Games
See also : Jaquet-Droz
The Warrior of the North
2019 SOLD for £ 730K including premium
The Lewis hoard was revealed in 1831 by a participant during a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. It was made of 92 game pieces most of them in walrus ivory plus a belt buckle. The figures could constitute four almost complete sets of chess. The rest consisted of chess pawns and of tokens for the table game, the predecessor of backgammon.
This group had just been found on the Isle of Lewis, at the far end of the Hebrides, facing the open sea. It is now divided between the British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland.
The figures are typical of the Nordic sagas, from the majesty of the king to the ferocity of the warders that will later be the rooks. Around 1200 CE the Norse, successors of the Vikings, enjoyed the game of chess for its simulation of war, its symbolism of life and death by the black and white squares, and its killing rules.
A queen similar to its Lewis counterparts was found in Trondheim. Broken most likely during the chiseling, it testifies to a Norwegian origin of its production, using ivory from the shores of Iceland or Greenland. For the Lewis hoard, the most likely hypothesis is that it was lost by a traveling merchant in a shipwreck.
On July 2 in London, Sotheby's sells a 8.8 cm high warder in walrus ivory that has all the characteristics of Lewis pieces, lot 7estimated £ 600K. As in the treasure, wear is due to prolonged contact with salt water and sand. Unlike the Lewis pieces, it has not been cleaned and retains dark green streaks that may be its original color for the game.
This piece is unpublished. It was bought in 1964 for £ 5 by an Edinburgh antique dealer from one of his colleagues and the family has loved it up to this day for its mysterious beauty from another time. It is the first Lewis-type chess piece to be available on the market since the discovery of the treasure.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
This group had just been found on the Isle of Lewis, at the far end of the Hebrides, facing the open sea. It is now divided between the British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland.
The figures are typical of the Nordic sagas, from the majesty of the king to the ferocity of the warders that will later be the rooks. Around 1200 CE the Norse, successors of the Vikings, enjoyed the game of chess for its simulation of war, its symbolism of life and death by the black and white squares, and its killing rules.
A queen similar to its Lewis counterparts was found in Trondheim. Broken most likely during the chiseling, it testifies to a Norwegian origin of its production, using ivory from the shores of Iceland or Greenland. For the Lewis hoard, the most likely hypothesis is that it was lost by a traveling merchant in a shipwreck.
On July 2 in London, Sotheby's sells a 8.8 cm high warder in walrus ivory that has all the characteristics of Lewis pieces, lot 7estimated £ 600K. As in the treasure, wear is due to prolonged contact with salt water and sand. Unlike the Lewis pieces, it has not been cleaned and retains dark green streaks that may be its original color for the game.
This piece is unpublished. It was bought in 1964 for £ 5 by an Edinburgh antique dealer from one of his colleagues and the family has loved it up to this day for its mysterious beauty from another time. It is the first Lewis-type chess piece to be available on the market since the discovery of the treasure.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Read https://t.co/oexcUwFCpg about the small ancient chess piece found in a wardrobe that could make a million in @Sothebys sale next month. #chess #antiques pic.twitter.com/fdty2AuknD
— Antique Collecting (@AntiqueMag) June 4, 2019
1475 The Tarots of Humanism
2009 SOLD 180 K£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The fifteenth century witnessed the invention of movable type printing. The popularization of the book generated immediately further development of wood engraving, which was practiced in Europe since the previous century.
In 1465 was printed a series of fifty engravings 18 x 10 cm, which symbolize humanism. These images are presented in five groups of ten cards: man (from beggar to Pope) ; the nine Muses and Apollo ; the seven liberal arts joined by philosophy, astrology and theology ; the three lights (sun, time and cosmos) and the seven virtues ; the celestial spheres leading to the Supreme Cause (Causa Prima) of God.
With the same content, another artist added a second and larger set around 1470, 25 x 20 cm.
Nothing is known of the origin of this work, except that some dialectical details locate it in Ferrara. Historians know it under the name of Mantegna Tarocchi. These pictures actually look like tarot cards, but there is no evidence that they could have had such a role. "Mantegna" must be understood as a simple tribute to the great artist who was one of the first of his corporation to practice engraving but is for nothing in this edition.
A copy almost complete (Rhetorica is lacking), bound in sixteenth or seventeenth century, slept since that time in a noble Italian family. It would be a reprint made about 1475, which features 47 images of the small series and two of the second one, the latter having been folded. This precious contemporary of the incunabula is estimated £ 150K at Christie's in London on December 8.
I invite my readers to consult the article Mantegna Tarocchi of Wikipedia.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is good, especially when considering that the set was incomplete and somewhat composite: 180 K £ including premium.
The fifteenth century witnessed the invention of movable type printing. The popularization of the book generated immediately further development of wood engraving, which was practiced in Europe since the previous century.
In 1465 was printed a series of fifty engravings 18 x 10 cm, which symbolize humanism. These images are presented in five groups of ten cards: man (from beggar to Pope) ; the nine Muses and Apollo ; the seven liberal arts joined by philosophy, astrology and theology ; the three lights (sun, time and cosmos) and the seven virtues ; the celestial spheres leading to the Supreme Cause (Causa Prima) of God.
With the same content, another artist added a second and larger set around 1470, 25 x 20 cm.
Nothing is known of the origin of this work, except that some dialectical details locate it in Ferrara. Historians know it under the name of Mantegna Tarocchi. These pictures actually look like tarot cards, but there is no evidence that they could have had such a role. "Mantegna" must be understood as a simple tribute to the great artist who was one of the first of his corporation to practice engraving but is for nothing in this edition.
A copy almost complete (Rhetorica is lacking), bound in sixteenth or seventeenth century, slept since that time in a noble Italian family. It would be a reprint made about 1475, which features 47 images of the small series and two of the second one, the latter having been folded. This precious contemporary of the incunabula is estimated £ 150K at Christie's in London on December 8.
I invite my readers to consult the article Mantegna Tarocchi of Wikipedia.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is good, especially when considering that the set was incomplete and somewhat composite: 180 K £ including premium.
1616 The Ace of Batons and the Knave of Swords
2010 SOLD 555 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The development of the woodcut engraving has also resulted in the progress of the playing cards. Sometimes a very old specimen reaches us.
The deck of 52 cards for sale at Christie's in New York on October 19 is exceptional because it is complete, but it has an even more unusual feature: it is made in engraved and parcel-gilt silver.
Two systems have coexisted for many years. Tarot cards, used for divination, used as suits the swords, batons, cups, and coins, with 4 figures and 10 values per suit for a total of 56 cards. The set of 52 for sale by Christie's is a tarot without the knights, being so very close to the classic game design with clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades.
The ace of batons is dated 1616 and the knave of swords is inscribed in the name of Frömmer, a goldsmith of Augsburg. The best guess is that this game was produced to go into a cabinet of curiosities, the support for knowledge that was very fashionable during the reign of Rudolf II.
It is estimated $ 150K.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 555K including premium, is a recognition of the exceptional rarity of such a lot, especially as a complete set.
The development of the woodcut engraving has also resulted in the progress of the playing cards. Sometimes a very old specimen reaches us.
The deck of 52 cards for sale at Christie's in New York on October 19 is exceptional because it is complete, but it has an even more unusual feature: it is made in engraved and parcel-gilt silver.
Two systems have coexisted for many years. Tarot cards, used for divination, used as suits the swords, batons, cups, and coins, with 4 figures and 10 values per suit for a total of 56 cards. The set of 52 for sale by Christie's is a tarot without the knights, being so very close to the classic game design with clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades.
The ace of batons is dated 1616 and the knave of swords is inscribed in the name of Frömmer, a goldsmith of Augsburg. The best guess is that this game was produced to go into a cabinet of curiosities, the support for knowledge that was very fashionable during the reign of Rudolf II.
It is estimated $ 150K.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 555K including premium, is a recognition of the exceptional rarity of such a lot, especially as a complete set.
1808 A Jewelled Domino Box
2017 SOLD for CHF 415K including premium
On May 15 in Geneva, Christie's sells a luxurious musical and domino box, lot 127 estimated CHF 300K.
This 18 karat gold box is decorated with enamels and pearls including the four seasons displayed by facetious cupids. It is accompanied by its original complete set of 28 dominos also in 18K gold with the face in royal blue enamel, the dots in fine pearls and the back in scarlet enamel.
The case is signed MB et C. Born in Geneva, Jean-François Bautte enjoyed an exceptional career in the luxury craft. He had begun as an apprentice trained as a case fitter, goldsmith, watchmaker, jeweller and guilloché maker. After creating his first models he joined forces with two businessmen, Moulinié in 1793 and Moynier in 1804.
Their business was named Moulinié, Bautte et Compagnie abbreviated as MB et C in 1804, becoming Moulinié, Bautte et Moynier in 1808. This development of the brand allows the dating of the domino box in this short intermediate period and is consistent with an inscription dated 1808 on the musical mechanism.
The exceptional provenance of this unique box is marked by two old auctions.
In 1834 it is offered in the deceased estate sale of Thomas Weeks who had held in London an important museum of curiosities. It is probable that the box had not met a customer in the Chinese import market in recession since the death of the Qianlong emperor and had joined in London the collections of pieces manufactured by Cox and Maillardet.
The name of its winning bidder at the Weeks sale is Russell. The correlation with the future Duchess of Bedford, who will soon be a confidante of Queen Victoria, is seductive.
The box returns to auction at Christie's in 1974, sold by a direct descendant of Queen Victoria. The domino plays of the young queen with prince consort Albert are documented in her own diaries. It seems highly probable that the Geneva box had belonged to Her Majesty.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's :
This 18 karat gold box is decorated with enamels and pearls including the four seasons displayed by facetious cupids. It is accompanied by its original complete set of 28 dominos also in 18K gold with the face in royal blue enamel, the dots in fine pearls and the back in scarlet enamel.
The case is signed MB et C. Born in Geneva, Jean-François Bautte enjoyed an exceptional career in the luxury craft. He had begun as an apprentice trained as a case fitter, goldsmith, watchmaker, jeweller and guilloché maker. After creating his first models he joined forces with two businessmen, Moulinié in 1793 and Moynier in 1804.
Their business was named Moulinié, Bautte et Compagnie abbreviated as MB et C in 1804, becoming Moulinié, Bautte et Moynier in 1808. This development of the brand allows the dating of the domino box in this short intermediate period and is consistent with an inscription dated 1808 on the musical mechanism.
The exceptional provenance of this unique box is marked by two old auctions.
In 1834 it is offered in the deceased estate sale of Thomas Weeks who had held in London an important museum of curiosities. It is probable that the box had not met a customer in the Chinese import market in recession since the death of the Qianlong emperor and had joined in London the collections of pieces manufactured by Cox and Maillardet.
The name of its winning bidder at the Weeks sale is Russell. The correlation with the future Duchess of Bedford, who will soon be a confidante of Queen Victoria, is seductive.
The box returns to auction at Christie's in 1974, sold by a direct descendant of Queen Victoria. The domino plays of the young queen with prince consort Albert are documented in her own diaries. It seems highly probable that the Geneva box had belonged to Her Majesty.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's :
#Exceptionnel : jeu de dominos en or, émail et perles dans une boîte à musique ayant appartenu à la #ReineVictoria https://t.co/mhbedzsif0 pic.twitter.com/yHz10hkpVa
— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) April 20, 2017
1907 A One Armed Bandit in Las Vegas
2015 SOLD for $ 300K including premium
Slot machines were developed in the 1890s for use in the casinos. Players engage small coins but the multiplication of these machines offers substantial gains to the owners of the gambling houses.
Based in Detroit in 1895, Caille Brothers cumulated more than 200 models from 1897 to 1937. The Caille Peerless released in 1907 is a roulette. A specimen in excellent condition of this floor machine 117 cm high is estimated $ 200K, for sale by Morphy in Las Vegas on May 2, lot 503 here linked to the bidding platform LiveAuctioneers.
The player introduces a 5 cent nickel coin in one of the slots that display the symbols for his lucky choice. The horizontal roulette on top of the instrument is triggered by the side crank that has given to this range of machines the popular nickname of one armed bandit. When the rotation stops, a mechanism immediately pays the player if he won.
And if he did not win, the player tries it tirelessly again, spending all his nickels without needing any intervention of a croupier.
Based in Detroit in 1895, Caille Brothers cumulated more than 200 models from 1897 to 1937. The Caille Peerless released in 1907 is a roulette. A specimen in excellent condition of this floor machine 117 cm high is estimated $ 200K, for sale by Morphy in Las Vegas on May 2, lot 503 here linked to the bidding platform LiveAuctioneers.
The player introduces a 5 cent nickel coin in one of the slots that display the symbols for his lucky choice. The horizontal roulette on top of the instrument is triggered by the side crank that has given to this range of machines the popular nickname of one armed bandit. When the rotation stops, a mechanism immediately pays the player if he won.
And if he did not win, the player tries it tirelessly again, spending all his nickels without needing any intervention of a croupier.
1907 Three-Armed Bandits
2020 SOLD for $ 246K including premium
The slot machine was invented in 1891. Charles Fey was one of the pioneers with the Liberty Bell. A machine created circa 1898 is estimated $ 175K for sale by Morphy in Denver PA on October 29, lot 1036 linked here on the LiveAuctioneers auction platform.
Caille Brothers released its first model in 1897. Mills was afterward its main competitor. Saloons, restaurants, brothels, cigar shops, barbers and other establishments open to the public want it to attract customers while making a profit.
The Caille one-armed bandits are floor upright furniture decorated with an illusion of luxury. The Peerless Roulette model appears circa 1904. An example in excellent condition operated with 5 cent coins was sold for $ 300K including premium by Morphy on May 2, 2015. Another one is estimated $ 180K for sale by Morphy on October 29, lot 1079.
The license is defined per unit, so the manufacturers are helping by offering machines with two and even three independent sections for limiting the tax. They have little success because they are too heavy, and difficult to hide in the event of racketeering or police raids. The surviving units had probably been early withdrawn from the shop and forgotten in a cellar or attic.
In the same sale as above on October 29, Morphy is selling a Triple Centaur Jackpot 5c 25c 5c by Caille, lot 1110 estimated $ 200K. The three one-armed bandits are integrated side by side in an oak cabinet 160 x 180 x 48 cm. It is in an almost complete original condition including its music box and keys. It is the only known Triple Centaur. The Centaur model was created in 1907.
Lot 1331 in the same auction is a 5c 25c 50c Triple Slot Machine from the same period by Mills Dewey and Chicago, estimated $ 150K.
On January 16, 2020 a Caille Triplet Musical Upright Slot Machine was sold for $ 220K including premium by Witherell's.
RESULTS including premium :
Liberty Bell SOLD for $ 148K
Roulette SOLD for $ 190K
Triple Centaur SOLD for $ 246K
Triple Mills SOLD for $ 144K
Caille Brothers released its first model in 1897. Mills was afterward its main competitor. Saloons, restaurants, brothels, cigar shops, barbers and other establishments open to the public want it to attract customers while making a profit.
The Caille one-armed bandits are floor upright furniture decorated with an illusion of luxury. The Peerless Roulette model appears circa 1904. An example in excellent condition operated with 5 cent coins was sold for $ 300K including premium by Morphy on May 2, 2015. Another one is estimated $ 180K for sale by Morphy on October 29, lot 1079.
The license is defined per unit, so the manufacturers are helping by offering machines with two and even three independent sections for limiting the tax. They have little success because they are too heavy, and difficult to hide in the event of racketeering or police raids. The surviving units had probably been early withdrawn from the shop and forgotten in a cellar or attic.
In the same sale as above on October 29, Morphy is selling a Triple Centaur Jackpot 5c 25c 5c by Caille, lot 1110 estimated $ 200K. The three one-armed bandits are integrated side by side in an oak cabinet 160 x 180 x 48 cm. It is in an almost complete original condition including its music box and keys. It is the only known Triple Centaur. The Centaur model was created in 1907.
Lot 1331 in the same auction is a 5c 25c 50c Triple Slot Machine from the same period by Mills Dewey and Chicago, estimated $ 150K.
On January 16, 2020 a Caille Triplet Musical Upright Slot Machine was sold for $ 220K including premium by Witherell's.
RESULTS including premium :
Liberty Bell SOLD for $ 148K
Roulette SOLD for $ 190K
Triple Centaur SOLD for $ 246K
Triple Mills SOLD for $ 144K
5¢ "The Caille Roulette" is a seven-way roulette wheel payout machine. A fantastic original example of a highly desirable machine with an older restoration. Est: $180,000-$250,000 https://t.co/aOJr8eZZzr pic.twitter.com/cDVzaEgVfh
— Morphy Auctions (@MorphyAuctions) October 17, 2020
Caille Triplet Musical Upright Slot Machine
2020 SOLD for $ 220K including premium by Witherell's
Link to catalogue.
1912 The Mermaid of War
2010 SOLD 200 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In all the waiting and amusement rooms some strange machines request money from the visitors. This practice was following in the 1920s the development of the amusement parks. In exchange for a small coin, the player runs the rules imposed by the machine, and sometime he wins a free game.
One of these old arcade games, dating from before the flippers and before electronics, is featured in the sale held from April 9 to 11 by Showtime Auction Services in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Named and labeled The War Game, it is a pistol game. The game box is sustained by a wealthy caryatid mermaid, bare-chested, displaying the convenient bait to lure the naive and the unoccupied. You can see it yourself in the right column of the press release shared by Antique Trader.
The manufacturer is identified: Matheson Novelty & Mfg. Co. The date could be earlier than 1910. The release said that only twelve arcades of this model were manufactured. This sample, so spruce after being repainted, is estimated $ 200K.
View this lot, and all the other lots of this two-days sale, on the site of the auction platform iCollector.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result, considering that the estimate was too high. This game coming from another age was sold 175 K $ hammer price, 200 K $ including premium.
The catalog indicates the date of manufacture, 1912. Matheson was an English manufacturer also known as the Automatic Sports Co.
In all the waiting and amusement rooms some strange machines request money from the visitors. This practice was following in the 1920s the development of the amusement parks. In exchange for a small coin, the player runs the rules imposed by the machine, and sometime he wins a free game.
One of these old arcade games, dating from before the flippers and before electronics, is featured in the sale held from April 9 to 11 by Showtime Auction Services in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Named and labeled The War Game, it is a pistol game. The game box is sustained by a wealthy caryatid mermaid, bare-chested, displaying the convenient bait to lure the naive and the unoccupied. You can see it yourself in the right column of the press release shared by Antique Trader.
The manufacturer is identified: Matheson Novelty & Mfg. Co. The date could be earlier than 1910. The release said that only twelve arcades of this model were manufactured. This sample, so spruce after being repainted, is estimated $ 200K.
View this lot, and all the other lots of this two-days sale, on the site of the auction platform iCollector.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result, considering that the estimate was too high. This game coming from another age was sold 175 K $ hammer price, 200 K $ including premium.
The catalog indicates the date of manufacture, 1912. Matheson was an English manufacturer also known as the Automatic Sports Co.
1992 The Giants of the Game
2020 SOLD for $ 360K including premium
Nintendo is a pioneer in video games. In the mid-1980s, technologies were progressing by leaps and bounds. Erasable floppy disks will soon be out of date. Interested in the CD-ROM, Nintendo approaches Sony in 1988. Sony develops the adaptation of a CD-ROM drive on the Nintendo SNES game console under the name of SNES-CD. In this cooperation phase, Sony equips the Super Nintendo console with a sound processor.
In June 1991 Sony plans to unveil the SNES-CD. Caught up in speed by Sony and worried about the future distribution of operating rights, Nintendo immediately breaks the contract and approaches Philips. Sony, which until then had not revealed any intention to enter the game market, immediately announces its new brand PlayStation, which Nintendo fails to oppose despite an action at the federal court of the United States.
In 1992 Sony builds 200 prototypes of the adaptation of the CD-ROM and the audio player on Nintendo consoles, envisaging at that time a new cooperation with Nintendo which obviously did not succeed. These prototypes are destroyed.
One of the 200 prototypes had been put aside and then forgotten by a manager of the US division of Sony. This console has resurfaced. Analysed in full details and put back into operation by Ben Heck, this unique survivor reveals the details of the adaptation prepared in 1992 by Sony. Definitely convinced of the future of gaming, Sony releases the PlayStation in 1994.
The 1992 console is marked Sony and PlayStation, without identification of Nintendo. It is the oldest game console equipped with a CD-ROM drive, but Sony did not have the time to develop games for it in this technology. The audio system includes a switch for playing an audio CD instead of the sound of the game in progress.
The owner of this prototype had acquired it for $ 75 in the bankruptcy auction of a company to which the former Sony executive had belonged. After the rework by Heck, he used it on demonstration tours. This business was not profitable. The console will be sold by Heritage in Dallas on March 6, lot 93060. Three weeks before the sale, the auction record in the video game category is already far exceeded. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Nintendo's cooperation with Philips failed for technical reasons. The first Nintendo console with an optical disc drive will not be released until 2001. In 2004 Sony announces that it has sold 100 million consoles and 962 million games in ten years.
In June 1991 Sony plans to unveil the SNES-CD. Caught up in speed by Sony and worried about the future distribution of operating rights, Nintendo immediately breaks the contract and approaches Philips. Sony, which until then had not revealed any intention to enter the game market, immediately announces its new brand PlayStation, which Nintendo fails to oppose despite an action at the federal court of the United States.
In 1992 Sony builds 200 prototypes of the adaptation of the CD-ROM and the audio player on Nintendo consoles, envisaging at that time a new cooperation with Nintendo which obviously did not succeed. These prototypes are destroyed.
One of the 200 prototypes had been put aside and then forgotten by a manager of the US division of Sony. This console has resurfaced. Analysed in full details and put back into operation by Ben Heck, this unique survivor reveals the details of the adaptation prepared in 1992 by Sony. Definitely convinced of the future of gaming, Sony releases the PlayStation in 1994.
The 1992 console is marked Sony and PlayStation, without identification of Nintendo. It is the oldest game console equipped with a CD-ROM drive, but Sony did not have the time to develop games for it in this technology. The audio system includes a switch for playing an audio CD instead of the sound of the game in progress.
The owner of this prototype had acquired it for $ 75 in the bankruptcy auction of a company to which the former Sony executive had belonged. After the rework by Heck, he used it on demonstration tours. This business was not profitable. The console will be sold by Heritage in Dallas on March 6, lot 93060. Three weeks before the sale, the auction record in the video game category is already far exceeded. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Nintendo's cooperation with Philips failed for technical reasons. The first Nintendo console with an optical disc drive will not be released until 2001. In 2004 Sony announces that it has sold 100 million consoles and 962 million games in ten years.
1999 Gotta Catch the Sealed Box
2020 SOLD for $ 360K including premium
Young people expected new games to be compatible with electronic techniques in all their diversity. Invented in Japan in 1995, Pokémon made it. Trading cards are just one part of their global success. The Pokémons have been able to multiply their species so that the games are continuously relaunched and to include codes to be scanned to discover hidden games. Since 2016, Pokémon-Go designed for mobile phones has been a social phenomenon, including a few applications that compete with social networks.
Wizards of the Coast, created in 1990 in the suburbs of Seattle, already ensured the transition with the prehistory of video games through the acquisition of Dungeons and Dragons in 1997. In 1998 they obtained the franchise for the edition of Pokémon cards in the United States.
The Base Set was published in January 1999 with 102 monsters irregularly distributed in the packs. The stars are Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur and the unmissable Pikachu. The high rhythm of diversification ensures the success. Jungle added 64 cards in June 1999 and Fossil 62 cards in October of the same year. Meanwhile, in September, Wizards was acquired by Hasbro for around $ 325M.
Cards are sold in packs of 11, and their wholesale is made in sealed boxes containing 36 packs, for a total content of 396 cards which cannot be known in advance. The boxes of the first three sets include a motto encouraging the frenzy, Gotta Catch 'em all, and a deceptively elitist indication, 1st Edition Limited Printing. In real life, the edition was so few limited that it clogged the production of card printers.
The hunt for monsters of the first generations has left the realm of gaming to reach collectors. They love the boxes that have remained sealed in their factory shrinkwrap, in which the mystery cards have never been handled.
On November 19 in Dallas, Heritage is selling a sealed box of each of the first three sets. Twelve days before the sale, the Base Set at lot 92312 already highly exceeds the $ 198K including premium recorded by the same auction house two months ago. The Jungle is at lot 92314 and the Fossil at lot 92315.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM
Base SOLD for $ 360K
Jungle SOLD for $ 29K
Fossil SOLD for $ 18K
Wizards of the Coast, created in 1990 in the suburbs of Seattle, already ensured the transition with the prehistory of video games through the acquisition of Dungeons and Dragons in 1997. In 1998 they obtained the franchise for the edition of Pokémon cards in the United States.
The Base Set was published in January 1999 with 102 monsters irregularly distributed in the packs. The stars are Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur and the unmissable Pikachu. The high rhythm of diversification ensures the success. Jungle added 64 cards in June 1999 and Fossil 62 cards in October of the same year. Meanwhile, in September, Wizards was acquired by Hasbro for around $ 325M.
Cards are sold in packs of 11, and their wholesale is made in sealed boxes containing 36 packs, for a total content of 396 cards which cannot be known in advance. The boxes of the first three sets include a motto encouraging the frenzy, Gotta Catch 'em all, and a deceptively elitist indication, 1st Edition Limited Printing. In real life, the edition was so few limited that it clogged the production of card printers.
The hunt for monsters of the first generations has left the realm of gaming to reach collectors. They love the boxes that have remained sealed in their factory shrinkwrap, in which the mystery cards have never been handled.
On November 19 in Dallas, Heritage is selling a sealed box of each of the first three sets. Twelve days before the sale, the Base Set at lot 92312 already highly exceeds the $ 198K including premium recorded by the same auction house two months ago. The Jungle is at lot 92314 and the Fossil at lot 92315.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM
Base SOLD for $ 360K
Jungle SOLD for $ 29K
Fossil SOLD for $ 18K
1999 Pokemon Charizard
2020 SOLD for $ 220K including premium by Iconic Auctions
narrated post sale in 2020
The Pokémons (Pocket Monsters) appear in 1998 in video games and in 1999 in the form of trading cards. They constitute a complex universe that perfectly matches the desires of the Millennials. The monsters are changed by mutations over the years.
The applications are unlimited, including the constitution of complete sets, fights, contests. Of course, the production run of some cards is much lower. Such variation in the scarcity has already been managed from 1993 in sports cards, with Topps' serialized Refractors.
The Pokémon cards are edited in regular series and in exceptional cards which are reserved for the winners of a game. For example the Trainer card was prepared in 1999 in Japanese especially for the seven winners of a Super Secret Battle. A copy graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA was sold for $ 90K including premium by Heritage in July 2020.
Also in 1999, the first set of regular cards included 103 species. Factory sealed packages are eagerly sought after by collectors who hope to find the most prestigious cards there. The same trend also applies to sports cards. A sealed box from the first Pokémon series containing 36 packs of 11 cards each was sold for $ 198K including premium by Heritage in the same sale as above, in July 2020.
In this first series, the rarest of the regular cards is # 4 personalizing Charizard, a monster inspired by the European dragon whose fighting qualities are Fire for attack and Flight for defense. A card graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA was sold for $ 220K including premium by Iconic Auctions on October 9, 2020, lot 1.
The prices go up. The above result returns to the prehistory of auctions a full set of the first 103 regular cards, all in Mint condition and including Charizard, sold for $ 104K including premium by Goldin on August 10, 2019, lot 103.
The applications are unlimited, including the constitution of complete sets, fights, contests. Of course, the production run of some cards is much lower. Such variation in the scarcity has already been managed from 1993 in sports cards, with Topps' serialized Refractors.
The Pokémon cards are edited in regular series and in exceptional cards which are reserved for the winners of a game. For example the Trainer card was prepared in 1999 in Japanese especially for the seven winners of a Super Secret Battle. A copy graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA was sold for $ 90K including premium by Heritage in July 2020.
Also in 1999, the first set of regular cards included 103 species. Factory sealed packages are eagerly sought after by collectors who hope to find the most prestigious cards there. The same trend also applies to sports cards. A sealed box from the first Pokémon series containing 36 packs of 11 cards each was sold for $ 198K including premium by Heritage in the same sale as above, in July 2020.
In this first series, the rarest of the regular cards is # 4 personalizing Charizard, a monster inspired by the European dragon whose fighting qualities are Fire for attack and Flight for defense. A card graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA was sold for $ 220K including premium by Iconic Auctions on October 9, 2020, lot 1.
The prices go up. The above result returns to the prehistory of auctions a full set of the first 103 regular cards, all in Mint condition and including Charizard, sold for $ 104K including premium by Goldin on August 10, 2019, lot 103.
