Hello! I recently made a massive post on Reddit detailing all the information I could find and my story behind these cards which I’ll be using some excerpts from below, but here’s the link in case anybody’s interested in the full thing:
(https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonMisprints/s/EHaL2lUXX4)
So anyway, I was recently visiting family and naturally that had me digging through my childhood collection, and I stumbled across these cards.
50+ first edition Japanese cards from the Diamond/Pearl era, each inscribed with “TEST” written in English across both the front and back of the card.
They also have these strange black and gray borders with red markings, presumably some kind of measurement system for the borders and alignment of cuts.
To my (admittedly untrained) eyes, these cards both look and feel identical to cards from the same era. From the cardstock, to the colors, ink patterns, artwork, and fonts, they are indistinguishable from regular Pokémon cards. And I’m fully confident that they are the real deal.
In my research trying to figure out what they are I discovered that PSA Authenticated 64 similar (but not exactly the same) looking cards, and I found the thread on here where community members discussed the cards and their eventual heritage auction around that time.
https://www.psacard.com/pop/tcg-cards/2007-2008/pokemon-japanese-dppt-test-proof/283083
But as far as cards that look exactly like mine, odd borders and 1st edition stamps, the only two instances I’ve been able to find are two old Reddit posts with no significant update on their status.
Reason I’m bringing it here is to see what other information I can drum up, as outside of publicly available sales data and the sources/threads I’ve already linked it’s scarce out there.
Looking forward to your responses, any help is greatly appreciated!