I’ve been given high-res scans of some of the first alpha cards that hit the market. Notice the high quality backs.
Fortunately, all three have the “xerox” pattern.
I want to omit the printer serial number because 1) they aren’t my cards and 2) I don’t want to encourage people to fake the print dots in the future.
The date is July 11, 1996 - almost 3 months before the release of the TCG in October.
The backs have the same pattern. One is dated July 10th.