NUMBER 4
Joe Mauer ‘02 Bowman Chrome RC AU
As of right now, this may or may not be the most valuable card in my collection. However, when this man makes it to the Hall, it may well end up being the most valuable card that I’ll ever own. The last ungraded version of this card went for just a little over $80 on the ‘bay. I purchased mine at just a little under $80. Beckett would have me believe that I got a steal with its high value currently set at $120.
So why, besides the fact that it’s JOE FRIGGIN’ MAUER’S AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARD, is this card ranked so high? I’ll tell you right now, it’s not for its looks. The pubescent Mauer looking sternly into a cornfield with nothing but a big ol’ tree behind him is not the stuff of legends. The boring box-y, stripe-y blue border with some kind of Star Trek yellow font is pretty much the definition of the opposite of interesting. Okay, okay, so maybe it is because it’s JOE FRIGGIN’ MAUER’S AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARD.
Most of you player collectors out there would agree with me that the absolute holy grail of a player collection would typically be that player’s RC AU–so long as it’s their TRUE rookie card, anyway. For instance, Francisco Liriano’s true rookie card is also from the ‘02 Bowman set, but Topps released a RC AU for him in the ‘06 Topps Chrome set. It even has the "Rookie Card" logo on it. Even though Topps would tell you that his ‘06 card was his RC, his ‘02 beat it out by four years. But Mauer put his little blue sharpie directly on that card (and NOT on a sticker, thank you), and as fate would have it, he turned out to be already one of the greatest catchers this game may ever see.
Even if I weren’t a fan of the Twins, I would still recognize the value in this card, and would still consider it one of the centerpieces of my current collection.
