Pokemon Snap Cards

Pokemon Snap Cards

The Pokemon Snap Prize Cards are some of the most elusive cards in the hobby. Some are unaware of their existence; most are unaware of their production numbers – That changes today! :blush:

The Snap Prize Cards were cards awarded in Japan, 1999 to the contestants who submitted their photos from the Nintendo 64 game “Pokemon Snap”. Here are images of the winning entries that were awarded as Snap Prize Cards:

According to the Pokemon Trainers Magazine Vol. 1, the 5 winners received 20 copies of their winning card.

Here is the page advertising the contest:

This section below details the intended distribution:

The section in red translated:

"How to participate

  1. Take pictures in Pokemon Snap

  2. Seal Print the Cassette at store.

  3. Stick the sticker on postcard and send.

Deadline June 14th
-Winners will be announced in corocoro
-5 winners will receive 20 copies of their card"

Here is the certificate the winners received with their 20 cards:

Here is a photo of the Poliwag winner showcasing 15 of their 20 cards:

**Thanks to one of the kindest japanese card traders and underrated guitarists, @noodles , for help with the translation. :blush:

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Crazy to think someone still has those copies stored away or even worse burned up in some garbage.

Not knowing they had one of the most rare cards or did. They are worth so much money now.

Does anyone here have any of the copies?

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I wonder how much a pikachu snap would fetch

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I assume because of the Corocoro logo that this can only confirm the Coro’s print numbers but not necessarily the N64’s. I would think the N64 would be the same, but I don’t think we can’t definitively say that at this point.

The Bulbasaur is my Holy Grail. I’ll never own a copy =(

Thanks to @smpratte and @noodles !

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Another Pokemon card mystery solved! Has at least one copy of each of these cards been up for sale? @smpratte
Also I am a bit confused with the translation on How to Participate, does it mean that somewhere out there an original photo on a postcard exists for each entry? If so can you please tell me the exact location and how many security guards patrol the area at say around 3am :ninja:

I heard the best time is when it is near 5am since their shift is about to end so they are more relax and bored and ready to go. If they hear anything they wont care but you have to do it by 5:20 since the day crew does come

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Thanks @smpratte and @noodles

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These are the trophies i want so much. When they come up for auction prepare yourselves to take on the bidwar wrath of pokesynd. I AM FIRE… FIRE I AM!

Stop teasing me man!

Hate seeing these SNAP posts dammit!

This set is my main want… i want it more than an illustrator to go along with my n64 sealed pokemon console collection… sigh…

Why do you think i moved to Japan…

… what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career of poke-collecting. Skills that make me a nightmare for pokemon chasers like you…

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Yes, a collector who currently has no time with med school owns a few of the snap cards. There are also a couple individuals who own a copy of the cards. A seller also sold 8 of the 10 at one point in time.

Correct! I assume though it is the same quantity.

Funny you say that, there is an address in the translation that was left out where the cards should be mailed. :ninja:

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who is deese collector who has dem, and how to i contact them for Kidney Fiat Black market trade.

so 20 copies for the 5 winners… whoever does have them is one lucky person. I do question if Yamato or any of the japanese world championship winners actually own one of these cards

Great work Scott! Finally we know the quantity.

One thing I want to add: i am very sure that most of the participants of the contest were not interested in playing the TCG but were interested in drawing/art. I once talked to one of the Pikachus Illustrator winners and he told me as far as he remembers many people at the contest didn’t care about pokemon but were more like hobby artists / painters. He himself only wanted to show his skills and didn’t care about the Pokemon subject. Now I think it is well possible that some of the winners didn’t really care about pokemon but attended the contest for the same reason like the guy I talked to.
This is pure speculation but it would explain why we haven’t seen more copies. I mean, 10 cards times 20 copies is 200… considering this we should have seen many more. So maybe many copies are with people that don’t think about Pokemon and don’t realise what kind of rare cards they own.

BTW: personally I am sure if the Pikachu Illustrator was given out at a TCG event we would have seen more copies before the big hype started 2 years ago.

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I think you make a valid point Geri, and I echo your observation. I believe this is true with the recent Art Academy cards as well. A good amount of the winners didn’t have much interest in the trading cards themselves. Probably why some have not surfaced, even in the day and age of social media.

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What magazine is this? Wouldn’t mind getting my hand on a copy.

Trainer Mag Vol. 1

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I still remember going to the machine they had at Blockbuster to print the Pokemon Snap pictures lol. Would love to own one of these cards one day but I have to say that the Magikarp and Articuno are my favorite ones!

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I think in the past year I’ve only seen Gyarados for sale. :open_mouth:

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Squirtle was for sale on yj about a year or so ago

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