Over the past couple of months I started collecting a basic set of the 1st edition base holos as a fun little hobby because I already had a copy of Charizard and Venusaur graded by PSA from a year ago. It was going great and I’ve been really enjoying it, but while adding the gyarados I got in the mail yesterday to the collection something on my charizard caught my eye that is giving me a lot of anxiety.
I purchased the card already PSA graded, un-tampered with (granted it is only a 4, I love it regardless)
Looking at the stamp now something isn’t right. I never paid that much acute attention to it because I bought it graded.
I just don’t know what to do. Maybe I’m totally wrong and that is an authentic stamp, and I have nothing to worry about…it’s just some rare thing that it isn’t where my others are .__. I really don’t know what to do if it isn’t authentic. huge pit in my stomach right now
Here is a full picture if you cannot click on links at the moment:
The position of this charizard of yours resembles that one that was on eBay, not so long ago, with the blurry stamp (also graded by PSA)… This is very serious. Where was the control when grading these charizards that have been surfacing?
I would e-mail to PSA and ask them to reivew photos and give their input. Potentially ship to them for a crack and review it for authenticity, see what they come back with. Draw up some nice sketches in photoshop or something equivalent of the spacing and location of the 1st edition stamp. Preferably with straight on photos and do pixel counts of a scan or something. Maybe someone here on the forum with those skills can help with that part to show the alignment is off.
The position alone is weird but it looks like the ink is a bit heavier too. I can’t even tell if the letters look different or if it’s just due to the stamp pressure. That’s an amazing fake if it is fake. Idk why someone with a stamp that convincing would make a rookie mistake like that with the positioning.
I paid very good money for this card and bought into the premium of psa to ensure exactly this didn’t happen. I knew that you could have mis grades but falsely authenticating… .___.
I’m quite afraid they will just say it’s real as it is in their interest. Maybe they will have a good explanation. Will be sending the pictures and cullers gif when I back home to customer service.
I don’t see how that wouldn’t disqualify it right there. There has never been a mis-alighned frontside stamp documented that I know of. Sadly there are other fake stamps that have slipped through PSA, and I think I remember when this card sold on ebay.
I’m on my phone but was able to zoom in and see the stamp. There is an ink run that goes into the lower right of the “1”. In my opinion it’s totally fake. Sorry Fazool Sadly there is an individual that has been manufacturing these the past few months and selling them, so it is becoming a more serious issue.
Yeah I remember when it sold (I tend to keep track of these things). It was on ebay, right? Around a year and a half ago another one slipped through PSA and ended up on eBay as well. I don’t have any photos though.
It’s PSA’s responsibility to make sure it’s graded right and not fake. As @gottaketchumall said it would be best to send it in and let them revaluate it. They need to be alerted to the situation if they haven’t already.
well I sent everything. I guess all I can do now is wait and see what they say. Without this forum and the support of you guys I’d be freaking out even more right now >-<
The stamps were added AFTER the sheets were produced so it’s not impossible that the stamps could be misaligned. I’m not saying they were, just that it’s not a 100% reliable method for disproving authenticity. It IS an important step though for reaching that conclusion.
I agree and I didn’t mean to say it wasn’t possible, only that since 1999 not a single example has been seen holo or non-holo. It’s also mal-aligned on two axis which adds to improbability (you know why)
It also has smudges… I’d say 80% fake 20% real. Like @jkanly mentioned no other “misaligned” “real” 1st edition base set card has ever been presented. Fake misaligned 1st edition stamped base set cards have though. I should start stamping shadowless Charizards and send them all to PSA (kidding).
Looks like the fake 1st edition charizard I bought from the seller marcdelvi on ebay. It was graded by gma and I only realised it was a fake stamp after I cracked it out of the case. I’d say it was 99% fake though, sorry buddy!
Sadly there is an individual that has been manufacturing these the past few months and selling them, so it is becoming a more serious issue.
(kidding).
