Japanese Vending Series 1 (1998): all 36 cards with PSA prices — the blue sheet

Hi, this is Bunbun. This column covers Expansion Sheet vol. 1 (blue), known overseas as Vending Series 1. Instead of booster packs, these cards came as sheets of three that you peeled apart, sold from vending machines. It is a format unique to the old-back era.

What is it?

• Released on 23 March 1998, only through vending machines. Each sheet holds three cards.
• 36 cards: 34 Pokémon and 2 Trainers (Moon Stone and Fossil Excavation). No Energy cards.
• No holos. The only rarities are common and uncommon.
• The card stock is glossy, unlike the regular booster cards. Instead of a set symbol, each series is marked by a colour, and series 1 is blue.
• Cards are unnumbered; this site orders them by Pokédex number.
• It was followed by series 2 (red) and series 3 (green).

Highlights

• Snorlax: the most graded card in the series by total PSA population, and the card most associated with the vending sheets.
• Eevee: a common, but it has the largest PSA 10 population in the series, ahead of Snorlax. Many collectors pair it with the Jungle evolutions.
• Mewtwo and Pikachu: alternate artwork for two of the most popular Pokémon, both high in the population report.
• Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur: all three starters are here. Charmander has one of the larger PSA 10 populations in the set.
• Poliwrath: an uncommon with a sizeable graded population.

Reading the prices

• PSA 10 / PSA 9 below are the median of the latest confirmed sales (up to five).
• Vending cards are often sold as uncut three-card sheets, which are a different item from single peeled cards in slabs. The table here is for single cards.
• With no holos, price differences come down to the Pokémon’s popularity rather than rarity. For cards with few sales the number moves easily; check the date and source on the card’s price page.