…and it somewhat puzzles me that these can be had for $15 raw and about $100 in a NM grade.
It feels like there are a ton of fundamentals behind these.
Popularity? Sure, Togepi and “Pikablu” were Gen. 2 Fan Favorites.
Unique release? Absolutely. Redeeming boarding passes for them was a very distinctive idea.
Rarity? Not the rarest cards, but with a total PSA POP of 86 (Togepi) & 74 (Marill) these didn’t exactly cause the backlog.
Conditional Rarity? Sure, these weren’t easy 10’s. Only about a 25% gem rate.
Being unnumbered, old-back Japanese promos, with all of the above going for them, I’m left feeling like I’m missing something here. Like many cards from this era, perhaps it’s simply just an exposure issue. Too niche for their own good.
What I have learned as I’ve broken in to Japanese cards is that just about everything in this era feels too cheap for their own good.
Western collectors just don’t have the knowledge or exposure yet to even know many of these cards exist. There is a very high barrier of entry. The cards are unreadable. Their releases are esoteric. Condition and print quality leaves a lot to be desired. It takes a lot of effort to learn about, locate, and then buy a niche card like this that you have probably never seen or heard of before.
One of my beliefs for the future of the hobby is that vintage Japanese is going to take off. As many western collectors complete their WotC sets and feel they’ve taken that experience as far as they can, they’re going to be drawn to these rarer, stranger, less familiar cards from the same time but another world. When people want to know where to go next, I think they’ll turn to Japanese cards and their rich and diverse legacy.
I don’t think anyone will be stonking ANA promos. But my take is buy em while they’re cheap.
It’s true. I’ve been delving in recently too and many of them feel very unnoticed for what they are. I saw a Play Mat Slowpoke PSA 9 go for <$100 today lol. Many of these cards are incredibly difficult to find too.
I love ANA promos and think they are super undervalued/underappreciated. One thing to keep in mind with these two specifically are they were distributed on what amounts to fly paper. You literally have to peel these off of a super sticky backing while trying not to bend/crease the card. Then you have to try to wipe off the sticky residue without bending or creasing the card. It is not easy at all. It is nothing like the vending series or Mcdonald’s peel promos. Totally different animal and why the 10s are listed at such a premium on these two specifically. The articuno, zapdos, moltres, dragonite, larvitar and pikachus (3) are all heavily slept on as well. They were distributed differently but it is pretty hard to find well centered cards with no scratching/creasing/whitening even in their original pamphlets. I do see the popularity and price of these growing substantially over time.
Part of the draw that got me back into the hobby after a long time off was the whole nostalgia piece and “what I grew up on”. As I get older, I am finding I still enjoy the nostalgic cards again, but I also enjoy the story behind Pokemon cards, how the game was introduced, and what this whole enterprise we see today has spring out from. You can’t deal with vintage Japanese cards without hitting all of those wickets. The ANA Promos are a great example; it’s also the same reason I fell for some of the other great vintage Japanese cards like the JR Rally “Mt. Fuji” Surfing Pikachu or the “Trade Please” with a holo back. They’re not just cards; they’re an extension of local culture and interests. And for a trading card game to include that…doesn’t get much cooler than that to me.
