Alpha Playtest Pokémon Cards Certified by CGC Cards Highlight Goldin Sale

Three Pokémon Alpha Playtest cards certified by CGC Cards™ are being offered in an upcoming Goldin sale. These cards are among dozens of CGC-certified cards in Goldin’s July Pop Culture Elite Auction, which is set to end on July 20, 2024.

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The three Japanese Alpha Playtest Pokémon cards include a Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle (lots 7, 8 and 9), each graded CGC 9 or higher. The rarity of these Pokémon prototype cards cannot be understated; CGC Cards has certified a total of 96 examples across the entire Alpha Playtest “set,” with each of these three starter Pokémon cards being the highest-graded examples, according to the CGC Cards Population Report.

In the 1990s, manufacturers would print playtest versions of TCG cards and distribute them to staff for testing purposes, usually several months before the game’s official release. Playtest cards often have several differences from their finished counterparts. In the case of these cards, the artwork on these playtest cards is drawn by Ken Sugimori and features white borders, while the finished cards distributed in Base Set are illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita and feature yellow borders.

CGC's card experts were able to chat with some of the creators of the Pokémon TCG to help with the authentication of these tremendous rarities.

Other CGC-certified cards in the auction include:

• a Bilingual Exeggutor, Pokémon (1999) Japanese Tropical Mega Battle Participation Prize graded CGC Pristine 10 (lot 6)
• a Charizard, Pokémon (1999) Cosmos Holo Test Print graded CGC Gem Mint 10 and certified by CGC Signature Series as signed by Mitsuhiro Arita (lot 19)
• a Venusaur, Pokémon (1999) “Disco” Holo Test Print graded CGC Gem Mint 10 and certified by CGC Signature Series as signed by Mitsuhiro Arita (lot 20)
• a Blastoise, Pokémon (1999) “Disco” Holo Test Print graded CGC 7.5 (lot 46)
• a University Magikarp, Pokémon (1998) Japanese Tamamushi University Hyper Test Day Two Prize graded CGC 8 (lot 42)

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for TCGs, sports cards and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. The newest division of CGC, CGC Home Video, provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of home media.