History of the FPO cards
Introduced to the Pokemon world in 2013 are the For Position Only (FPO) test cards.
*The second Manhole image above is only to demonstrate where the FPO text is.
Background
Prior to the release of the Expedition E-Reader expansion, WOTC ran some tests of the rares through the printers and inserted them into unreleased packs for internal use only. The packs had the same artwork as the LEGENDARY Collection packs, as this was the most recent set and Expedition was not out yet, but they were never distributed outside of the design team.
Before these test packs were being destroyed, a former WOTC employee saved them from the shredder and kept them in his personal collection. He opened a few of the packs and left the rest sealed. They sat in storage for over a decade until he decided to sell off some of the extra stuff he had lying around. When this happened, a whole new collectible was introduced into the Pokemon community. The cards inside are much different from the cards that were eventually released within the Expedition Base Set expansion.
Below is a video of the cards inside the packs:
Description of FPO cards
The FPO cards have multiple differences from final official released version of the cards.
-
FOR POSITION ONLYis printed across the card art - In the bottom-left corner the word
Mediumprinted in small, black type. - On the Charizard, the “HP” is missing in the top-right corner. This could be an unintentional error that was later corrected.
Originally thought to be curious additions and nothing more, the Manhole card included in the set sports a traditional Pokemon card back making it a novelty in its own right. Upon further examination, the key “For Position Only” white lettering can be found across the card, just as it is present on each of the other Pokemon included in the set. Because the art does not provide a high contrast background, as in the case of the other cards in this set, it is much more difficult to identify the bold, white FPO lettering. This is the reason for Rusty (TCAGaming) originally neglected the card when he marketed the sets.
Count of the cards
From the original 2013 PokeGym thread : 107
[archive: 1 2]
Total FPO cards pulled on camera by Rusty (after PokeGym): 110
[Six videos where this number came from: 1 2 3 4 5 6]
Daa906 lucky pack opening: 10
[video has since been removed]
Total: 227 (this number may be outdated as of 2022)
Distribution:
| Card | Count |
|---|---|
| Charizard | 60 |
| Alakazam | 52 |
| Blastoise | 32 |
| Ampharos | 30 |
| Arbok | 29 |
| Dugtrio | 10 |
| Clefable | 7 |
| Manhole | 7 |
What happened to the sealed packs?
Thin Packs (5 cards per pack):
- Opened on YouTube by Rusty: 18 Packs
- Sold to Collectors: 2 Packs
Thick Packs (10 cards per pack):
- Opened on YouTube by Rusty: 2 Pack
- Opened on YouTube by Daa906: 1 Pack
What about grading FPOs?
Sadly, PSA and BGS stopped grading these cards in 2015, because FPO cards were not considered officially released cards.
They have graded them for a brief period, so there is just a low number of graded FPOs.
PSA had labelled them just like normal Expedition cards but BGS was more accurate putting the right label and description.
As of 2022, CGC grades FPO cards CGC Trading Cards Population Report | CGC
Special thanks to @thecharizardauthorty
