I searched for a while but couldn’t find much info on these oddball cards.
I’ve heard talk about Base Set 1st Edition cards with the “back stamp” come up from time to time. I was curious if anyone actually collected these and if it’s something to look out for. I have a handful that I noticed in the singles I have.
It appears these came about from WOTC stacking sheets of 1st Edition cards while the 1st Edition stamps were still drying. This causing the ink from some of the stamps to stick to the sheet above and leaving an inverted 1st Edition stamp mark on the back of the sheet above. I can’t imagine there being much demand for these but wanted at least put the topic out there to get some more info/ feedback.
Not sure how it happened but I am aware of them. I used to give them away to my error collectors and still have some around somewhere. I never noticed the stamp was inverted though but probably just because I didn’t pay much attention to them.
I had dozens but don’t believe they were very clear, just partial stamps.
Attaching some photos here. A bit rushed so not the best lighting. Some are more noticeable than others as you can see. The 4th creature card is very light while the other 3 are pretty noticeable.
Why is it every time we come across a card with some kind of defect, people be like “omg rare error must be worth at least 92 times a normal version?!?!”
It’s a defect, it’s not an error, it’s not a misprint. These are likely caused be stacking in packs while the ink wasn’t completely dry.
That was kind of the point of the topic. To judge if there was interest in this type of defect. I titled it as a misprint so more people could find the topic if they ever looked.
That being said it follows the same inconsistencies in printing that leads to thick vs thin stamp and grey stamped cards which are generally accepted as variants. I personally am not keen on “collecting” these as I feel they are more a defect than a misprint. But they may be an interest to some people and I’m not about to tell folks what they should and should not be interested in collecting.
I have a Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle with this error. They’re pretty cool; but I would never go out of my way to purchase these cards for more than the going-rate for a normal 1st Edition Base Set Card… You might be able to get a few bucks more as a collection if you find the right buyer - definitely not the holy-grail LOL
TheCharizardAuthority sold one for $39 two years ago and that’s the highest sale I’ve seen. I sold a nice and clean example of Vupix with the error (HP error & stamp error on the same card) a couple months ago for about $15. I wouldn’t say they are commanding premiums. The market is certainly realizing some value but I think people are smart enough not to buy into the silly “dot” “error” cards.
