- First given
- 1999Japan, with the film pamphlet
- Versions
- 6by copyright line and holo
- Record
- $19,800BGS 10 Black Label · May 2025
- English run
- 2–4Mestimate
Ancient Mew is a promo card printed in an invented runic script. Japan got it first, in July 1999, inside the pamphlet for the second Pokémon film, and the US got it with tickets to Pokémon: The Movie 2000. There are six versions, told apart by their copyright line and holo pattern. Raw English copies sell for about $100; the record is $19,800 for a BGS 10 Black Label.
Last updated . Prices include buyer's premium unless noted.
The card from the movie
In the second Pokémon film, the collector Lawrence III holds a mysterious Mew card printed in runes, and fans could hold the real thing.[4] In Japan it came inside the pamphlet for Revelation Lugia (幻のポケモン ルギア爆誕), sold in cinemas from July 1999 while stocks lasted. In the US it came sealed in cellophane with a teaser card, handed out with tickets in the first week of Pokémon: The Movie 2000. From the second week, moviegoers got Articuno, Zapdos or Moltres instead.[1][2]
The runes aren't decoration. The centre reads "New species". The original's bottom line reads roughly "Little God… or evil?", and the 2019 reprint changed it to "Something good… or evil?"[2]
All six, side by side
| Version | Holo | How to tell | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Japanese I, "Nintedo" error | Speckle | Copyright line misspelled: "© 1995, 1996, 1998 Nintedo/Creatures inc./GAMEFREAK inc." | Jul 1999, film pamphlet [1] |
| 2. Japanese I, corrected | Speckle | Same print with "Nintendo" spelled correctly. The hardest Japanese version to find. | 1999 [1] |
| 3. Japanese II | Cosmos | Japanese text with the cosmos holo pattern | Later Japanese print [1] |
| 4. International (English) | Cosmos | "© 1995, 96, 98, 99 Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK. © 1999-2000 Wizards." | Jul 2000, US cinemas [1] |
| 5. 2019 Japanese reprint | — | Copyright "© 2019 Pokémon/…"; a different bottom line of runes | 12 Jul 2019, Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution [1][2] |
| 6. 2020 Korean | — | Copyright "© 2020" | 30 Sep 2020 [1] |
The copyright line at the bottom of the card is the fastest way to tell the versions apart.
Version 2, the corrected Japanese first print, is the one collectors find hardest to track down.[1] One more oddity: on 26 July 2019, Japan made Ancient Mew legal in tournaments, with one condition. Its back is different from every other card, so players must use opaque sleeves.[3]
Millions, but not all equal
Nobody has published a print run. Den of Geek estimates 2 to 4 million English copies, worked out from opening-week ticket sales.[7] CGC had graded 9,496 by April 2023, only 47 of them Pristine 10 and 6 Perfect 10.[4] That gap is why condition matters more than rarity here: plenty of copies exist, but very few are flawless.
What each version is worth
| Version and grade | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Any version, BGS 10 Black Label (record) | $19,800 | Sale, Fanatics Collect, May 2025 [5] |
| English, raw | ~$100 | Price guide, Oct 2026 [6] |
| English, PSA 9 | ~$200 | Price guide, Oct 2026 [6] |
| English, PSA 10 | ~$3,000 | Price guide, Oct 2026 [6] |
| English, CGC Pristine 10 | ~$2,310 | Price guide, Oct 2026 [6] |
Guide values are estimates from recent sales, not single sales.
Sealed copies are a collecting niche of their own: the US cellophane pack with its teaser card, and an Australian pack that came with a Game Boy Color insert.[8]
How to tell a real one
Read the copyright line first: it tells you which version you have and catches most fakes at once. Beyond that, fakes tend to have the wrong "fingerprint" in the cosmos holo, a surface that's too matte, and blurry fonts.[9]
What to search for in Japan
Finding the Japanese firsts
English copies are easy to buy anywhere. The Japanese 1999 prints, especially the corrected first print and complete pamphlets with the card still inside, mostly turn up in Japan. Tell us which version and grade you want.
