Fake Illustrator? And how to spot?

[zack]

Hello all,

First of al, I am a new member. So short intro: Although I never collected cards as a child, as an adult I am really into collection (Japanese) cards. Especially the Gym Decks do have my interest.

But okay, my questions is about another card. The Pikachu Illustrator. A friend of mine was asked to pre-grade this card. But as it was a Japanese card, he asked my (second-) opinion.

First of all, I think this card must be a fake based on the fact there are only 39 of them made, of which 15 (I believe) are graded. So only 24 out there unknown. Secondly, I think the fact the card looks mint at the front but played at the back does make me think this must be wrong. Thirtly, I believe the card too looks shiny? Lastly, the card looks to miss a detail on the left/below paper. But maybe I am wrong.

Can anybody help me out with this card? Fake or real. I do have small movie, because I asked the guy to make sure the front and the back where the same card.

Thanks for all the advice!

streamable.com/vcte0b

[smpratte]

Fake af.

Here is a simple solution for people who can’t tell if expensive cards are real; if it isn’t graded, its not real.

[pichufan]

The condition of the front doesn’t appear to match the back at all. The back seems to have a lot of whitening and a crease whereas the front seems far too perfect - I’m guessing someone has printed a sticker on top of an existing card.

@zack

…only 39 of them made, of which 15 (I believe) are graded. So only 24 out there unknown…

As a small correction, 25 have been graded as far as I’m aware: 23 with PSA, 1 with BGS and 1 with CGC. There are also at least 4 known extra copies and I believe 1 known ungraded copy is still owned by one of the original winners who doesn’t want to sell.

[zack]

@pichufan

The condition of the front doesn’t appear to match the back at all. The back seems to have a lot of whitening and a crease whereas the front seems far too perfect - I’m guessing someone has printed a sticker on top of an existing card.

@zack

…only 39 of them made, of which 15 (I believe) are graded. So only 24 out there unknown…

As a small correction, 25 have been graded as far as I’m aware: 23 with PSA, 1 with BGS and 1 with CGC. There are also at least 4 known extra copies and I believe 1 known ungraded copy is still owned by one of the original winners who doesn’t want to sell.

Thanks, this makes a lot of sense. Just wanted to be 1000% sure.

[zack]

@anon92205803

Welcome to the forum. The card is indeed fake. Since you are new, I will try to explain a few things that may help you understand ultra rare cards.

First off, cards like the illustrator are called trophies, which means they were never available in packs. If a card was only given out through something like a tournament or a contest, it will have been given directly to the winner, which means the person who bought it must be able to say who they bought it from and trace it back to the source. Your friend must have picked this up online from some shop that sells fakes.

Second, if you are talking about one of the most valuable pokemon cards of all time, everybody knows its value- this means no one is getting lucky getting a deal from a store. Your friend would have paid many thousands of dollars for this, and if they didn’t, then you know it is not real. There is nobody holding a real illustrator who doesn’t know its value.

Third, your hunch that it might be fake based on the fact that it is so rare is correct. Sometimes people will claim they found an illustrator or other trophy by chance, but that is just not possible. It is much too rare for someone to simply stumble across by luck.

If your friend did go ahead and send this for grading, there would be no harm really, since the grading company would just send it back with a notice that the card is inauthentic. It would just be a waste of money. Looking at it further, you can find a good resolution scan of the real card and compare things like the holofoil and texture if you still aren’t sure. For example, this card seems to have some sort of gloss over it that a real illustrator doesn’t have.

Hope this helps!

Yes, this helps a lot. As a beginner collector, I still have to learn a lot. And kind of believed in the “I found this by accident”. But I guess that must be too good to be true