PIKACHU 58/102 PROMO card "BLACK E3" PSA authenticated only one known

Description: Nintendo had special promotional cards printed for the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the L.A. Convention center on May 13-15 1999. The Expo was a trade event for the video gaming industry and not open to the general public.Nintendo used the event to introduce new products including their "Dolphin" project (commonly called GAMECUBE) along with new games involving Pokemon. As a promotion, the Nintendo booth handed out about 1000 Pokemon Pikachu E3 cards. All the cards handed out (yellow cheeks) and later red cheeked versions enclosed in their magazine were printed with a GOLD E3 in the right center of the card.This card has the "E3" printed in BLACK. Months of investigation revealed the following comparing it to other samples of both the yellow and red cheeked versions of the E3 cards:1. the card dimensions, paper type, composition, and ink are all identical to the other samples.2. the position of the "E3" is identical to the samples except for a slightly smaller font.3. the light transmission of the card in both UV and LED light is the same including no light shining thru the card.4. Spectral analysis of the black ink in all the samples as well as the Black E3 card showed no variation outside the margin of error for the testing system.5. A local printing company examined the card (they have been in business for over 80 years) and determined that the card was printed in a single process (offset lithograph printing using the CYMK color process)...the "E3" was not added at a later time by any other printing process including dot matrix, laser printing, single stamp, rubber or nylon stamping. The "E3" seems to be 8514OEM font with the "3" being slightly modified or of the "consolas" font according to the printers. We contacted Nintendo to see what information was available on the E3 cards handed out at the Expo. Although their records were meager, we did find out that they were working with 2 companies that did Pokemon printing for them. They had contracts with Catamundi and PBM Graphics (The latter bought by Consolidated Graphics in early 2000). Although they had no records they could share with us, they did cite records of a "layout test printing" of cards on January 21, 1999 which would be in the time frame for the printing of the E3 Promo cards. Inquiries to both Calamundi or Consolidated Graphics yielded no useful information on this particular card, but Calamundi did provide some interesting information on their cards in general. Seems that they often pre-print a small batch of cards and send them out to their group of "test players". These persons test the cards under tournament conditions to check their general acceptance and especially their adaptability to the game and the clarity and usefulness of their instructions in the game. The players comments and cards are usually returned to the printer and any changes are made before the final printing. This might be one of those "pre-print" cards although I have my doubts since these E3 cards were printed, essentially to be promotional handout cards at the convention. They did say that sometimes some of the pre-print cards end up in the public's hands. The card was sent to PSA for authentication (not grading) and returned as authentic and labeled as a "factory misprint".After talking (and showing the card) to several Pokemon collectors and experts including Heritage Auctions, another possibility was proposed...that it was a Printer's Proof submitted to Nintendo before the final run. Maybe the Black E3 didn't have enough "bling" and since many special Pokemon cards being produced at this time had GOLD lettering in the Promotional printing (e.g., the Pokemon movie handouts) this is the reason the Black E3 was replaced with Gold in the final run. No one we contacted had ever seen a "Black E3", however, not one of them concluded it was a fake. All the research we did will be included with the auction including all paperwork from PSA. If you purchase the card and you can provide me, PSA, and Heritage Auction with conclusive proof that it is a fake within 30 days of purchase date, I will refund your money if the card is returned to me in the same condition as when I shipped it. ANYONE OUT THERE THAT HAS ANY INFORMATION ON THIS CARD, PLEASE LET ME KNOW...HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ONE? THE "BUY-IT-NOW" PRICE IS JUST A NUMBER (NO ONE HAS ANY GUESS AS TO THE REAL VALUE), SO ALL OFFERS WILL BE CONSIDERED.

Price: 37000 USD

Location: Temple, Texas

End Time: 2024-11-18T01:37:51.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD