Say Cheese! Photo Contest Pokémon Cards Stealing the Show in Heritage Auction

Two Pokémon 64 Mario Stadium Photo Contest cards that are certified by CGC Cards™ are making waves in an upcoming Heritage Auctions sale. Bidding is already underway for Heritage’s Trading Card Games Signature Auction, which is set to end on May 17-18, 2024.

A Charmander, Pokémon (1999) Japanese Unnumbered Promo 64 Mario Stadium Best Photo Contest graded CGC 9 (lot 36037) is currently leading the CGC-certified cards in the auction. The promo card is from the 1999 64 Mario Stadium Best Photo Contest, a competition hosted to commemorate the release of Pokémon Snap for the Nintendo 64. Contestants who snapped photos of their favorite Pokémon in the game could submit their best pictures for a chance to have their photo printed on a Pokémon TCG card. This Charmander photo was taken by Tsukasa Hosono. CGC Cards has only certified one of these Charmander cards, according to the CGC Cards Population Report.

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In addition, a Squirtle, Pokémon (1999) Japanese Unnumbered Promo 64 Mario Stadium Best Photo Contest graded CGC 9 (lot 36038) is also turning heads in the auction. Squirtle’s photo was taken by Miyuki Ogino, submitted during the same contest and chosen as a winner alongside the Charmander. Only 15 copies of the winning cards were distributed to the winners, so they are very rare. Like Charmander, CGC Cards has only certified one of these Squirtle cards, according to the CGC Cards Population Report.

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Other CGC-certified cards in the auction include:

• an Ancestral Recall, Magic: The Gathering (1993) Limited Edition Alpha graded CGC AA (Authentic Altered) (lot 37018)
• a Black Lotus, Magic: The Gathering (1993) Unlimited Edition graded CGC 6.5 (lot 37034)
• a Chaos Orb, Magic: The Gathering (1993) Limited Edition Alpha graded CGC 5.5 (lot 36004)
• a Charizard, Pokémon (1999) Base Set Holo graded CGC Gem Mint 10 (lot 37073)
• an Umbreon, Pokémon (2001) Neo Discovery 1st Edition Holo graded CGC Pristine 10 (lot 36041)
• a Shining Mewtwo, Pokémon (2002) Neo Destiny 1st Edition graded CGC Gem Mint 10 (lot 36043)

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 sports cards, TCGs 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. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray and more.