In 2021, CGC Trading Cards® certified one of the only known examples of a Growlithe Pokémon card from the 1999 German Base Set with a Magic: The Gathering back. Later, CGC Trading Cards would also certify a Nidoran ♂ from the same set, also with a Magic back. The Nidoran ♂ graded CGC 7.5 with subgrades of 9 for Centering, 8 for Surface, 7.5 for Corners and 7.5 for Edges was offered in a recent Goldin auction, where it realized an impressive $15,600 on December 28, 2022.
Wizards of the Coast (WotC) began releasing international versions of the Pokémon Trading Card Game to regions outside of Japan in 1999. The printing company was also producing Magic: The Gathering cards, which led to a few mix-ups during production and release. Some Pokémon cards ended up in the wrong printers, leading to cards like this Nidoran ♂ ending up with a Magic backing.
Upon discovering that these cards were erroneously printed, WotC destroyed many of the examples. However, some of them escaped destruction and ended up in German Base Set booster packs.
Other cards with the wrong game’s backing printed on the card have been discovered and graded by CGC Trading Cards, such as a Magic: The Gathering card with a Harry Potter back and another with a mismatched Wyvern back. For more information about this error variant, check out the CGC Trading Cards Error Guide.
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Prices realized include a buyer's premium.