Charlie Curnow AFL Cards: What Are They Worth?
Charlie Curnow's card market is built on one thing: back-to-back Coleman Medals in 2022 and 2023. Select built signature booklets and Predictor cards around those wins, and they are comfortably the most valuable Curnow cards — the 2022 and 2023 Coleman Medal Signature Booklets, numbered to /185, have been listed at A$599.99. Everything else in his run is far more affordable.
Why are Charlie Curnow cards valuable?
Curnow is the rare AFL player whose card value comes from an award rather than a draft position. He was taken in the 2015 national draft and debuted in 2016, so his rookie cards predate the current premium-signature era and never carried much heat. What changed his market was winning the Coleman Medal — the league's leading goalkicker award — in both 2022 and 2023.
Select builds cards directly around those awards. Coleman Medal Predictor cards are issued during the season and pay off when a player wins, and the signature booklets commemorate the win itself. Curnow winning twice in a row created two years of these cards, which is why his premium tier is deeper than his draft position would suggest.
What is the most valuable Charlie Curnow card?
The Coleman Medal Signature Booklets are the top of his market. The 2023 Select Footy Stars Coleman Medal Signature Booklet numbered 114/185 was listed at A$599.99 by Cherry Collectables (sold out), and the 2022 edition numbered 125/185 has carried the same A$599.99 price with the same retailer. Two consecutive years at the same level is a strong signal for a card of this type.
Booklet cards are a distinct format worth understanding: they open like a folder, usually carry an on-card signature inside, and are printed in much smaller runs than ordinary inserts. They are also more fragile than a standard card, so condition and storage matter more than usual — a bent hinge is not recoverable.
What are Curnow's Coleman Predictor cards worth?
The Predictor tier sits well below the booklets and is where most collectors actually buy in. Coleman Medal Predictor cards appear across the 2022 and 2023 Footy Stars releases in a ladder of parallels — a 2023 Coleman Medal Predictor numbered 130/260 and Gold and Platinum versions (a Platinum booklet numbered 27/60 has surfaced) all circulate on eBay Australia, along with an unnumbered Coleman Medal Gold #160.
The pattern is the usual one: the tighter the print run, the sharper the price step. A /260 Predictor is an accessible card; a /60 Platinum booklet is not. If you have a Curnow Predictor, the serial number on the front is the single most important thing to read before you value it.
Which Charlie Curnow cards should I pull aside?
In rough order from most to least valuable:
- 2022 and 2023 Coleman Medal Signature Booklets (/185): the top of his market, listed at A$599.99.
- Platinum and other low-numbered Coleman Predictor booklets (/60 and tighter): the scarcest non-booklet-signature tier.
- Any Supremacy, Optimum or Legacy signature or patch card: the premium sets where his scarcest non-Coleman cards live.
- Coleman Medal Predictor parallels (/260 and similar): accessible mid-tier cards, and the most commonly traded Curnow cards.
- Teamcoach and unnumbered Coleman inserts: a few dollars.
- 2016 rookie-year and later Footy Stars base cards: cents to a couple of dollars — his rookie cards predate the premium-signature era and carry little premium.
Are Charlie Curnow rookie cards worth collecting?
Less than you would expect for a player of his standing, and it is worth being clear about why. His 2016 debut-year cards come from an era before Select's current signature and parallel structure, so there is no equivalent of a Draft Pick Signature to chase. Collectors who want a Curnow card of real value buy the Coleman-era cards, not the rookies.
That makes him an unusual case in the AFL market and a useful lesson generally: a player's most valuable card is not automatically their first one. Where a card sits in the set hierarchy usually matters more than what year it came from.
How do I value my Charlie Curnow cards?
Look for three things: whether it is a Coleman Medal card, whether it carries a serial number, and whether it is a booklet with a signature inside. Those three answers separate a A$600 card from a A$2 one, and they are all readable off the card itself.
Then check eBay Australia completed listings for the exact parallel. CardLoft identifies AFL cards from a photo and estimates a value, which is the faster route if you have a stack of Carlton cards to work through.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most valuable Charlie Curnow card?
The Coleman Medal Signature Booklets from 2022 and 2023, numbered to /185. Both have been listed at A$599.99 by Cherry Collectables — the 2023 copy 114/185 and the 2022 copy 125/185.
Are Charlie Curnow rookie cards worth anything?
Not much. His 2016 debut-year cards predate Select's current signature and parallel structure, so there is no premium rookie autograph to chase. His value sits in the Coleman Medal era cards from 2022 and 2023, not his first-year cards.
What is a Coleman Medal Predictor card?
A card issued during the season predicting the Coleman Medal winner — the league's leading goalkicker — which becomes collectable when that player wins. Curnow won in both 2022 and 2023, so his Predictors from both years paid off. They run in a ladder of parallels, from around /260 down to Platinum runs of /60 and tighter.
Why are booklet cards worth more?
They are printed in much smaller runs than ordinary inserts and usually carry an on-card signature inside the fold. They are also more fragile — a damaged hinge cannot be repaired — so condition matters more than on a standard card, and clean copies command a premium.