Base-Fossil deep dive 99-00

[Nightvulture]

Base-Fossil deep dive(secrets of the third prints)

Video starts a bit rough(4am recording) and i apologize for the length but this is almost all the information we have been able to gather on the print runs for 99-00 so far, all the secrets of the third print base, jungle and fossil as well. We set out down a rabbit hole and it was deep. Had some pretty amazing discoveries and i highly recommend watching the video through if you care about what card prints are in your binder. If anyone has any uncut sheets and would like to help, pm me and we will see if we can further narrow down where some of these print runs originated. Alot of the information is based on pattern recognition and evidence based logic to develop a rough timeline. While things could always change with new found evidence, this is what we have found in nearly 8 months.
@OCDCompletist

If there are any questions, feel free to ask.

Weve started a discord based around trying to identify the print runs and discovering any new ones, Based Fossil

Join the Based Fossil Discord Server!

Check out Ogrehvnds on YT as well, base-fossil gameplay🔥

[pfm]

This feels a bit self-promotion heavy which is outside the goal of this forum. But I think the information is interesting and good to have here. Maybe this would be better as an article post actually explaining the information you found instead of just links to YouTube and discord?

[Nightvulture]

While i kind of agree, theres alot of information. I moved it to article. I dont feel like i have the resources to turn the information into a well made thread. Figured some images for reference would be nice so included them for context. Did the best i could with what i had.

[pfm]

It doesn’t have to be a perfect or complete article right now. But if your goal is to share the information with this community then it should be in a text-based article meant for this community. If you need assistance with formatting I’m happy to help. The additional benefit is that articles here get indexed on Google and become canonical resources which makes all your effort and the information more accessible.

[Nightvulture]

I’ll see what I can do to revise it another day and update the post

[Quuador]

Just finished the video. Learned some new things, so thanks for sharing. Also interesting that there is a clear difference in the print runs of the thin vs thick stamp Base Set holos regarding the degrees of the dot patterns.
Also makes me curious about the print run(s) of some niche WotC cards, like the Trainer Deck A and B demo decks; or the Demo Starter Pack that contained Shadowless cards and was pre-released in December 1998. Although I assume they were printed simultaneously with some of the other larger print runs and simply released earlier.

And if I understand correctly, the black-light picture where you stated Base 2000 refers to just the unlimited edition Base ©1999-2000 set, right? So there are five different print runs for what is commonly referred to as the UK 4th print? I did knew there were 1999-2000 Base Set cards released in the US and Australia, so it makes sense those had separated print runs. I’m surprised there are three different USA print runs for the 1999-2000 Base Set cards though, since I always thought the UK print run was the largest for 1999-2000, and the US and Australia rather small in comparison.
And there were also 1999-2000 Base Set cards released in Poland, although I’m not sure where those were printed.

And I completely understand it’s a lot of information, so making it into a proper article, or even just putting all the information in bullet points out there, will take some time. I do agree with pfm however that it’s better to try and put things into words. Doesn’t necessary have to be a proper article; me or Scott could help you with that or edit it into one if necessary; but having the information in text form would be very useful. Especially for searching back information later on, and as Scott mentioned, for availability through Google indices.

Greetz,
Quuador

[Quuador]

Now that we have better access to AI, here is a transcription + summary tool to help you perhaps get started on writing the information. Since it’s AI, it’ll defintely contain some errors here and there for you to verify and correct, but it should save you a lot of time writing. You can add the pictures you already have, and perhaps add some more pictures for certain sections, and it would already be a pretty good article imo.

https://recapio.com/digest/base-fossil-deep-dive-secrets-of-the-third-prints-by-based-fossil

Here’s a comprehensive summary of the provided content, focusing on the key points, arguments, and details, structured for clarity and readability.

Introduction 00:02

• John presents a deep dive into Base Set, Jungle, and Fossil Pokemon cards, focusing on identifying different print variations.
• The research is a collaborative effort with OCD Completist (Virgil) on Reddit.
• The video provides an update on their progress in identifying and categorizing these variations.
• The analysis relies on pattern recognition, evidence-based logic, and sealed product verification.
• The primary focus is on non-holo cards, with occasional references to holos when relevant.

Printing Process Basics 03:06

• Pokemon cards are printed using YCMK (Yellow, Cyan, Magenta, Black) ink layers.
• Yellow is laid down horizontally in dots.
• Black is applied at a 45-degree angle, creating a diamond pattern (specifically for English cards).
• Cyan and Magenta are offset to blend the dots.
• The speaker will refer to the cyan and magenta layers as -15 or +15, focusing primarily on the magenta layer unless otherwise specified.

Early Sets: Shadowless and Base Unlimited 05:20

• Shadowless cards (released January 9, 1999) have thin HP, no shadow, and may or may not have a first edition stamp.
  • They have a -15 magenta layer on the front and +15 on the back.
• Base Unlimited cards feature a shadow and thick HP.
  • They use a +15 magenta layer on both the front and back.
• Black dots are visible within the HP of Base Unlimited cards when viewed with a loop.
• Black core paper is found in some Shadowless and Base Unlimited cards, identifiable by a blue glow when the card is bent.

Jungle Set 10:05

• Jungle cards still have the black dots in the HP and are printed +15/+15.
• First Edition Jungle stamps tend to be positioned closer to the right border.

Fossil Set 12:08

• Released in October 1999.
• The fronts of Fossil cards are printed with -15 magenta plates.
• Fossil cards do not have the black dots in the HP.

2000 Printings (UK Fourth Print, Third Print Jungle/Fossil) 13:20

• The speaker identifies six variants of Base Set Unlimited with a 1999-2000 copyright:
  • USA 1, USA 2, USA 3, UK, and two Australian printings.
• USA 1:
  • Believed to be the earliest 2000 printing.
  • +15/+15 pattern.
  • Dense black card stock with minimal ink reaction to black light.
  • Resumed having the black dots in the HP.
• USA 2 & USA 3:
  • React with an orange border under black light.
  • USA 2: Orange front border, less reactive back. Mostly negative/negative printings, but some positive/positive.
  • USA 3: Similar to USA 2, but the Pokemon on the back is brightly reactive.
• UK Printing:
  • Negative/Negative.
  • Lesser reactive borders (sandy/tannish).
  • Card stock lets light through.
• Australian Printing:
  • Negative/Negative.
  • Two variations: one matching Australian Jungle ink, the other matching Australian Fossil ink.
  • Backs glow vibrantly under black light.
  • Unique card stock with lines and air bubbles.
• UK and Australian printings lack the blue dots inside the HP and the black dot outline on green/blue cards.

USA 1 Foil Cards 24:43

• Some USA 1 boxes may contain unique foil cards.
  • Black Flame Ninetales.
  • Dark Ray Mewtwo and Zapdos (solid black rays).

Jungle 2000 Printings 26:22

• The speaker identifies six printings of Jungle cards, including some that may or may not be considered third print.
  • USA 1, USA 2 (two variations), USA 3, Belgium, and Australia.
• Jungle cards seem to be marked with the stamps being closer to the right border.
• USA 1:
  • Positive/Positive.
  • Black HP dots.
  • Dark, non-reactive, dense card stock.
• USA 2A:
  • Positive/Negative.
  • Dots in the HP.
• USA 2B:
  • Negative/Negative.
  • No black dots in the HP.
  • Outline around the HP.
• USA 3:
  • Negative/Negative.
  • No black dots in the HP.
  • Outline around the HP.
  • Bright yellow glow.
• Mr. Mime with blue text is indicative of a third print Jungle card. 31:15

Belgium Printing 33:16

• Positive/Negative print pattern.
• No HP dots or outline.
• Three variations of card stock:
  • Cloudy.
  • Web-like lines.
  • Lines with dots.
• Belgium Error: Missing shading (black dots) inside the lowercase “e” on the back of the card. 36:50
• The Belgium error is found on multiple print runs, including Neo Discovery, Dutch/Italian cards, and even a Base Set Italian Charmeleon.
• Cardamundi USA may have printed some cards without the error.

Australia Printing (Jungle) 44:47

• Very dark and nice backs.
• Smooth, glossy cards with dots and lines inside.
• Only one standard card stock.

Fossil 2000 Printings 45:38

• No USA 1 printing found.
• USA 2 & USA 3: Negative/Negative, dots around the HP.
• UK Fossil: Similar card stock to Base Set UK, negative backs, no dots around the green HP.
• Cardamundi Fossil: Uses the same three card stocks as Belgium.
• Australian Fossil: Negative/Negative, tannish front, glowing back.

Alpha First Editions 50:16

• Early first edition cards had -15 backs.
• Thick stamped first editions have a -15 back.
• Thin stamped first editions have a +15 back.
• First edition sheets contained Machamps, theme deck foils, and booster pack foils.

Theme Decks 55:17

• Fossil theme decks may contain Base Set cards with a negative front and positive back.

Note that I haven’t checked the quote above. I simply copy-pasted it from that AI-generated transcription summary (and fixed the timestamp links).

Greetz,
Quuador

[Nightvulture]

Its close lol what did you think of belgium?

[pikachutcg]

Thanks for posting!! I’ve not had chance to watch the video yet but very excited for the new information!

Yes the Polish packs were distributed by Hasbro poland but to my knowledge were printed in the U.K. here’s a scan of a pack I have with the sticker.

I have always had an interest in 99-00 base set and have a few holos and non holos to check over, i coincidentally ordered a blacklight a few days a go so excited to check them over when it arrives!

[Nightvulture]

Stickers were a requirement of poland, as someone told me, 3 versions of the sticker i think @OCDCompletist has but my belief is they are just UK cards. Would be cool to find some mixed stuff in packs and see how they were mixed.

[packyman]

Polish Base for science! The dash on the sticker moved and then disappeared

[ken88]

Hi

I grew up with WOTC Pokémon cards and recently started collecting again, mostly out of investment interests.

Managed to find 5 cards which I quickly suspected to be of Australian origin. Specifically a 1st edition Blastoise, a 1st edition Ditto (non holo), a 1st edition shadowless Hitmonchan and 2 Base Set 2 Charizards.

These were for some part advertised as fakes here in Europe, possibly due to the more exotic features that apparently may be unique to Australian WOTC printing. I will add a photo of a 1st edition Ditto HP which I think you might find interesting as it features a visible blackish dotted pattern throughout the HP with a yellow outline. All of the above cards have a carbon center ply which is why I haven’t written them off as reproductions myself, they pass the light test and to me appear to have been offset printed, yet I need help authenticating these cards further; and would really appreciate any assistance.

Ditto 1st edition HP

My main question would be if it’s true that Australian prints do not have typical solid US/UK print borders? Under microscope they seem to consist of a more tightly screened # pattern.

I’ve studies these cards for a while now as especially the Blastoise could prove to be a valuable one if authentic, so I’ve compared the 1st edition stamp to photos I’ve found of the uncut sheets. This seems to be a match and possibly characteristic of an Australian printing facility (Melbourne or otherwise). I’ll include a close up of said stamp below comparing it to a 1st edition stamp on the uncut sheet, the ‘roof’ of the 1 is wavy curving inwards and the right lower leg seems to start curving slightly higher up.

The reason I’m asking all of this is because a LOT of collectors seem to be dismissing these cards, especially the holo patterns on the Base Set 2 Charizards as fake. Particularly because AliExpress is selling copies with these holo patterns. I’m of the suspicion Chinese counterfeiters simply used Australian cards as a model as Australie distributed English cards thoughout the southeastern Pacific region, having led to the dismissal of real Australian prints as fakes. To my knowledge counterfeiters have, hopefully, not been able to reproduce the carbon ply layer in the cardstock.

May I ask what lights you use to inspect the cardstock itself? Swat flashlights?

Of particular interest is the rosette pattern in the shadows in the back Pokémon logos, which scared me for a moment, until I saw your video showing the exact same thing. Other prints seem to have more of a dotted pattern making up the shadows in the logo.

1st edition Bulbasaur (uncut sheet example)

Blastoise stamp

The Blastoise has a drop shadow as do many examples on pictures of the Australian uncut sheets. These are dismissed as fakes on Reddit etc. when in reality they aren’t if photographic evidence proves otherwise.

These cards have pale, fine lemon tint borders.

Any information is appreciated.

[Nightvulture]

Blastoise is fake.

ditto looks fake too

Both cards use the wrong plates for what was used during that time period and it stands out with a 45° magenta.

Need better clear pics of the others. Can pm me if you want​. Keep the thread relevant

from what weve learned, foils were never printed in australia, they were sent in bricks of approx 700 as such:

i dont really know what to make of the Hannapack sheet because by others definitions, its a counterfeit. They were reportedly never authorized to print pokemon cards. Until i can get someone to verify the ink for me, we will prob never know for sure.

Australia also printed in 2000 so they wouldnt have done 1st editions except maybe korean or chinese.

[ken88]

Thanks for the reply! I’ll add more photos below. If you are 100% sure that the cards are fake, I will be destroying them. What has confused me is the carbon ply in the center of the cardstock, I’ve heard it’s a bulletproof test, but then again the cards admittedly do look off/weird compared to all of my other cards, maybe that’s why I (wrongly) considered them an Australian print? The Blastoise does seem overly dark but then AI had me convinced it’s characteristic of Australian printing. Guess not. I fortunately didn’t pay a lot for the cards but still enough to regret these purchases.

Guess it’s safe to say solid borders are a must, then? I’m not versed enough in the rosette patterns or singling out very fine details. All I’ve learned is the carbon infused cardstock is a must and that they should pass the light test, which these do. I’ll probably be avoiding cards with rosette shadows from now on…

Thanks again

[ken88]

I ended up destroying the cards, the front was printed directly on foil, behind the foil layer there was a carbon layer (scary) sandwiched between 2 white cardboard layers. Pretty valuable experience at least to take these apart. Thanks again!

[Nightvulture]

That is how normal cards are put together. It’s two white sheets of paper with a carbon layer in the middle. The white ink is printed directly on the foil, and the colors are printed on top of the white.

Your cards do have the wrong ink pattern though

[Dyl]

@ken88

You can tell that the holos are fake from the rainbow iridescent shimmer. That is not how normal holos look.

Also the border size looks off to me.

[Nightvulture]

Wish i could get my hands on that ditto though, looks sick