Hi I was looking to buy this card and the seller says no scratches or surface damages seen. I just wanted to verify if this is a real or fake card. Some of the pictures just seem a little off to me, especially with the white speckles where his claw is. I attached a pic of what I was talking about.
Also would it be better to buy a 1st edition Japanese gold star Ray that is MP-HP or an unlimited that is mint-NM?
I can’t speak about it being real or fake. I don’t know enough about Japanese cards to know. As for the Japanese 1st edition vs unlimited, generally the unlimited versions are much rarer so I’d always go for unlimited, especially if it’s in better condition.
Okay, that clears things up a lot, and helps my choice. Just hoping this is a legit card and not a fake.
Thank you!
You would be right for most sets, but Clash of the Blue Sky actually seems to be an exception.
Ray GS Unlimited total graded: 176.
Ray GS 1st Ed total graded: 139.
www.psacard.com/pop/tcg-cards/2004/pokemon-japanese-clash-blue-sky/99977
Not a huge difference, but I’d be quite confident to say that at the very least, UED is not rarer than 1st Ed in this case.
That said, most people don’t seem to care much whether a Japanese card is 1st Ed or UED anyway, even if there is an actual significant differnce in rarity.
So if you want the better value, you should definitely go for the better condition copy.
1st ed. Clash of the Blue Sky in Japanese is rarer than unlimited, and the 1st edition Rayquaza gold star goes for significantly more than the unlimited copy. It’s not enough to justify buying a played 1st ed copy over a NM-M unlimited copy, but for this specific card there is a significant value difference.
Oh, TIL. One of the few Japanese sets where 1st edition is rarer than unlimited in that case, since it’s almost always the opposite, and usually by a large margin (or just about equal). Only exception I knew prior would be the No Rarity Base Set (which I see as 1st edition) vs regular.
Greetz,
Quuador
Ahhh I see, I mean I guess at the end of the day it’s better to buy a nm-m over a played copy would be a better play is what I’m getting from everyone. Anyone know if this card looks legit or not? I’ve been out of the game for a long time and just getting back into things with my younger cousins:face_with_spiral_eyes:
If this is a purchase through eBay you could try the new authentication service
I would but I believe it’s only if the card is 750 or more unfortunately, I ended up only paying 550 for this card
I knew there were some sets that were the exception. I just didn’t know which ones. Guess it turned out to be the set this card is from. The one time I open my mouth lol.
It’s all good, I appreciate the info regardless!
I’ve honestly seen almost 0 fake japanese gold stars. I’m sure they may exist, but this card looks fine to me. Nothing specifically stands out as fake about it at least.
The foiling looks accurate, you can see the card has that dotted print pattern as all old japanese cards do too. I’m not an expert but it looks good, and $550 is a steal. Plus its ebay, if it ends up being fake, easy return