A 1st Bowman is a baseball prospect's first card in a Bowman product. In most years since 2003 it has a small "1st" logo on the front. A prospect can have two of them, judged separately: his first card without an autograph and his first autograph. He never gets a second of either.
A 1st Bowman is not a rookie card. Since 2006 the Rookie Card logo only goes on a card after the player has been on an MLB active roster, and a 1st Bowman usually comes out while he is still in the minors.
The version collectors pay most for is the 1st Bowman Chrome Auto. Our index of every 2026 1st Bowman Chrome Auto (BOW26) stood at 57.13 on Nov 12, 2026, down 42.9% since the May 2026 release month, across 162 cards on dated sold prices.
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These are two different cards, and each one is judged on its own. Having a 1st Bowman Chrome does not mean a player also has a 1st Bowman Chrome Auto. Usually he gets one, but not always, and the autograph can come in a later release.
| 1st Bowman Chrome | 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The player's first Bowman card with no autograph | The player's first Bowman autograph |
| How many | One per player, ever | One per player, ever |
| Card numbers | BCP numbers | CPA numbers |
| Example | Sammy Hernandez, May 2025 Bowman | Sammy Hernandez, September 2025 Bowman Chrome |
Both of Hernandez's cards carry the 1st logo, a few months apart. Every Bowman prospect autograph is a Chrome card. The paper version of a first card (BP numbers) carries the logo too; this site tracks only the Chrome cards and Chrome autos.
| 1st Bowman | Rookie card (RC) | |
|---|---|---|
| When it comes out | The player's first Bowman release, usually years before his MLB debut | Only after he has been on an MLB active roster (the rule since 2006) |
| The logo | "1st" in the corner | The MLB "Rookie Card" shield |
| Card numbers | Prospect numbering (BP, BCP, CPA) | The veteran and rookie base cards |
A prospect card is never an RC. Collectors buy the 1st Bowman before a player reaches the majors. The rookie card comes later.
Look for the 1st logo. Bowman introduced a "1st Bowman Card" mark in 1996 and kept it in 1997, then dropped it from 1998 to 2002. It came back in 2003 on paper and Chrome, was missing again in 2013, and has been on every year's cards since 2014.
In the years with no logo, the player's first Bowman card is still his 1st Bowman. You find it from the checklist history instead of the card front. Aaron Judge's 2013 Bowman Draft cards are his 1st Bowmans with no logo on them.
A later card of the same player is not a 1st, even in a bigger set. Ethan Holliday's 1st Bowman Chrome is #BCP-1 in May's 2026 Bowman. He is also in September's 2026 Bowman Chrome as #BCP-209, a returning card with no 1st logo.
Each index is the cost of one raw copy of every 1st Bowman Chrome Auto in its basket, set to 100 at the release month and re-marked Monday and Thursday from dated sold prices.
| Index | Level | Since release | Latest month | Cards | One of each |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOW262026 Bowman, all releases | 57.13 | −42.9%100 = May 2026 | −12.7%from | 162 | $2,287 |
| BCB262026 Bowman Chrome (September) | 58.41 | −41.6%100 = September 2026 | −13.7%from | 95 | $1,160 |
| Player and card | Raw sold | eBay |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Fischer#CPA-AF · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $118.50median of 17 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
| Ethan Holliday#CPA-EH · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $92.50median of 10 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
| Eric Hartman#CPA-EHA · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $91.63median of 14 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
| Edward Florentino#CPA-EF · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $65.00median of 17 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
| Justin Gonzales#CPA-JG · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $65.00median of 9 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
| Player and card | Raw sold | eBay |
|---|---|---|
| Luis Hernandez#CPA-LH · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $127.61median of 26 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
| Francisco Renteria#CPA-FR · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $92.16median of 14 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
| Angeibel Gomez#CPA-AG · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $89.81median of 30 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
| Jurrangelo Cijntje#CPA-JCI · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $48.09median of 5 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
| Wandy Asigen#CPA-WA · 1st Bowman Chrome Auto | $40.00median of 23 sales, 30 days to | Find it on eBay |
Raw means ungraded. A price prints only with at least 3 dated sales of that exact card. The eBay buttons are live searches for each card with our affiliate tag (we may earn a commission). They show listings, not prices.
Every card in each class, with its own price and date: BOW26, all 2026 1st Bowman Chrome Autos · BCB26, September 2026 Bowman Chrome · older 1st Bowman classes.
Dated sold prices of single raw cards, with lots and graded copies left out. Each card's figure is the median of its sales over the window shown. How every number on the site is built: how our prices work. These are past sales, not advice.