| So, knowing nothing about Pokemon, it was lost on me if 2024 was legitimate or not (I suspected not, but it seems the article kind of assumes you know when the cards should have been made). This article seems to give a clearer picture: https://www.pokebeach.com/2025/01/millions-of-dollars-of-pro... > Millions of Dollars of Prototype Pokemon Cards May Be Forgeries, Retired Creatures Employee Involved > The authenticity of the Pokemon TCG’s famous “prototype cards” are now being called into question. > Last year, hundreds of prototype Pokemon cards began to sell in collecting circles from the personal collection of Takumi Akabane, one of the original creators of the Pokemon TCG. He worked at Creatures until 2008. He recently attended events to sign some of the cards. Grading company CGC worked closely with Akabane to verify the cards’ authenticity. > The prototype cards represent the earliest days of the TCG, produced in 1996 before Base Set released in Japan. They show the progression of Pokemon cards from their “proof of concept” stage where they used their Red & Green sprites to their beta designs that used their final artwork from Mitsuhiro Arita and Ken Sugimori. |