Burger King Pokéball for Gold Trading Card with Certificate: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Special edition Pokémon pokéball originally contained a "special edition" gold trading card. The pokéball has molded legs on the bottom for support. The ball is white on the bottom half and the button is metallic red on the top half, and black along the opening seams and around the button. Pressing the button opens the object. Inside the object is a Certificate of Authenticity for a "#150 Mewtwo" trading card sealed within a plastic wrap. The original 23 karat Gold-Plated trading card is missing. The certificate has the "Official Nintendo Seal of Quality" and a printed signature of Nintendo of America's then chairman, Howard Lincoln. The back of the trading card suggests how to best preserve the trading card. This inscription is as follows: "This Pokémon Special Edition 23 karat Gold-Plated Trading Card has been produced to the highest standards for Nintendo of America. It is made from the highest quality alloy. To ensure lasting value, long life and beauty, we suggest that it remain in the clear cover in which it was delivered. Fingerprints and exposure to weather will cause the superb finish to tarnish." The maker field denotes the copyright holder.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1999
• maker: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
• Object Name: toy
• Physical Description: plastic (pokeball material)
• Physical Description: cardboard (trading card material)
• Measurements: pokéball: 3 3/4 in x 3 1/2 in x 4 1/4 in; 9.525 cm x 8.89 cm x 10.795 cm
• Measurements: trading card w/ wrap: 3 5/16 in x 2 in; 8.382 cm x 5.08 cm
• place made: China
• Associated Place: United States: Pennsylvania, Japan
• Associated Place: Japan
• ID Number: 2016.3016.14
• nonaccession number: 2016.3016
• catalog number: 2016.3016.14
• Credit Line: Judy Gradwohl
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.