I’ve had this one of a kind Base Set Charizard in my personal collection for several years now.
It has a very unique “Ripped Wing” printing error, where the holo foil shines through the hole on his right wing. Out of all the possible spots for a printing error to occur, and the fact that it was printed on a base set Charizard, one of the most iconic Pokémon cards, makes this error outstanding.
The hole in the wing is perfectly placed so that the hole appears to be some sort of battle damage and gives the Charizard great personality. The holo foil underneath the hole shines just like the holo foil on the rest of the card, and when you move it back and forth you can see the star peeking through it.
Also to note, the holographic star that shines through the hole also happens to be perfectly placed, as there could have been no holographic star which would have made this error not as fascinating.
I wanted to be sure that this card was not altered, so I had it graded by PSA to ensure that there were no signs of alteration or tampering, thus this error is 100% authentic.
When I first got it a while back, I had spoken to a printing expert and he mentioned that due to the nature of the error there may be more of these beauties with the same exact error somewhere out there, although we’re talking just a handful.
As far as I know this is the only known card like this to be discovered. I’ve had it for so long and I feel now is a good time to display it to the public. Feel free to message me if you have any questions about the card.
As a bit more of a serious response, since this “error” is something that could really happen but indistinguishable from damage or intentional acetone treatment, I would not pay extra for something like this
Is this error really so unique that every automatically assumes it is fake or damage? If you had a chance to view the card in person you would with zero doubt know that it is authentic. Yes, in theory acetone seems like it would produce a similar result but it would be impossible to reproduce this printing error with such precision, notice how well defined the boarders of the printing error are.
On WOTC Pokemon cards the holo printing is not just a blank holo, it has color printed over the holo. If you were to take acetone or rubbing alcohol to a card it would strip away all of the color printing on the holo foil and you would be left with a silverish holo foil, where as in this case there is the came color as the wing printed over the holo where to hole is so it would be impossible that acetone or rubbing alcohol was used otherwise it would be the same silverish color of the holo and there would be other apparent damage.
Just try it youtself, take a crappy old holo and use acetone or alcohol and try to reproduce this error and it will be clear that it would not work.
Furthermore, it would be obviously apparent that the card was altered or modified and PSA would not grade it.
When i had spoken to a printing expert a long time ago when I got this card, as I remember he said that the charizard artwork (like a primer layer if you will) was printed over the holo and a particle was caught in the printing press so there was a hole in this layer, then the color was printed over all of the layers (and that is why the coloration of the holo in the spot of the error matches the color of the wing).
I may be explaining some of this poorly, but like I said if you saw it in person you would not doubt the authenticity and I invite people to experiment and try to reproduce this and you will see you cannot.
Looks cool. Seems totally possible this could happen during the printing process especially with how many weird and unique errors there are from WOTC. Someone mentioned acetone, but I think that would’ve rubbed more than just that part…or atleast seems like a weird thing to do lol.
I would agree with PFM that unique errors usually won’t add very much to value though.
I wouldnt buy it; seller would probably want a premium and no one can actually tell if he actually used Acetone or it was a printing error. Plus, if encased, PSA would consider it either Damaged or Recolored i think.
I can’t tell from the picture or video but if the color of the wing is still there I have a lot more confidence that this is a real error. As OP mentions, an acetone treatment would strip it down to look silvery. Still have a few reservations though.
Unfortunately most people will just assume damage before believing it’s an error (the rational thing to do) and the vast majority of people don’t have a detailed enough understanding of the printing process to look for details that would distinguish an error from damage.
PSA’s opinion is entirely irrelevant though since they are so inconsistent and incompetent when it comes to grading error cards. I personally would not cite them as an authority on this card
It looks cool and sure adds some uniqueness to the card. It could be a printing process error so this would be a misprinted card, but it wont be the first time PSA graded a hand made card. Sadly don’t take PSA as a 100% authentic proof. I do like it and if you can provide enough proof that this can’t be just acetoned, it will add more value to a misprint collector or someone who wants something different from the bulk. Good luck!
You can see that the same color as the wing was printed over hole where the error is. I probably should have included this angle in the original post, but I think its cooler when you can see the holofoil reflecting underneath.
If you have a magnifying glass you can see if there is an ink pattern on top of that hole’s holo. Would be cool to see pics like that. A x30/x60 one will do it. Also modern phones (unlike mine) can zoom in pretty much to that level.
Yes I do have a magnifying glass. Here is a photo I took with the magnifying glass showing the ink pattern on the card. The same color and ink pattern from the wing of the charizard is still present over the hole in the wing, thus this is how it came from the factory and completely denies and claim of acetone being used.
As I understand PSA also uses magnifying glasses when they check a card for authenticity before they grade it so they would have defiantly spotted if acetone was used as there wouldn’t be any ink pattern where the hole is.
If it has an ink patter on top of that holo, that’s conclusive evidence that this was factory made, there is no chance that could be replicated outside of wotc printers. Very nice misprint.
Furthermore, it would be obviously apparent that the card was altered or modified and PSA would not grade it.PSA has no issue grading damaged cards, which is the case here.
