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Pokémon: Rare un-cut sheet of first edition cards sold at auction

pokemon-card-sheet.Goldin Auctions

The full printed sheet contains 99 Pokémon cards

A super rare uncut sheet of Pokémon cards went up for auction recently, and sold for a staggering $171,600 (£127,910)!

The sheet was made in 1998, and is made up of 99 Pokémon cards in total, which were printed out, but never cut up into individual cards and sold.

It contains 16 holographic - or shiny - cards including Charizard, Mewtwo, Blastoise and Venusaur.

The sheet went up for sale on the auction site Goldin.

The auctioneers described it as "a historic sheet of uncut Pokemon treasures; this is an incredible and prestigious display piece of immense rarity that is sure to be the crown jewel of the winning bidder".

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Why is this sheet so special?

Goldin Auctions

This particular sheet of Pokémon cards is extra special for a few reasons.

The sheet is part of the Pokémon TCG's 1999 Base Set, the first set to be printed outside of Japan in English by makers Wizards of the Coast.

As well as this, the cards are also first edition, shadowless and feature some holographic cards.

Pokémon cards glossary - What do the words mean?

  • First Edition - Is the first ever print run of a particular set.

  • Shadowless - are the earliest version of the 1999 English Base Set. It means the card design doesn't have a shadow effect next to the yellow border. This was introduced in a later print of the cards, so collectors rate the shadowless cards as being rarer and are more sought after.

  • Base set - is the name given to the first main expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

  • Holographic - also known as 'shiny' cards, means that the cards have a shiny reflective coating on them. Only a few Pokémon cards are holographic, making them rarer.

  • Mint-condition - there are no marks, stains or fading on the card.

One of the most expensive cards to sell at auction was a mint-condition, first-edition, shadowless, holographic Charizard for $369,000 (around £262,000) in December 2020.

"Sheets of first edition cards are virtually unheard of," said Dominic DiAntonio, the client partner director for Goldin Auctions.

Goldin auctions

As well as this, the sheet of cards once belonged to the boss in charge of Wizards of the Coast, and was displayed in their office, before being gifted to a member of the board.

At the top of the sheet is some writing which says: "OKAY FOR COLOR + FIT 11-30-98 7:25am", suggesting that the sheet was a test run, and showing it dates to November 1998, a couple of months before the cards were officially released in the United States.

Which Pokémon are on the sheet?

  • Alakazam (2 cards)

  • Blastoise (2 cards)

  • Chansey (3 cards)

  • Charizard (2 cards)

  • Clefairy (2 cards)

  • Gyarados (10 cards)

  • Hitmonchan (10 cards)

  • Machamp (32 cards)

  • Magneton (2 cards)

  • Mewtwo (10 cards)

  • Nidoking (2 cards)

  • Ninetales (10 cards)

  • Poliwrath (2 cards)

  • Raichu (3 cards)

  • Venusaur (3 cards)

  • Zapdos (3 cards)

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