The Pokémon trading card game was in its infancy in 1999 when Wizards of the Coast released the Jungle set. The Base set, which was the first set of Pokémon cards released in the US, had appeared just five month earlier. Eevee, a franchise favorite, appeared on a card for the first time as part of the Jungle set. And you could purchase a Jungle Unlimited booster box for about $100.
Fast forward to 2022 and a lot has changed in the world of Pokémon. The franchise recently released its 91st set of cards. Eevee has appeared on Pokémon cards 57 times. And a Jungle Unlimited booster box, if you can find one, will cost you between $5,000 and $7,000.
CGC Trading Cards™ recently certified an entire Jungle Unlimited booster box that was opened by Austin Lee “Chumlee” Russel from the hit reality TV show Pawn Stars during a “box break” video. CGC Trading Cards Senior Grading Finalizer Matt Quinn sat with Chumlee at the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop as the box was opened and a host of historic cards were revealed. Watch the entire video below.
The box break video featuring Chumlee and Matt Quinn not only allows viewers the opportunity to experience the suspense and excitement of looking for and finding sought-after cards, but also provides valuable commentary from Quinn on Pokémon cards and the grading process. He explains some of the problems with early Wizards of the Coast cards, provides expert guidance on spotting a fake card and explains why wearing gloves is not the best way to open packs.
Among the top cards to be pulled from the box were Eeveelutions cards, which are the evolved forms of the Eevee Pokémon. A Vaporeon Eeveelution was graded CGC 9.5 and a Jolteon Eeveelution was graded CGC 9. Both of the cards were holofoil cards, which are rare versions of cards that incorporate a layer of foil to enhance the cards’ art. The Jungle set’s rare cards, which make up the first 32 cards of the 64 card set, appear in both holofoil and non-holofoil versions. A non-holofoil version of the Flareon Eeveelution card pulled from the box was graded CGC 9.5.
Other top cards included a Nidoqeen holofoil, which was graded CGC 9.5, a Wigglytuff holofoil, which was graded CGC 9.5, and a Rapidash, which graded CGC 9.5.
Finally, three cards from the box featuring iconic Pokémon characters were graded CGC Pristine 10: a Pikachu card, an Eevee card, and a Jigglypuff card.
Cards from the first-edition printing of the Jungle set include a first-edition stamp on the center-left of the front of the card. The box opened by Chumlee was an Unlimited set, which removed the first-edition stamp.
Each of the cards from the box was encapsulated with a custom pedigree label that includes the name of the “World Famous Gold and Silver Pawnshop” as well as Chumlee’s authenticated hand-signed autograph. Many of the cards are available for purchase on the Gold and Silver Pawnshop website at gspawn.com.
