2026 marks | −0.3%77.11 → 76.44 → 76.88 | −14.1%100.00 → 97.15 → 85.87 · −11.6% on Sep 28 → Oct 1 alone |
| Since its release month100 → the Oct 1 mark · not the same length of time | −23.1%100 (May 2026) → 76.88, about five months | −14.1%100 (Sep 2026) → 85.87 · the first mark was Sep 25, 16 days after street date, so release-week sales are not in it |
| #1 1st autosold comp, ungraded base auto | Andrew Fischer · CPA-AF$153.3530-day sold median · 30 sales counted · Oct 1, 2026 index mark · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → | Christian Zazueta · CPA-CZ$47.0030-day sold median · 23 sales counted · Oct 1, 2026 index mark · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → |
| #2 1st autosold comp, ungraded base auto | Eric Hartman · CPA-EHA$110.0030-day sold median · 30 sales counted · Oct 1, 2026 index mark · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → | Sebastian Dos Santos · CPA-SDO$42.5030-day sold median · 22 sales counted · Oct 1, 2026 index mark · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → |
| #3 1st autosold comp, ungraded base auto | Ethan Holliday · CPA-EH$108.0030-day sold median · 13 sales counted · Oct 1, 2026 index mark · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → | Enddy Azocar · CPA-EA$35.0030-day sold median · 28 sales counted · Oct 1, 2026 index mark · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → |
| The middle automedian of every priced 1st auto in the index, Oct 1 | $8.7536 of 65 priced autos sell under $10 | $9.2524 of 41 priced autos sell under $10 |
| Hobby boxlive eBay asks, factory sealed, buy it now | $385.00lowest ask · 17 live · Oct 3, 2026 · 1 auto, so $385.00 an auto · an ask, not a saleShop boxes on eBay → | $515.00lowest ask · 22 live · Oct 3, 2026 · 2 autos, so $257.50 an auto · an ask, not a saleShop boxes on eBay → |
Green edge marks the side the row favors; on the box row that is the cheaper auto. Auto prices are sold comps: the PriceCharting 30-day median of ungraded completed sales that each index used at its Oct 1, 2026 mark, with the number of sales it counted. Box figures are live eBay buy-it-now asks read Oct 3, 2026 through our comps endpoint, with breaks, team spots, packs, jumbo, Mega, Sapphire and multi-box listings filtered out by title. Several listings titled “2026 Bowman … w/Chrome” are flagship Bowman boxes and were counted there, not as Chrome. An ask is what a seller wants, not what a box sold for. Index levels are sold-basis, 100 = each release's own month, re-marked Monday and Thursday. ShopCardHub participates in the eBay Partner Network.
Bowman Chrome is in its first weeks, and new releases usually give back. Its index fell 14.1% between Sep 25 and Oct 1, most of it in the last three days. Bowman's May autos are five months past release and barely moved over the same six days. That is the plainest thing the tape says: right now the May class is steady and the September class is still finding its price.
The big names are in May's Bowman. Andrew Fischer, Eric Hartman and Ethan Holliday each sell for more than double Chrome's best priced auto. Chrome's headline 1sts (Wandy Asigen, Angeibel Gomez, Francisco Renteria, Luis Hernandez) are not in its index yet because they have too few sales to price. When they enter, Chrome's top rows could change.
Most autos in either box are small. The middle 1st auto sells for about $9 in both, and more than half of each priced list is under $10. A hobby box is a ticket to a short list of names. Chrome gives you two tickets for a lower ask per auto; Bowman gives you one ticket to the class with the bigger names.
What the tape does not say. Each index has three live marks, Sep 25 to Oct 1, so this is a six-day read, not a trend. The two levels sit on different bases (May and September), so compare the moves on the same dates, not 76.88 against 85.87 as if they were one scale. Box figures are asks. The next marks land on BB26 and BCB26 whether they help this page or not. For every 1st auto across both releases in one basket, see the 2026 1st Bowman Chrome Auto Index; for the Chrome checklist and box math, the 2026 Bowman Chrome guide.