Pokémon Expedition and Aquapolis — Eight Graded Holos, Italian

Eight holographic cards from the closing chapter of the Wizards of the Coast era, all in the Italian printing and all certified by Beckett between grade 9 and BGS 9.5 GEM MINT. Expedition arrived in 2002 and Aquapolis in 2003, the two expansions that carried the e-Reader into the game before production moved on to the EX series and the card stock, the foiling and the print runs changed for good.

The selection opens with the Alakazam Holo from Expedition at BGS 9, with subgrades of 9.5 for edges and corners, and continues through seven Aquapolis holos: Ampharos at 9, then Steelix, Nidoking, Scizor, Lanturn, Tentacruel and Hypno, each at 9.5. Six of the eight reach gem mint, a proportion that is unusual for vintage holos of this period.

Italian cards from these sets survived in materially smaller numbers than their English equivalents, and certified examples in this condition are offered rarely at all. Assembled as a group, the lot reads as a compact survey of the e-Card aesthetic at its most accomplished — bright foil, restrained illustration, and the particular seriousness of late Wizards design.