Counterfeit Card Alert: Munch Mimikyu

In 2018, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park held an exhibition showing more than 60 paintings by Edvard Munch, including The Scream — one of the world’s most-famous works of art. To commemorate the exhibit, The Pokémon Company produced a set of five Pokémon promo cards inspired by The Scream. The set includes a Psyduck, Pikachu, Eevee, Rowlet and Mimikyu, and each card is highly sought after today.

A Mimikyu, Pokémon (2018) Japanese Sun & Moon Promos - 289/SM-P Munch: A Retrospective Campaign graded CGC Gem Mint 10. Click images to enlarge.

Recently, a purported example of a Munch Mimikyu was submitted to CGC for grading. Although the card at first glance looks very convincing, CGC’s graders noticed several inconsistencies with its coloring and ink layers that revealed its true origins. Comparing the fake side-by-side with an authentic example reveals that the colors are a bit brighter on the counterfeit, especially in the yellow areas.

The front of the fake Mimikyu (left) and a genuine example (right). Click images to enlarge.

More inconsistencies were revealed with the help of ultraviolet (UV) and infrared lighting. The white borders and text on the front of the fake Mimikyu are much brighter under UV lighting when compared to the genuine example. The same is true for the back — the Poké Ball and energy symbols are extremely bright on the fake. This is because the paper that the fake Mimikyu was printed on reacts more strongly to the UV lighting than genuine Pokémon cards printed in the factory.

The contrast under UV lighting makes the fake Mimikyu (left) look brighter than the genuine example (right). Click images to enlarge.

Meanwhile, infrared lighting shows that the word “Pokémon” above and below the Poké Ball on the genuine card are clearly visible, with much of the Poké Ball also visible. However, his isn’t the case for the counterfeit card. Instead, you can barely see the “Pokémon” logos on the fake, and the only visible portion of the Poké Ball is the black lining in the middle.

The fake Mimikyu (left) and a genuine example (right) under infrared lighting. Click images to enlarge.

It is extremely likely that the fake Mimikyu was printed on an offset printer: a printer that uses multiple plates each responsible for a different color to transfer images to a rubber “blanket”, which is then pressed onto a sheet of cards to create images. This is the same process used to print genuine Pokémon cards, which means that fakes of this type can be very deceptive.

It’s important to use caution when purchasing ungraded cards, especially elusive cards like the Munch Mimikyu promo. Every card certified by CGC is guaranteed to be authentic and not overgraded under the CGC Guarantee. For more information, go here.

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray and more. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services.