'We Were Shocked' — Collector Discovers Unreleased Version of Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt in Historic Haul - ign.com

What the report says

IGN reported that a cache of 97 previously undistributed NES cartridges combining Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt was found after collector Jason Ganos helped Waukesha, Wisconsin, shop owner Kevin Braun assess old video game stock. Braun, who runs the vintage collectibles store OneStopWonders, said the box had been in storage for years after it was brought in by a seller whose account linked it to a precious-metal recovery service. IGN described that origin story as unverified through the seller’s claims, but said the contents proved extraordinary.

The box was labeled for 100 copies and carried a shipping date of December 1, 1995, according to IGN. Inside were 97 individually bagged cartridges, each with a manual attached to the back. Ganos initially expected a common pack-in title, but collector reaction and details on the labels, manuals and circuit boards suggested the items might be an unknown variant. He then contacted PSA for authentication and flew the cartridges to California.

PSA Games confirmed the cartridges as legitimate, IGN reported. The grading company serialized the group and used a new encapsulation approach to preserve each cartridge with its manual. PSA’s grading breakdown was 60 at 9.8, 31 at 9.6, five at a perfect 10, and one at 9.4. IGN said those 10s were the first perfect grades PSA had assigned to NES cartridges.

The discovery matters because Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt is usually known as a massively distributed NES bundle game, not a rare unreleased variant. PSA’s Claire Shelton told IGN the bilingual back label, attached manuals, late manufacturing indicators and apparently unopened condition made the group unusual. She also said the protective bagging likely helped preserve the cartridges, while estimating their value could begin in the multiple-thousands range, though no confirmed sale price was reported.