Does anyone have any idea as to what these cards are and where they came from?
They are glossy on the front and back. They resemble the Japanese back Hoppip and Pichu from E3 in my opinion, except that the backs are English and the cards are hole-punched. I would assume that these were produced around that time.
As far as I can tell, the cards are real.
I actually have two of each Pichu and Hoppip.
More pictures s1374.photobucket.com/user/PokeConnect/library/Pichu%20and%20Hoppip
pics arent working for me?
Me neither.
pics plz
Pichu and Hoppip are from the 2002 E3 Booster pack.
www.geocities.ws/lambch0p2000/E3front.jpg
www.geocities.ws/lambch0p2000/E3back.jpg
The cards that were used as demos in the New York Pokemon Center were said to have had holes punched in them. They were then attached to lanyards and scanned through the e-readers to show potential customers how they worked. I’ve seen pictures of the cards on the lanyards before in the past, but I don’t recall if the backs were all the same or not. Additionally, these were the “sample” cards, but with holes in them.
Is it possible that these might have similarly been used for that purpose?
The backs were English backs… I’m 80% sure that the words “sample” were on the cards attached to the lanyards.
I saw the backs. I was asking about the possibility of these being a similar, but separate instance of that type of thing.
I am also thinking they had some tie to the demos, except the English backs and lacking the word “sample” on them is throwing me for a loop.
I also updated the OP with pictures
If they did it for the sample cards, surely there’s grounds to think they may have done it with other cards as well. Perhaps these were produced prior to, or separate from the promos that share the front with them. Goodness knows for the sake of demos, tests and promos art gets recycled.
Absolutely. I received them from a collector who had included them in a binder alongside the E3 Pack w/ the Kirby and Japanese backs.
UPDATE: Here is the Hoppip compared with a Japanese Back Hoppip:
The Japanese Back is much brighter and is also non-glossy, while the Hole-Punched Hoppip is glossy on the front and back.
The Japanese Back also has Sleep Powder aligned more to the left than the Hole-Punched Hoppip.
Also, notice that the Hole-Punched Hoppip contains the segment “ID:” that precedes “B-02-#”.
The 2002 Copyright is also much larger and bolder on the Japanese Back.
All of the changes on the Hole-Punched Hoppip match the Pichu with the exception of the misalignment of the attack.
However, the Pichu has much more interesting changes.
The “Evolves into Pikachu” box has been rearranged!
Could these have been test cards for the Sample/E3 Demo Event? The Sample cards have the Japanese numbering system, while the Japanese Backs have the English numbering system.
Does anyone know of someone who would be able to provide some definitive information on these cards?
I’d definitely like to know for sure, if that’s possible.
I’m on the jealous end of this one. 
Same here, Charlie!
Nah, no reason to be jealous 
I love cool, weird English finds. So much mystery!
The cards could be fake, the cut of the bottom of Pichu is weird, especially the right corner …
The cuts are a little off on the Pichu. Both Pichu and Hoppip sets possess exactly the same cut, which makes me believe that the print run for these was very low. I would not say that they are fake, however. I am assuming that the cut wasn’t as important since they appear to be some kind of test print, at least that’s what it seems like to me.
If they were fake they would easily be the highest quality fakes I’ve ever seen in my life, though!
Where did you obtain these cards?
