Topps sold its 2003-04 Bowman as Bowman Rookies and Stars, with the regular Bowman cards and the Bowman Chrome cards together in the same packs. The Chrome set has 156 cards: veterans through #110, unsigned rookies from #111 to #146, and signed rookies after that.
LeBron James is #123, in the unsigned run. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have autographed rookie cards in the set; LeBron, under contract to Upper Deck for his signature, does not.
Wade and Bosh signed their Bowman Chrome rookies. LeBron's signature belonged to Upper Deck.
He stands on the court in the red Cavaliers jersey, number 23, a ball in one hand and a broad smile on his face, inside a pale blue chrome frame, with his name and position running up one side and CLEVELAND CAVALIERS down the other.
The Chrome card is close to identical to the regular Bowman #123, apart from the chromium finish and an updated logo. Above the base card sit a Refractor numbered to 300, an X-Fractor numbered to 150 and a Gold Refractor numbered to 50.
The black borders that frame the design make a sharp copy harder to find than it looks, because every nick and touch shows.
