1990 Leaf vs. 1992 Bowman

billwaltonsbeard

Which of these two former smokin hot sets do you guys prefer? And which one do you think had the smaller print run?

Thenugent

A little harder to find the Bowman verse the cases of 1990 Leaf still being quite plentiful. UNless not lookin' in the right place.

Prefer the Leaf though - very nice looking cards.

LarkinCollector

92 Bowman on both.

Statman

Definitely prefer the 92 Bowman set much more. I'd say a smaller print run also.

CSC

<< <i>Which of these two former smokin hot sets do you guys prefer? And which one do you think had the smaller print run? >>



When in doubt, buy both. Way to important of a product (at the time) for a collector not to have now that was active during that time period. Certainly a special time in collecting and those were the most special at the time.

Mintacular

Prefer 90 Leaf, not a big fan of the kacki's, plaid AEagle shirts, and braided leather belts in the 92 Bowman set.

ndleo

Is the best rookie in either set Frank Thomas? Or is it Mariano?

LarkinCollector

<< <i>Is the best rookie in either set Frank Thomas? Or is it Mariano? >>



1992 Bowman - Mariano
1990 Leaf - Thomas

Quick comparison of eBay Sold PSA10 listings:
1990 leaf psa 10 - 251 total, Thomas selling for $80-100
1992 bowman psa 10 - 204 total, Mariano selling for $175-200

sportscardtheory

No way 1992 Bowman has a smaller print-run than 1990 Leaf. Just no way. That stuff was printed by the boatload. There may be less unopened, but that's just because Mariano Rivera, Mike Piazza and Trevor Hoffman. I would bet my life savings that '90 Leaf is in shorter supply than '92 Bowman.

digicat

<< <i>No way 1992 Bowman has a smaller print-run than 1990 Leaf. Just no way. That stuff was printed by the boatload. There may be less unopened, but that's just because Mariano Rivera, Mike Piazza and Trevor Hoffman. I would bet my life savings that '90 Leaf is in shorter supply than '92 Bowman. >>



Why do you think 1992 Bowman was printed by the boatload?

saucywombat

Design to 1990 Leaf by a lot. No one even bought 1992 Bowman at first because it was so homely and presumed worthless, especially on the heels of the pitiful 90 & 91 sets (probably one reason it has a low print run) Then everyone saw the prices in Beckett and the rush was on back to Wal-Mart to buy those Jumbo Packs. Print run is slightly in favor of 1992 Bowman. Did like Cliff Floyd dunking a baseball though (formerly a $20+ card!!)


Special note on 1990 Leaf: Maybe the best card back aesthetics in history.

digicat

I always liked the campy school portraits they used on 1992 Bowman. Nice break from painted-on uniforms or spring training jerseys.

LarkinCollector

Total eBay listings (Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop -> Cards -> Baseball)
1990 Leaf - 5,018
1992 Bowman - 3,605

1990 Leaf (box,case) - 56
1992 Bowman (box,case) - 17

Without even factoring in the set size differences (578 cards for Leaf/705 for Bowman) which would make the discrepancy even larger between the two, current availability suggests that if 92 Bowman was produced by the boatload, the 90 Leaf was produced by about a 40% larger boatload.

digicat

Perhaps Topps used smaller boats than Donruss did for their respective sets?

LarkinCollector

<< <i>No way 1992 Bowman has a smaller print-run than 1990 Leaf. Just no way. That stuff was printed by the boatload. There may be less unopened, but that's just because Mariano Rivera, Mike Piazza and Trevor Hoffman. I would bet my life savings that '90 Leaf is in shorter supply than '92 Bowman. >>


I can't find a single objective measurement to support this. Everything points to the 92 Bowman being more scarce.

Total PSA cards graded (given the better rookie crop and less unopened available, you would think 92 Bowman should have more):
1990 Leaf - 81,940
1992 Bowman - 72,373

Peak individual cards graded:
1990 Leaf #220 Sosa - 25,357
1990 Leaf #300 Thomas - 13,726
1992 Bowman #461 Piazza - 10,271
1992 Bowman #532 Manny Ramires - 9,942
1992 Bowman #82 Pedro - 9,483
....
1992 Bowman #302 Mariano - 3,461

I've tried various eBay searches including active & sold listings for graded, complete sets, boxes, cases, total and everything favors a higher print run of 1990 Leaf.

royalbrett

The title to this auction should put all of this to rest:

1992 Bowman Brett

Dnice

As much as I really loved BOTH sets, I will have to go with 90 Leaf. That set was killer and it still looks awesome even today. I agree that Sosa killed that set but it was hot for years later even. My only complaint about it is that they put ALL the real star players are in the 1st series. Series 2 were more for the rookies (which was nice at the time) like Justice, Thomas and a few others. I remember going to my friends house when I was around 11, 12 years of age and I would see his leaf cards and even guys like Roberto Kelly were worth a buck which was pretty good back then for an 11 year old kid. lol

dmurphy3mvp

<< <i>No way 1992 Bowman has a smaller print-run than 1990 Leaf. Just no way. That stuff was printed by the boatload. There may be less unopened, but that's just because Mariano Rivera, Mike Piazza and Trevor Hoffman. I would bet my life savings that '90 Leaf is in shorter supply than '92 Bowman. >>



I would take this bet. Make the check out to Reed Kasaoka.

60sfan

<< <i>

<< <i>No way 1992 Bowman has a smaller print-run than 1990 Leaf. Just no way. That stuff was printed by the boatload. There may be less unopened, but that's just because Mariano Rivera, Mike Piazza and Trevor Hoffman. I would bet my life savings that '90 Leaf is in shorter supply than '92 Bowman. >>



I would take this bet. Make the check out to Reed Kasaoka. >>

Stingray

I would go with Leaf, Bowman is soooo boring. Design is boring, big white borders, same design on each card (no team color designation), stupid pictures of players in street clothes.

BLUEJAYWAY

On the fence on this one. Both have attributes I favor. White borders,sharp colors. Both have perceived scarcity. Favor the photography a bit more on 90 Leaf. However, a good rookie selection in the Bowman. The gold foil borders in 92 Bowman break up the monotony a bit. Viewing EBAY today on set prices a 90 Leaf is selling in the $40-$45 range. 92 Bowman $65 and up. If the 92 Bowman is more scarce and has a better rookie crop and at almost over 200 more cards to the set, one would tend to think it's price would be much higher than it is now. The key card here is the Mariano Rivera. Once that interest subsides(until the HOF induction hype) the set may trend a bit lower. From a pack standpoint I prefer the packing of the 90 Leaf. More secure (IMHO). Shrinked wrapped boxes and non-see through wrappers. As I recall Bowman boxes were not shrinked wrapped. And with see through pack wrappers and the jumbos being allowed to have the individual cards "pushed up" to view each card, I would be reluctant to purchase these to rip. Saw too much of this type of jumbo pack searching at the local shows.

Thenugent

1992 Bowman jumbo boxes at BBCE now

ThoseBackPages

NICE!