Has anyone ever seen the back of a card look like this before?
It isn’t water damage from what I can tell. The texture hasn’t changed at all nor has the surface been raised or afflicted in any way either. It’s not anything sticky or tacky. The surface feels 100% like a clean normal pack fresh surface should feel. Perhaps something sat against the surface for a long enough period to distort the color in this way without affecting the surface itself? I dont know. Whatever it is did not affect the front of the card whatsoever either. I cant recall seeing anything like it. It’s a 1st edition base Bisaflor! Anyone else ever seen this phenomenon on German base set? Maybe it’s a weird one off print defect? I’m stumped!
Is it possible that it got water/oil or another liquid on it and it absorbed into the card on the dark spots before it could be wiped away? (You could test this with an energy card to see if you get similar results.) Otherwise, I guess it would have to be a printing error.
looks like this card got vitiligo, although rarer in pokemon cards than in humans, they can clearly get it. Dont worry, this disease is not contagious so you can touch and feel the card without getting it yourself! Ultra rare error copy it is!
I have seen something similar when cards are saran wrapped and shipped in a hot climate the parts where plastic kinda gets melty look like that but not quite…
For science, I just greased up a German Fighting Energy with corn oil.
Results are quite different from your card though. The stains are round with smooth borders rather than sharp and pointy like yours.
Another key difference is the fact that the oil also stained the front borders, even though it was only applied on the back.
The type of oil, the method of application and the amount might massively influence the outcome. Less oil and the presence of a holo foil layer may also prohibit the oil from showing through on the front. If you’d take a penetrating oil like WD-40 and spray it on the card from a distance, the small droplets could cause that finer pattern of yours. That is also a much more likely real life scenario than someone just smearing cooking oil over a card like I did.
@muk thanks for conducting the experiment! Did the texture of it change at all? Did it feel any different? If not, than I’m gonna guess mine is some sort of oil as well. I’ve got a trashed German holo I’m gonna experiment on to see if oil will go through the foil. Or perhaps the saran wrap thing someone else mentioned seems likely possible too. Thanks for the input dude! Much appreciated
Yeah no problem mate, I love damaging stuff for science
At first it had a certain gloss to it, but a few hours later that’s completely gone and it doesn’t feel or look any different from a normal card aside from the obvious oil stains.
If you ever try to get it graded, keep us updated. I’d love to hear a professional opinion on that!
I’m leaning towards liquid damage. The rear surface sheen is off compared with the correct finish. The depth of color is also affected. Probably oil-based liquid damage as has been mentioned.
