Rare Pokémon Test Print Certified by CGC Cards Is Part of January Auction

An extremely rare Pokémon card certified by CGC Trading Cards is being offered by Heritage Auctions at its Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction being held January 14-17, 2021. Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®), the respected comic book certification service, established CGC Trading Cards in mid-2020 to authenticate, grade and encapsulate Pokémon TCG and Magic: The Gathering cards.

The Blastoise Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram graded CGC 8.5 is a test print created in 1998 as Wizards of the Coast prepared to create English Pokémon cards. More than two weeks before the auction, bidding had reached $11,000.

Click image to enlarge.

CGC Cards has certified four of these rare Blastoise test prints. This is the only one with a blank back; the other three have Magic: The Gathering backs. To learn more about how CGC Cards certified these cards, click here.

The Heritage sale also includes a Pokémon Charizard (1999) Base Set - Unlimited graded CGC 8.5. One of the most popular cards among Pokémon collectors, it had already seen bidding exceed $500 more than two weeks before the auction.

Heritage Auctions is also planning a Monthlong Trading Card auction ending March 25, 2021. CGC Cards-certified rarities include over a dozen selections from the French First Edition Base Set and at least a dozen selections from various Japanese sets.

To learn more about CGC Trading Cards, click here.