In the wake of allegations CGC has graded fraudulent Pokémon prototype and playtest cards, which collectively have sold for more than $1 million across various auction houses, the company released a statement Friday addressing the reports.
CGC said it will be conducting a comprehensive investigation and the cards “in question” represent less than 0.03% of the cards graded by the company.
“We stand behind every card that we grade, and we are committed to addressing this matter thoroughly and professionally,” CGC said. “This investigation will take some time, but we will provide updates as they are available.”
The company has graded a total of more than 7.7 million cards, according to third-party grading tracker GemRate.
CGC added that as part of the investigation it is requiring “all impacted cards” be returned to its headquarters for analysis, providing a list of certification numbers for 1,561 impacted cards yet to be returned. Some cards have already been returned for review, CGC said.
CGC worked with Takumi Akabane, one of the trading card game’s original designers, to identify a new series of little known prototypes and playtest cards created in the 1990s. These cards featured some of the first design iterations of what would become the original card game.
Further examination by a buyer of prototypes and playtest revealed some examples appear to have been printed in 2024 rather than the 1990s, indicating possible forgeries.
Multiple auction houses, which have previously sold prototypes and playtests, indicated they are also monitoring the CGC investigation. Fanatics Collects has preemptively removed active auctions for potentially impacted cards.
The highest public sale for a prototype or playtest card to date is the $204,000 paid for a 1995 Pokémon Alpha Prototype CGC 10 that sold at the Sotheby’s-Fanatics Collect “Holy Grails” auction in September.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.