Help determining the print origin of 1999-2000 Fossil Cards

[Quuador]

@mao

1. What is the physical origin of the 1999-2000 cards in the Zapdos theme deck? Were they printed in Australia?

There are three different versions of this theme deck according to Bulbapedia:

Thunderstorm Gift Box:

The Thunderstorm Gift Box, known as the Tempest Gift Box outside the United States, was released in the time between Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge. It includes a unique Thunderstorm preconstructed Theme Deck featuring cards from Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, and Gym Heroes expansions. It also includes three booster packs, one each from Fossil, Team Rocket, Gym Heroes, and the Pokémon Play It! Version 2 CD-ROM. Also included were a play mat, deck building tip sheet, Pikachu coin, and a felt deck bag. The Zapdos included within the product is exclusive to the deck, as it utilizes the Cosmos Holofoil introduced for the Base Set 2, and not the Starlight Holofoil originally used for the Fossil release.

The first one (Thunderstorm Gift Box) was produced and distributed in the US; the second (Tempest Gift Box) was produced in the UK and distributed in Europe; the third I dunno, and might possibly be printed and distributed in Australia, or a second version of one of the other two that was printed later on. All three of these contain the Cosmos Holofoil Zapdos and all cards contain the ©1999-2000 copyright date.

So to answer your question: no, not all of these were printed in Australia.

From a collection standpoint, would you ‘count’ these cards if attempting to assemble an Australian set of Fossil?

Possibly. It’s likely none of these three decks were printed in Australia. But I do think at least some of these were distributed and sold within Australia (probably one of the last two versions).

2. Were any of the Australian Fossil cards printed with 1st edition stamps (seems like no)?

No. All English 1st edition Fossil cards were ©1999.

3. If a Fossil card (let’s assume NOT from Thunderstorm) is marked 1999-2000, can it be guaranteed to have been printed in Australia?

If it’s not part of the theme deck, then yes, it can be guaranteed to have been printed in Australia and distributed in Red Logo Fossil products (i.e. red logo booster boxes/packs or BodyGuard / LockDown theme decks/cases).

4. Does anyone have scans of the complete set? The album from the guide above has sadly been taken down.

Maybe @funmonkey54 , who helped create that article, has some back-up scans/pictures? I also know that @scratchdesk has a full set of these, who might have some pictures possibly?

The 1999-2000 cards are supposedly more “glossy” than normal vintage WotC cards (this seems subjective and hard to demonstrate with photos).

I assume they’re similar as the Jungle cards from Australian red logo Jungle packs? I own a Pikachu from those Australian red logo Jungle packs, and although you can’t really see it with the naked eye. The back of the card is indeed slightly glossier (no where near a Japanese magazine/vending machine Glossy promo, or the glossy misprints from Unbroken Bonds Commons and some other sets), which can be picked up by shining on it with a light and compare it to a regular US printed card:

The left one is from an Australian red logo Jungle pack, where you can clearly distinguish the induvial LEDs from my flashlight. Whereas the US print on the right only has a vague general reflection.

Also, out of curiosity: why Australia specifically? Why not collect all Fossil ©1999-2000 cards including the Thunderstorm/Tempest theme deck cards? Is there a specific reason you only want to include Fossil cards actually printed (and/or distributed) in Australia?

Greetz,
Quuador