Hello everyone!
It’s been a very busy week for me with my collection. Quite a few interesting things popped up at the same time and before I purchased them, I didn’t even think they had a connection. But after their arrival and after I was able to fully inspect what I had, I became very suspicious that these rare items were indeed related!
Some Background Information
I’m sure by now most of you have heard of the “1999-2000” (or 4th Print) Base Set that was rumored to have been released exclusively in the UK around the same time Base Set 2 was printed. These Base Set cards were sported a very minor difference to their North American counterparts, but have fully captured the attention of some collectors for years.
"1999-2000" Base Set Charizard
*Notice the minor difference in the bottom right-hand corner of the card; the 1999-2000 copyright date!
As these cards gained popularity, other 1999-2000 Base Set products began to surface. Base Set boosters packs were found that sported the new copyright date, booster boxes were found and even 2-Player Starter set boxes* had the elusive change. Such an exciting time in the world of Pokemon card collecting!
*It is still not known if other Base Set starter decks were given the 1999-2000 copyright date as well.
In the hype of this new discovery, rumors began buzzing around that the Jungle and Fossil Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) sets were given exclusive international prints and the updated copyright as well. Collectors began searching their stashes for unusual cards and to their surprise (and excitement) some Fossil cards seemed to have this copyright date! But the thing was, these cards were everywhere (even in the US) and only certain cards had the date.
After putting 2 and 2 together, we discovered that only the Fossil cards released in the THUNDERSTORM and TEMPEST (outside of the US) GIFTBOXE Theme Decks were printed with the 1999-2000 copyright. This included, a holographic Zapdos (with cosmo foil), a non-holo Raichu, Golduck, Psyduck, Energy Search and a few others. Well this information shot down the idea of an entire Fossil set being released like the 4th Print Base Set…until recently.
Fossil “1999-2000” 3rd Print Set
While searching eBay for 4th Print Base Set cards, I stumbled upon a listing with many ‘1999-2000’ stamped Fossil cards. The strange thing was, most of the cards included were NOT in the THUNDERSTORM or TEMPEST Theme Decks. Excited, I quickly snatched the lot up and began waiting for their arrival.
Here are some of the cards I received:
The cards are completely real. I compared them extensively with my 4th Print Base Set cards. The Fossil cards seem slightly more glossy than their 1999 counterparts, but other than that, nothing is different.
I began asking other collectors to search their collections for more of these cards. So far, I’ve only found 1 other person with these and none were holographic. So until further discovery, Zapdos is the only 1999-2000 Fossil card that has been documented and it has cosmo foil not the original ‘starry’ holographic foil.
It seems to me that you should be able to at least complete an entire non-holo set of these Fossil cards.
But this week, I also made another discovery and bought them within 30 seconds of seeing the listing.
Say hello to these RED Logo Fossil Packs!
These beauties are very strange. When compared with regular Unlimited Fossil packs, they seem very different.
The artwork is darker and a little fuzzier. They were sealed with a longer silver end and…take a look at the back:
They have the 1999-2000 copyright date printed on the back!!! Check under the foil lip in the middle of the pack if you can’t find the date.
How interesting! Does this mean that 1999-2000 Fossil cards are inside??? I’m not sure, but all signs point to, yes indeed. This would explain why this print of Fossil cards is so hard to find. This is the first time in 2 years that I’ve seen these RED logo Fossil packs.
ALSO, there is NO official NINTENDO Licensed Product seal! What does this mean? Are the packs and cards legit? Did Wizards print cards without Nintendo’s permission? Hmmm…
I also lifted up the back of each pack to find the differences.
This is the original Unlimited Fossil pack.
This is the RED logo pack. See that in there? MADE IN AUSTRALIA. These packs and cards were literally made in Australia! These are NOT UK exclusive cards like the 4th Print Base Set! They are something entirely different!
I unfortunately have to head off to work. I will make this article better later tonight, hopefully. 
Unfinished Business: Complete
This is Charlie (funmonkey54) here, this time, picking up where this article left off.
When this article was first started, Sammy (Bluey) had first discovered and received these cards and validated that they were, in fact, real. Shortly after, she and I decided to work together and finish out this set, if it were possible. A few months went by before we were able to locate a chunk of Red Logo Fossil booster packs. We found a number of them and purchased them all in hopes that we would find our initial hypothesis, that Red Logo Fossil packs contained 1999-2000 Copyright Date Fossil cards, validated. We were not disappointed.
In opening the packs, we found several things to be true:
- These cards are all glossy.
- There are NOT holo variants. The holographic rares in this set do not have the 1999-2000 alternate copyright date, nor do they share the glossy cardstock that the other cards from these packs have.
- The alternative copyright date is depicted on all non-holo cards available in the set, including all Commons/Uncommons and Rares.
- These cards are very hard to hunt down.
We were not able to complete the set in spite of the large number of packs we opened up. We found ourselves short three rares. Several more months passed by before a collector in Perth would respond to an advertisement I had posted online stating that he had the cards that we were missing. Shortly after, the cards were in my hands. We finished assembling the set officially in February of 2014. We are not aware of any other complete sets at this time, but would love to hear the stories of anyone else that manages to finish the set.
Here is a picture of the set complete and together. Note: By incorporating the alternate copyright dated cards from the Tempest Gift Box, one holo with an alternate copyright date, Zapdos, can be included as we have here.
Furthermore, a complete set of scans has been completed of this set, so that each individual card may be viewed in high quality. you can find all of the scans in the album linked to below.
COMPLETE 1999-2000 FOSSIL SET SCANS
Thank you for taking the time to read this article!
