I don’t have much experience in 1st Edition Base so I wanted to see if you guys could shed some light on me…
I want to start by stating that I did start my research on this forum and I found this well written thread written by @quuador. This article will greatly benefit anyone wanting to learn more about 1st edition base set. Quuador - Stamp Variations
I recently acquired two 1st Edition Base Arcanine and at a quick glance I noticed one of the stamps looked Gray instead of Black, which lead me to the previously mentioned article.
As you can tell by the scan the stamp on 8225 is much lighter than 8223. Am I correct in thinking that 8225 can be considered a gray stamp card?
I did some research on eBay sold listings and saw a couple examples of gray stamp cards selling at a premium.
So my questions are:
Are gray stamp cards based on each person’s objective opinion? Like do some people disagree at times whether a card is a Gray Stamp or not? (A PSA qualifier would be cool)
How “rare” are gray stamp 1st Editon base cards?
What type of market premium do they bring in your experience?
Any info you guys want to share is much appreciated!
A gray stamp is pretty easy to distinguish if there is a normal copy next to it, but they exist on a spectrum. I’ve seen cards that are somewhat gray and others that are quite gray. Your copy is pretty strong. If you’ve handled enough 1st ed Base cards, you’ll be able to spot it pretty quickly.
Gray stamps are fairly rare, as they are a subset of an already-rare set (1st ed Base). They are difficult to come by in mint and gem mint condition, especially the holos. Once they end up in collections, they rarely come out.
Market premium is highest for holos and fan favorites like Pikachu. I could see the Arcanine going for a premium, but it’s hard to estimate what that premium may be as it would depend on the buyers’ goals. A gray stamp set collector or an Arcanine collector may pay a much higher premium than someone who is generally interested in 1st ed Base. In that case, I would recommend listing it on eBay as a BIN and/or to see if PSA will recognize the gray stamp on the label.
From my experience, gray stamps are hard to photograph. I have some that are extreme light and they look darker in photos. I have also found that the market is still niche. Most people don’t know the difference or seem to accept the premium they command. Personally, I think they are worth more than their “regular” counterparts.
Thanks for the insight! I can understand why it would be hard to photograph at times. I really noticed it when I had the two cards next to each other. If I didn’t have both of the cards next to each other I might not have caught it because I am very inexperienced with 1st Ed. Base.
