Hello E4!
I’d like to introduce myself to the community by sharing some of my collection.
Allow me to start with my most recent addition along with a childhood story:
Charizard. Oh what a sight. Hated my Smokey the Bear but near and dear to the hearts of a generation.
So back in the day when rumors of a kid on the playground with a Charizard spread like a wild fire, I found myself intrigued like so many of us. My interest grew and grew and soon I’d be grinding Pokemon Blue on my lime green Gameboy Color itching to become the best trainer in Kanto. Fast forward to the day I’m at a local card shop, scanning the glass cases in awe of the holographic goodness before me. I somehow convinced my mom to put up $100 (maybe even $150, can’t remember) on a Charizard of my own! I can still remember the cashier mentioning how I was standing there, arms crossed, despite the pleasant nature of the moment. Maybe it was the quiet, card shop setting that made me slightly uncomfortable or perhaps I was nervous because of the prized item that would soon be in my possession. Even at the time when none of my other cards were kept in sleeves and top loaders, I kept this card encased. This wan’t just any old Charizard, this was a 1st Edition Base Set Charizard.
Somewhere down the line where my memory is foggy, this card would be stolen from me, most likely by a childhood “friend.” I still have an iota of hope that one day I’ll move a piece of furniture and find the fiery beast, resting, awaiting his rediscovery. One can dream. It would probably achieved a top grade considering how I kept it.
While I still have the majority of my childhood collection, I have been adding new, graded cards to the vault for the past year now. I’m going to start this thread by sharing some cards that have a bit of backstory to them in an attempt to make things a bit more interesting.
I’m looking forward to interacting with everyone in the community and I hope you enjoy my newfound journey to catch them all!
While not the most popular Pokemon, Ditto has a place in my memory from back in the day.
I can remember waiting in line at a mall store to get my hands on the latest booster pack, Fossil. There were actually lines out the door at stores that weren’t even card shops. I watched a kid pull a 1st edition Ditto holo and I can specifically remember wanting that card too because I had never seen it before. Lo and behold, I pull the exact same card a matter of minutes later. I think the reason I can remember that day is because of the incredibly slim chance of that happening.
Remember I mentioned still having most of my childhood cards? Well here it is, the exact card, alongside a PSA 10 unlimited version I recently purchased. I don’t have the 1st edition PSA 10 yet but I’ll likely add it to this post when I do eventually obtain it.
Ya know, being a Ditto and all, the Pokemon that can copy another Pokemon’s genetic code, I find it even more special that I ended up pulling the same card as the kid I watched. Crazy stuff.
There’s no particular childhood story with these next cards but I’m sure like many here will remember, having any of the three legendary birds in the original Pokemon games meant you knew your stuff. This was before the day of going online and watching a quick tutorial on how to beat a game.
I think Articuno’s art is just beautiful. I see this card having a great potential for increasingly high value later down the road. It’s another one of those I can actually remember obtaining as a single when it was first released. I did end up selling my childhood copy last summer as I bought a collection with a nicer one to replace it. Look for cards from that collection on here soon. As a little foreshadowing, it contains Team Rocket and both Gym sets mainly.
I love that 1st Edition Moltres certification number. So clean! Thanks @cljdavis
Although it often gets overshadowed (pun intended) by the base set Zapdos, the Fossil Zapdos can be just as gorgeous. I find it most appealing with a light purple holo color like the unlimited one on the left plus the corrected error for that flush look.
Thunderstorm Theme Deck Zapdos aka Cosmos Foil Zapdos.
One of my favorites!
So stoked to have this card come back from PSA. I purchased this card at auction several months back. According to PSA’s population report it is currently the only 1st Ed. Dark Charizard to have a qualifier making it the only one graded OC.
I started in February but 6 of these were purchased in a lot. I had an extra Magneton but it sold within one hour of listing it on eBay.
My best advice is something I believe @smpratte mentioned in one of his videos:
What about the eevee evolutions? Those bad boys look sick especially the jolteon. Jungle was the only set I managed to complete as a kid though so it has a special nostalgia for me! Hmm I need to get a graded set!
Yeah I just started a week ago with my shadowless venusuar in 10, now im picking up uncommons till some foils show back up on ebay. I need to grade some of my own cards for my other sets once I graduate in two weeks. If you have any other shadowless doubles in rare or uncommon I would be down to buy some if available.
That cert number on the 1st Edition Moltres is really satisfying
