The Ancient Mew card may be one of the most iconic and unique Pokemon cards produced to date. Less known are the different variants of the card and new collectors may not appreciate the subtle difference between versions.
Quick reference guide - Check the copyright text to see which version you have:
1999 Ancient Mew I (“Nintedo” error)
© 1995, 1996, 1998 Nintedo/Creatures inc./GAMEFREAK inc.
1999 Ancient Mew I (Corrected version) OR 1999 Ancient Mew II
© 1995, 1996, 1998 Nintendo/Creatures inc./GAMEFREAK inc.
2000 International version [English]
© 1995, 96, 98, 99 Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK. © 1999-2000 Wizards.
2019 Japanese Ancient Mew (Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution)
© 2019 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
2020 Korean Ancient Mew (Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution)
© 2020 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
1999 Japanese Versions
The Ancient Mew was originally made available through a promotional pamphlet exclusively released in Japan to commemorate the theatrical run of the movie Revelation Lugia on July 16th, 1999.
There are two main Japanese variants, distinguishable by holo patterns. They are often referred to as Ancient Mew I and Ancient Mew II. The image above on the left shows the speckle-style pattern of Ancient Mew I and the image to the right shows the orb and swirl cosmos foil of Ancient Mew II.
In addition to the holo pattern, the text in the copyright is also helpful in identifying variants. In fact, a third Japanese variant is revealed this way:
Ancient Mew I - “Nintedo” error
© 1995, 1996, 1998 Nintedo/Creatures inc./GAMEFREAK inc.
Ancient Mew I - Corrected version
© 1995, 1996, 1998 Nintendo/Creatures inc./GAMEFREAK inc.
Ancient Mew II
© 1995, 1996, 1998 Nintendo/Creatures inc./GAMEFREAK inc.
(Same as the corrected Ancient Mew I)
Of the three versions, the Ancient Mew I corrected version tends to be the most coveted and most difficult to find. Below are examples of both PSA and CGC labels of the three variants. Keep in mind that there could be slight variations to these labels and the variants are frequently mislabeled!
As mentioned above, all versions of the 1999 Japanese Ancient Mew were released in a pamphlet, shown below. The first image shows the cover and the second shows the interior with a Japanese Ancient Mew card inserted in a plastic sleeve.
2000 International Version [English]
(North American and International Release)
Pokemon: The Movie 2000 (a.k.a. “The Power of One”) was released in North American theaters on July 21st, 2000. The card distributed at theaters in a cellophane pack with a separate teaser card. Other countries had similar promotions - the pack containing an Ancient Mew with an information card printed in the native language (e.g. German, French, etc). Other than the teaser card, all international versions of the Ancient Mew are identical.
International copyright
© 1995, 96, 98, 99 Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK. © 1999-2000 Wizards.
Shown below are the PSA and CGC labels for the international version
Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution Versions
On July 12, 2019, theaters in Japan were showing Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution. A new version of Ancient Mew was released alongside this movie. On September 30th, 2020 the movie was released in South Korea. Due to the delayed release, the Korean Ancient Mew released with the movie has different copyright text making it a unique version of the card.
2019 Japanese Ancient Mew
© 2019 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
2020 Korean Ancient Mew
© 2020 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
PSA and CGC labels:
A similar pamphlet to the original Japanese version was produced for the 2019 Japanese version:
The 2020 Korean version was released in a cellophane pack as shown below:
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