Heritage Offers More Prototype and Playtest Pokémon Cards Certified by CGC in Signature Auction

More than a hundred trading cards certified by CGC Cards™ — including several test print, prototype and playtest Pokémon cards — are being offered in an ongoing Heritage Auctions sale. Online bidding is already underway for Heritage’s Trading Card Games Signature Auction, which is set to end on December 6-7, 2024.

Leading the CGC-certified cards in the sale is a Torchic Gold Star, Pokémon (2004) EX Team Rocket Returns Holo graded CGC Pristine 10 (lot 36181). Gold Star cards are special cards featuring Pokémon in their shiny variant colors. Torchic was one of the first Gold Star cards to be introduced, alongside its fellow Generation III starters (Mudkip and Treecko). Out of the three, Torchic is considered the most valuable and continues to command a premium at auction.

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Meanwhile, a Pikachu, Pokémon (1995) Japanese Alpha Prototype graded CGC 9 (lot 36116) is leading the CGC-certified test print and prototype cards in the sale. The Pokémon TCG went through many development stages before its official release. The second phase of the TCG’s development was called the Alpha Prototype phase and was meant to demonstrate what the game’s mechanics would look like. There were only 26 cards printed for the Alpha Prototype set, with one of them including this Pikachu. CGC Cards is aware of six examples of each card, meaning there are at least six full sets of these early Alpha Prototype cards in existence. (To learn more about the Pokémon TCG’s development phases, click here.)

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Other CGC-certified cards being offered in the auction include:

• a Charizard, Pokémon (1996) Japanese Delta Playtest graded CGC 9 and certified by CGC x JSA as signed by Mitsuhiro Arita (lot 36157)
• a Pikachu, Pokémon (1996) Japanese Alpha Playtest graded CGC Gem Mint 10 (lot 36136)
• a Charizard, Pokémon (1996) Japanese Alpha Playtest graded CGC 8.5 (lot 36134)
• a Mox Sapphire, Magic: The Gathering (1993) Unlimited graded CGC 9 (lot 36017)
• a Charizard, Pokémon (1996) Japanese Beta Playtest graded CGC 7 (lot 36139)
• a Blastoise, Pokémon (1996) Japanese Alpha Playtest graded CGC 9 (lot 36135)
• a Pikachu, Pokémon (1996) Japanese Beta Playtest graded CGC Gem Mint 10 (lot 36145)