A high-end collector is hunting for Aidan Miller’s 2024 Bowman Superfractor Autograph, and he’s willing to pay a premium for it.
Eric Mandelkern, a business owner and card collector, placed a $50,000 bounty on the card Tuesday, hoping to add Miller’s 1/1 to his growing Bowman Superfractor collection. Miller is the No. 2-ranked prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies system and currently playing for the Clearwater Threshers in Class A.
“I collect Bowman Superfractors, and of all the guys — he’s not the biggest guy in this release, there’s Dylan Crews and Walker Jenkins — but he’s a top-five guy,” Mandelkern told cllct. “But in my world and in the world of some other prospectors, he could potentially be the No. 1 guy. He’s just an all-around five-tool player.”
According to Mandelkern, he preferred to offer the bounty up front to potentially skip frustrating negotiations with the new owner or an auction house.
He says it could be good publicity for the product, too.
“I’m all about giving back to the hobby, so I felt it was mutually beneficial,” Mandelkern said.
Yo @Topps can I get a few boxes of Bowman so I can chase my own Superfractor?? pic.twitter.com/PLiPcfq4xc
— Aidan Miller (@aidanmiller__) May 8, 2024
Miller revealed last week that he’s a card collector and also hunting for his own Superfractor.
“Yo @Topps can I get a few boxes of Bowman, so I can chase my own Superfractor??” Miller wrote on Twitter.
Miller’s post was met with frustration from collectors, however, after a Topps reply confirmed boxes of 2024 Bowman were headed Miller’s way. In the aftermath, a number of collectors posted responses claiming Topps has catered to celebrities more than the typical hobbyist.
Mandelkern’s bounty is the latest announced for the 2024 Bowman Baseball release after Dave and Adam’s Card World offered up to $200,000 for the Dylan Crews 1st Bowman 1/1 Superfractor Autograph.
First offered May 6, the Crews Superfractor was pulled just days later by breaker Stapes Breaks.
Dave and Adam’s Card World didn’t immediately respond to a request for the status of the Crews bounty.
Editor’s note: Mandelkern is an investor in cllct.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.