My mate has quite a collection of 1st ed base set booster packs. When he was going through them recently, he noted that one of the packs was partially open and had a few markings on it (see pictures below).
Our question is - is it normal for 1st ed base packs to open or unseal over time? I know that several people commented on TCA’s 1st ed base set booster box opening saying one of the Venusaur packs was partially open? Furthermore, has anyone else ever seen the vertical markings on the front of the seal?
The vertical slits are normal for base set long seal packs (1st ed base and shadowless) and are fairly common. The pack popping open over time through handling is normal but rare and not expected.
Thanks for the responses, i think he will be able to sleep a little easier tonight.
They were purchased in 2016 from a Canadian seller, and they have sat in a box for approx. 4 years. It is possible that it slowly opened over time, as i am sure he would have noticed this when he first received it.
The Charizard artwork seems pretty suspicious in my opinion… surely if it was just a case of being old and coming unsealed naturally (if this can happen naturally in the centre of a pack) it would not have ripped the other side of the pack / foil off with it as if it was an opened booster that was pulled by hand?
I have seen a method of resealing packs which does not require any sort of adhesive being applied the only downside to this method is that over time it will come apart like this which leaves me a little suspicious that may have been what happened here.
If it had better pedigree I would say it’s probably fine, but combined with the tear and fold in the seam it’s suspicious, and enough to warrant more digging. During 2016-2017 there were quite a few cases of resealed packs (one was actually PSA graded), which is partly because the opened packs were plentiful and only cost $20-$30 each at the time.
I would personally open it.
Edit: I’m thinking the odds are towards a reseal. Looking closer at the seam you can make out a patch of torn wrapper —this doesn’t happen from sitting on a shelf… that is unless the holo inside has warped from heat exposure and forced it open.
If you leave your packs in the sun, those with foil cards can pop open -it’s an old trick I learned from an LGS owner. He had noticed the same happen in his store display by the window.
@dbmoney10 , I agree, once it is open like that, you can’t really sell it.
Accordingly, my mate opened it! Here are the pulls (Pretty bad, tbh). At least we know it was a legit pack now (Or just resealed with the least desirable cards from base set)
