Yeah I like them too, the amount I bid in the recent goldin auction was nothing short of obnoxious.
For sure. But the supply level that hits the market is the difference between paying $10k-$20k or $500-$1000. Money is not such a frivolous thing for a lot of people.
The Gameboy style ones are my favorite since Akabane’s initial post. I’m still waiting for those to hit the market!
The more novel and different to what became the end product the more I am interested.
@Cardinterested - Agreed, there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the existing supply - although it would not make any sense for there to ever be a quantity equivalent to Moonbreons, I also do not know how the originals could ever be differentiated from good forgeries should there be issues of this in the future.
Regarding your risk assessment of a potentially significant drop in price, this is a valid concern given the uncertainty. The hypothetical numbers in the scenario you presented are very similar to the situation I faced with no rarities back in 2017 - there were several people in the community who were strongly pushing on the significance of no rarities, and there were only two PSA 10 no rarity Zards that were available at $10k each (2/3 of a PSA 10 1st ed. Charizard at the time). Many of us OG collectors were assessing similar risks given that PSA 10 unlimited Japanese Base Charizards, which were only several hundred dollars at the time (I think? - I just remember it was a significant difference in price points). The premium on the no rarity Charizard did not make sense to me at the time so I chose to not purchase the card even though I was chasing after all Charizards during that time. Looking back knowing what these cards have consistently sold for in recent years, do I regret making that decision? Absolutely not. Given the information I had at the time and given my personal financial constraints, I made a judgement call based on my personal risk appetite at that moment in time.
Again, I want to reiterate that I am not implying the significance of these prototypes are comparable to that of no rarities, nor am I implying any projected trajectory of theoretical valuations. I do believe that the thought processes for assessing risk management and understanding your subsequent risk tolerances are similar.
@smpratte - I agree with your sentiments. It is a shame that the way these cards have been released to the public had little to no structure except with profits seemingly being the sole motivator, but the point that I was making with my post is that regardless of how these prototypes were released, the importance of prototypes should not be marred by that fact. And to clarify on my post, just because I believe in the historical significance of prototypes, I am not, by any means, implying that this is a collectible for every collector. To your point, emotion is probably the single, biggest driver to collecting. I would also add that although emotion may be the catalyst for collecting, it does not mean that everything one collects is driven by an emotional connection. If what I wrote is unclear, I will try to clarify.
I too have these questions. 
Regarding your comment about rose colored glasses, if I am understanding the idiom correctly, this was not my intention in my post. If it was read as that, apologies on my end. Let me know which sections and I will try to edit my communication.
I think the playtest cards are cool to see surface but as many have said the question of the total supply is an unknown and will inevitably lead to the price fluctuating over time. To commit a couple grand, let alone 5 figures or more, to owning one of these seems incredibly risky. I would feel terrible if I just spent $5k on one and then next month it crashes to $900 due to a steady supply.
Maybe some richer folks can afford to take such risks but for the avg. person it can be devastating and should be handled with caution. Maybe by the end of 2024 or 2025 we’ll have a much better picture of the total supply if and when the copies stop showing up for extended periods of time.
Looks like more supply will be going through Heritage Heritage Auctions Search
Prototypes and NFR stuff like Sample Set, Trainer Deck A/B are my thing. So, these should be something I’m going crazy for. But I can’t bring myself to buy one cause I don’t think anyone is 100% convinced they’re real. I think they want them to be. I do too. The CoroCoro magazine means the concept existed at one point. Great. It doesn’t mean any of what we’ve seen crop up today are the ones the magazine is referring to and not printed the other day. And their conditions do not help that cause.
Other people say a Pokemon artist, Takumi Akabane, said they are real. Nothing directly from him. A sketchy IG video with a dubbed voice of him pointing to what may be one of the cards, almost makes it harder to take seriously. A guy who needs money for his medical treatment says he had a bunch of them for years. Okay. That adds nothing to legitimize them. There’s one new card grading company with 4 years grading cards and a reputation of authenticating fake cards in need of all the business they can drum up saying “trust us, we asked about them, we think they’re real!”.
Part of the allure of prototypes for me is having an established origin and storyline that multiple people and companies can verify. These have no where close to that - YET. If I buy one of these today, I would just feel anxious owning it cause I genuinely don’t know if Akabane or someone else just printed them off yesterday or if they’re were actually from back in the day and had a distinct purpose.
We simply need more. Even if Akabane came out and gave a statement on live video translated perfectly, that’s just not enough for something this important. For those that think this is historical and amazing, you’re right I agree, all the more reason they need actual verification - way more than what exists currently.
And if that’s not possible, then it’s not possible. I’d rather never have these “cards” be seen than have ”who knows if these are the real thing but they’re cool looking right?” copies floating around.
Luckily I am too poor to even begin to worry about their history, why so many all the sudden popped up, why they are all mint and why CGC is somehow involved again. Cool cards, feels like some behind-the-scenes dump with all these coming out from private collectors, but I am just a nobody without any connections to anyone so I only can see the surface level.
I have trouble believing the people saying ‘since CGC authenticated it, there should be no doubt’. Obviously there must be some information missing that the general public doesnt have but grading companies do not have more knowledge than the combined knowledge of this forum.
Considering, likely 90% of these cards will be sold to members of this forum or people who look to this forum for advice and credible information, the fact that more information isn’t available is weird to me. It would almost make sense to have a huge detailed forum thread on this find with all details available, prior to the sales.
i believe all of these were in a sports bro auction which is counterintuitive but mightve actually helped the prices 
i would take any sold prices on ig with a grain of salt similar to that $2M psa 9 illustrator sale
The first ones I saw several months ago hit $20,000-$25,000 for the prototype starter mons
I’ve been trying to word how I feel about these cards and this quote is a near perfect summation. All of my desire for every card I own or want is authentic and exciting. Even if these prototypes were going for $50 I am having a hard time becoming more interested.
$300k-$500k… The origin of the Pikachu card.
We will see if the buyers vibe with this… Would still be cool to know the supply ofc.
They have another Illustrator up too 1998 Pokémon Japanese Promo Illustrator Holo CoroCoro Comics Pikachu - CGC 9 | Akabane Autograph | Holy Grails | Streetwear & Modern Collectibles | Sotheby's
I see a lot of Illustrators around recently I feel.
I wonder when the estimate was decided for the proto pika too, if it was before the recent goldin auction of the alpha prototypes perhaps it shows what kind of price expectations they had.
That valuation is insane. 
Definitely looking to appeal to buyers who don’t dabble in pokemon but have extremely deep pockets. Might actually meet the valuation because the bidders on Sotheby’s don’t play.
Is it just me or do these auctions have the potential to affect the overall Pokemon market? I foresee values dropping on other well established cards due to shaking confidence in authenticity of these cards and the prestigious reduction in owning 1st edition, no rarity, shadowless cards.
No, 99.999% in the market don’t even know what is going on with these cards or what they are. Regular people don’t care or know about these at all
