When getting into (or back into) baseball card investing/collecting, it can get overwhelming.  There are so many colors, numbers, sets, sub-sets, etc.  Hopefully this series of articles has helped you navigate through a lot of it and will save you mistakes and money in the long term.

Each of the major Bowman releases has its own numbered parallels.  Some parallels are in multiple releases, while others are only in certain releases.  The easiest way to know what parallels are in a particular release is to Google the checklist and see which ones are there.

The first thing to know about numbered parallels is that just because one parallel is rarer by number produced, it does not make that parallel more valuable.  There are certain parallels which are valued higher, despite having more in production, simply because they are “true refractors” or “original parallels.”  These are parallels which were the first parallels released to Bowman.  They are:

Refractors (numbered to 499)

Gold (numbered to 50)

Orange (numbered to 25)

Red (numbered to 5)

Superfractors (numbered to 1)

Some will also include the Blue parallel (numbered to 150).

Since the original inclusion of numbered parallels, Bowman has gone mad with adding increasingly more to the “original parallels.”  However, these original parallels will be valued higher than others, even if the other parallels are lower numbered.  For example, a blue parallel numbered to 150 is often more valuable than a green numbered to 99 or even a yellow numbered to 75.

To make things even more confusing, Bowman has added more versions of the same parallels and more parallels numbered to the same amount with different looks.  For instance, there is the original blue parallel numbered to 150, also known as “True Blue.”  

 However, Bowman has now included multiple versions of the blue parallel such as the blue shimmer, blue lava, blue wave, blue X-Fractors, blue reptilian, etc.  They also have an HTA auto numbered to 150.  Each of these parallels are worth less than the “True Blue” parallel.  In 2025 Bowman, there were seven different parallels numbered to 5.

Each investor/collector will have certain parallels they prefer.  I tend to go after the original parallels, the black parallel, pearl parallel, atomic parallel, and speckled parallel.

Another aspect which affects value is a “color match.”  This means a purple numbered to 250 will be worth more for a Colorado Rockies player than others.  The same is true for Orioles players in orange parallels, yellow for Brewers, blue for several teams, red for several teams, etc.  Some investors will also chase jersey number matches for players.  For example, a Bobby Witt, Jr. blue parallel numbered 7/150 will carry a premium due to the jersey number match and color match.