Last week or so, I found out about these e-series McDonalds cards that were only released in Japan in 2002. I also discovered that these cards featured artwork exclusive to Japan, which is one of my collecting interests. However, I see there is very little info on this set on Bulbapedia and other sources. From what I’ve been able to find, there seem to be three different booster packs released in 2002 from McDonalds with these cards, and some of them are printed with a black star promo symbol while others are not. I am also curious how scarce these cards are.
I thought this would make a cool youtube idea for smpratte or some of the other great content creators in the hobby.
Since your request is mostly directed towards Scott, I’ll tag him for you: @smpratte
You can tag people with the “Link user” option (or alternatively for new members by putting an @ in front of their name - for older members whom might have changed their username at least once in the past, their ‘tag’-username can be found in their profile between the parenthesis).
If you are not too particular with condition they are fairly easy to find for a good price. I picked up all of them last year mostly from Japanese eBay sellers. Some are a bit more pricey such as the “sunset” Mew and the holographic Pikachu. The subset released in booster packs are perfect for a 9 page binder as they consists of 18 cards and each 3 cards are of the same type. 24 cards if you add the 6 holographic energy cards. The other McDonalds promos from that time are part of the numbered p-promos and seem to be released in two different blocks (21-25 and 29-37). See: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/P_Promotional_cards_(TCG)
They are all great cards with some very memorable artworks such as the alternative version of the Aquapolis Umbreon, which is my personal favorite. However, I do not think that many people collect them or even know about them, otherwise I would think they would be more expensive.
These have been on my buylist for such a long time haha! I’ve just had so many other things to buy and prices on these changed slowly, so I back-burnered them until recently. The E-series foil energies are potentially my favorite Energy that pokemon created. Those and maybe Ex Emerald foil. The foils in the McDonald’s set are some of the top arts if you ask me. Slowpoke is king! Still a relatively cheap buy for sure though, so it’s definitely worthwhile to pick em up. Not a clue how much were printed though, but I do see 3 different types of boosters selling over here in Japan on Mercari for anywhere between $30-$70.
These cards are really awesome although I’ve only picked up a sunset Mew in PSA 10 and a raw holo Squirtle. It’s definitely been on my list but I’ve been putting it off.
I’ve had these for years and still have a half dozen or so packs. I never liked them enough to build the set, though I built all the Jpn sets then and prior, but mainly because I didn’t like the artwork or “look” of the cards. I consider it a lazy effort.
This set is one of my favorites in my binders, fantastic idea. Since I’ve already completed it, I won’t have to deal with hyped prices so let’s gooooo.
