So guys, Am looking to buy a Psa grade 1st ed base charizard.
I had a bit of a search through the forum but thought id try get some more clarity.
The age old debate about thick vs thin.
Which one was printed first? Seeing some conflicting reports.
Does one command a premium ? ( i notice its the ones who own a thick stamp suggesting this haha)
Do you think in the future one would be worth much more than the other?
OR in short, should i not GAF lol
Thanks guys let me know what u think 
Buy what you like.
There is no definitive proof of whether thick stamps or thin stamps were produced first.
However, most people agree (and it is also my opinion) that the thick stamp holos were likely produced / stamped first for this reason:
All the 1st edition stamps that WOTC produced after Base Set (Jungle - Neo Destiny) had the thin version of the 1st edition WOTC stamp.
The thick 1st edition stamp only exists within Base Set.
It is simply more likely/logical that WOTC would go from thick stamp —> thin stamp than it is likely/logical that WOTC would go from thin stamp —> thick stamp —> thin stamp.
As for which stamp is worth more, the answer is that thick stamps will command a slight premium in today’s market. It used to not matter at all, but over time there have been an increasing number of collectors who specifically seek out thick stamps (it’s pretty rare to find someone specifically seeking out thin stamps but they do exist). There are definitely also still many collectors who don’t care about thick stamps or thin stamps at all.
Additionally, there are fewer thick stamp holos than thin stamp holos, so there is more demand for thick stamp holos and less supply of thick stamp holos. But again, I would still say that the good majority of buyers are okay with both thick and thin stamps.
One thing I do know from PokeRevs video is thin and thick can be in the same box. I’m sure thick is more desirable but whenever I get around to collecting these I’m not going to say what cert number I want or only “strong 9’s” for example a grade is a grade to me. Also I’m not going to waste my time only going for 4xxx certs thick stamps and strong grades. I’ll just buy what I want in the grade I want or ungraded whenever I get to that point. Eliminating all certs less than 4xx eliminating thin stamps. And being picky on grade that was given by professionals doesn’t sound like a good idea and if that’s the route people go expect to pay a premium and please don’t complain about the price haha. People need to be at least slightly less picky sometimes unless they are loaded then be as picky as you want. Might as well say only ones with autographs too while your at it
Interesting Points guys. What made me unsure was i Seen King Pokemon said he had an uncut pilot sheet of base set 1st ed which was thin stamp. Wonder if PSA would ever recognise something like this ? Or is this just one of them things made up by collectors haha
I would assume that all of the 1st edition stamps were produced within a very short period of time, so thin stamps could have been ready for a “pilot sheet” even if they were produced after thick stamps.
Like I said, there is no definitive proof either way. We can only make reasonable guesses.
Thicks…
Rarer for sure.
Printed first? Unlikely cause why do a test sheet that matched subsequent sets then switch then switch back?
A value premium? Over the last 20+ years I’ve paid more for them and for sure got a little more when I sold em.
Future? I don’t see why anything would change besides a wider gap because today’s collectors are more anal about every little thing.
Thanks everyone! some good points!
I agree that the gaps become wider when people get more anal.
so gary you believe the thin stamp were printed first?
Thick stamps all-day. They’re exclusive to 1st Edition Base so I’ve always found them more appealing.
Does anyone know why the non-holos are all thick stamp?
Do you remember when you were a kid and got a stamp kit for Christmas. The first time you used a stamp it was full of ink and made a nice thick impression on the paper. After a while the ink on the stamp became less and the imprint looked a little thinner. Think of that analogy with the 1st edition stamp. The very first print run, the stamp was new and made a good impression. After a few print runs the stamp became worn and made a thin impression.
I’m skeptical of this explanation because if it were true then you would expect the stamp to change gradually over time, so you would expect to see a whole spectrum of thickness/thinness. But this isn’t really what we have - we have two well-defined stamps: all the “thicks” are pretty much the same size and all the “thins” are pretty much the same size.
I respect @KingPokemon 's observation about viewing the test sheet with the thin stamps, but I don’t believe that evidence is in any way conclusive about this issue. Among other questions:
Were the cards stamped as soon as they came out of the printer? Or were there a bunch of Shadowless sheets printed before a certain number of them were set aside to be stamped? If the latter is true, the stamp variant of the test sheet doesn’t necessarily really tell us much.
There is a lot we don’t know about how this stuff was done. Until recently, it wasn’t even widely known that thick and thin stamp holos could appear in the same booster box.
That’s why I am skeptical that we can draw conclusions from one anecdotal piece of evidence. Would it really surprise anyone to learn that both thick and thin stamp test sheets existed?
We’re never going to get a solid answer on this. Occam’s razor leads me to believe it’s more likely WOTC made a single switch from thick stamps to thin stamps, rather than going from thin stamps to thick stamps and back to thin stamps again. But reasonable minds can disagree.
Ultimately, we’re just never going to have a conclusive answer on this.
I also wonder about the rarity of thin vs thick stamp. I trust the opinions of people like gary who have handled lots of 1st edition cards. But I wish there were some numbers or statistics out there. Since PSA doesn’t distinguish on their label we will probably never know with any real accuracy. Anecdotally, some cards have also been harder than others for me. Ninetales for example I had a hard time finding a minty thick stamp copy for my binder so finally bought a thin stamp
@hyruleguardian If they were printed and then distributed into packs in the same manner as is found in the box, then they were printed at or very close to the same time. Print shops don’t run just one printer at a time, they run multiples in order to complete printing jobs in a timely manner. And I can personally guarantee that the company that printed these had no less than three machines running for the job. So in all likelihood one of the several printers had the same 1st ed stamp printing plates as used in the non-holo print run. I don’t know whether they were packaged on the same day but I do know that printing and packing were not done in the same process or necessarily on the same day, and that printing would have been done in less than a week after multiple proofing and test runs (called a makeready).
I personally have no preference.
Thin stamps stand out more and have a consistent look with the rest of WOTC sets.
Thicks match the non-holos better.
Thicks are rarer.
Is it like an issue that some people even myself believe thick stamp is the one with the bolder letters and thin stamp is the one with thin letters, not sure why people insist on the 1 determining the thick or thin
Thick “D” = Thin Stamp
Thin “D” = Thick Stamo
Because the terms have already been determined. There’s no going back after 15 years of this.