CGC Trading Cards Certifies a Holographic Dark Charizard with a Surprising Printing Error
Posted on 3/26/2021
CGC® Trading Cards has authenticated and graded one of the most unusual error cards ever seen by its experts. The card is a holographic Dark Charizard from the 2000 Pokémon Team Rocket Set with a very large obstruction underneath its holographic layer.
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| Dark Charizard from the 2000 Pokémon Team Rocket Set with an End-of-Holo-Roll error. Click images to enlarge |
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The 1.88-inch obstruction appears to be a piece of tape. (1.88 inches is the standard size for many types of industrial tapes.) It is likely that during the process of laminating the holographic layer to the cardstock, the end of the holofoil roll was reached. In order to continue the process, the roll was attached to the beginning of another with the tape.
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| The blue-colored tape can be seen under the holofoil layer. Click image to enlarge |
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A section of one of the holofoil layers is bent upwards as it overlaps the other piece of holofoil. Because of this, the blue colored tape is clearly noticeable. It is likely that blue is used to make it easier to see the tape during the lamination process. However, the tape was on the underside of the holofoil, so it went undetected as the sheet moved through the printing process.
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| View of the top left edge of the card. Click image to enlarge |
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The photo above, which is a stacked photo comprised of 11 images in order to bring more of the card in focus, shows the tape beneath the printing and holofoil layers. The same can be seen in the next image on the other side of the card.
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| View of the top right edge of the card. Click image to enlarge |
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This photo is another composite created by stacking 21 different images. It shows the printing and holofoil on top of the tape.
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| Edge view of the left side of the card. Click image to enlarge |
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The above photo shows the right edge of the card from just above the 50X Damage of the Continuous Fireball section to just below the top of the art box. The edge of the tape is the dark area on top of the cardstock that extends nearly the whole length of the photo. The left side of the card is distinctly thicker, where there are two layers of holofoil.
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| Close-up seam between the two holofoil layers. Click image to enlarge |
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In the close-up photo, the rosette pattern is clearly visible, indicating the card was printed in the same way as every other Pokémon card — with an offset printing press.
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| Error Dark Charizard (left) and normal example (right). Click images to enlarge. |
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CGC Trading Cards compared the error against another example of a holographic Dark Charizard, and everything matched perfectly. Even under spot fluorescence lighting, which reveals differences on counterfeit or altered cards, the ink on both cards reacted the same way. Note how the fire energies light up, as well as all the shading on Charizard. Everything is a perfect match, proving this card is a legitimate factory error from 2000!
CGC Trading Cards is the industry leader in the authentication and grading of Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering misprints and oddities. An error type was specifically created in the system for this card as it was not something the graders had anticipated or seen before. CGC Trading Card experts have extensive knowledge of the printing processes used to make these cards as well as access to outside experts, such as Tavis King, to properly authenticate and describe unique oddities.
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