Hey guys!
I have this Flaeron (JU 19) for as long as I can remember now, and I’ve always been wondering why it is the way it is and if this makes it, you know, any special.
I’ve read up on albino cards (the very few mentions of them there are) and perhaps this qualifies (or at least it’s a misprint). I’m thankful for any thoughts you have 
and have a nice day!
This looks like it’s sunfaded (based on samples I’ve seen)
Huh, you may be right… does the fading occur this consistent all over the card? No one other card in my collection has this effect or anything similar… of course, it could be just that.
Im no professional but it doesnt look sunfaded to me. Maybe send it to cgc and see what they say
Thanks for your input - I’m in the EU so any grading is quite the commitment to believing it’s worth it (then again, it’s expensive anywhere) so I’m not sure. But it’s definitely nice to hear that maybe it’s not just fading 
Turns out I’m not alone - I managed to find this on Reddit, with someone having a bunch of these pink bordered cards, including my Flaeron - note they’re also all from Jungle!
reddit.com/r/pokemoncardcollectors/comments/jezedc/pink_bordered_cards/
Seems like people either don’t know or assume sun damage - in a previous attempt of me finding out (a whole 5 years ago), someone else believed this was something they’d come across at some point:
reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/5cexa5/_/d9w7oyz/?context=1
… don’t read too much into the comments, I was a kid 
The only other possible connection, although the cards look quite different, is this thread about sun damaged cards: www.elitefourum.com/t/is-this-a-printing-error/20705/1
Edit: … seems the reddit post / image may contain sun damaged cards, note the Pidgeot’s south border.
Perhaps it’s sun damage after all, since the color effects seem to be the exact same, so it likely was the same process to get there :’)
It’s likely not sunfaded unless the border was purposely and strategically faded
Its a real error.
The pidgeot is 100% sunfaded, as for the others, they are very likely also sunfaded, including the card in OP. This effect can be very easily reproduced in a couple of days unfortunately, which is why these kinds of card tend to not sell higher than normal cards. If you have provenance with this card, like prove that it was pulled from a pack like this, it would be really cool. Otherwise I would see it as uphill battle to prove that this card is actually albino bordered.
Unfortunately I don’t - haven’t pulled this myself, couldn’t even tell you where I got it from (most likely some flea market) so the card itself is about all I can offer. Guessing there’s not much likelihood of this going anywhere 
Also, maybe it’s just the lighting, but the 4 cards posted on Reddit seem to have more saturation in the inner frame and bar, while mine seems to be lacking yellow everywhere (except the picture itself)? Not sure if this speaks against or for sun damage.
Supposing I would send it to CGC, could I expect anything like “sun fading” or “insufficient ink”? Do other grading companies also mark errors? There’s a new grading company advertised as Cardmarket Grading and I could actually send the card there for an acceptable price, but I doubt they’d take special note of the error if it is one
I think cgc does an unparalleled job at determining errors. Insufficient ink is indeed the classification it would probably receive
Yellow is the last color to fade. The magenta is first to go and still vivid on the Flareon art. The border also gets a special print layer for clarity and saturation. To create this style fade, someone would need to perfectly cover the non-bordered section of the card and expose the border to sunlight. It’s certainly possible but quite a bit of work and if you pulled it from a pack I echo PFM and suggest sending to CGC.
www.cgccomics.com/grading/trading-cards/
Price is what you pay, value is what you get. For grading cards you always going to benefit more from the value. Would you value it slabbed in any case? Would you value the potential special label from a reputable company? The choice is yours!
This is getting me really excited to get it graded… perhaps I shouldn’t make such a fuss and get it over with - it’s definitely the most sensible card in my collection to get graded, but perhaps I’ll wait it out a little and find a few cards worth grading, just so that the shipping isn’t so disproportionate.
Thanks for your and all the other replies, means a lot
… this is a grading question, so if I’ll have any other I’ll move to the mega thread for that, but do I see that right that direct submission to CGC requires a membership? Are there other, more sensible ways or is this the way to go, anyway?
Send it via ludkins collectables or polaris grading, same service just different company names
Just sub yourself
