Hey there!
Has anyone else noticed that there are 2 versions of Beta Playtest?
A “good quality” version on the left and a “poor quality” version on the right (the 2 images below come from CGC scans with the same resolution and same quality obviously):
We can make the comparison for almost all Beta Playtest (almost because I don’t have the 151 scans of the “good quality” versions).
For example concerning Ditto there is 1 copy in “good quality”, and 3 other copies (one “CGC AU”, one “CGC 9” and one “CGC 10”) in “poor quality”.
For the moment I have not seen 2 same copies of a Beta Playtest in “good quality”.
I personally don’t have any doubt about the authenticity of the Beta Playtest in “good quality”, because they come from the same person who had Alpha Playtest cards that we could see in the photos of Akabane’s old Instagram account (notably the Gyarados with the left edge cut off and some other distinct flaws).
For the “poor quality” Beta, I don’t really have any doubts about the authenticity either, but it’s more that I can’t really find a simple explanation why there are 2 versions.
What is your opinion?
I think that maybe the “good quality” ones were used for a presentation purpose, like the Alpha Presentation cards which seem better printed than the other Alpha Playtest.
Please keep in mind that I am not saying that there is any fake cards, I just wanted to point something remarquable.
EDIT : The back of the 2 versions is “awful” (but slightly different):
So if you think that the “good quality” beta was printed today with the files of the time, that doesn’t really make sense.