For today’s “The Spotlight” episode, I want to share a photo that has just been uploaded on Instagram. It’s one of the very few photos I’ve ever seen where the 4 Blastoise test print cards graded by CGC appear together.
These four cards are indeed scarce test prints made by WOTC in 1998 before starting the production and distribution of Pokémon cards in the United States.
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Blastoise Commissioned Presentation or Test Print?
As explained by CGC in their article, there are two “versions” of this card. The first one is the Blastoise Test Print, which is a card with the back of an MTG card printed.
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The use of the MTG back was because WOTC found it expensive to conduct print tests, and therefore (as visible in the uncut sheet below), different test prints of games produced by WOTC were printed on the same test sheet. At that time, they used the back of the company’s flagship game, MTG.
Source: pokemuseum.weebly.com – An uncut sheet featuring the Blastoise test print.
The second version is referred to as the Blastoise Commissioned Presentation, as explained by CGC. This card shows some differences, including a blank back and the same holographic pattern as the Base Set cards.
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This particular card comes from a former member of WOTC’s public relations team who explained how the card was used to showcase to the media what a Pokémon card would look like. Of this second version, there exist two copies, one of which was used for international events.
Below, you can find a Heritage Auctions sale from 2021 where the card was sold for over $300,000.
Source: Heritage Auctions
To wrap up, here’s a video from CGC where you can get a closer look at the Blastoise test print we’ve been discussing.
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