Japanese Vending Series 1

What Japanese Vending Series 1 is

Vending Series 1 is the first run of the Japanese Expansion Sheet cards, released on March 23, 1998. Instead of booster packs, the cards came on randomized peel off sheets sold from vending machines, which is why collectors call them the Vending Machine Series. The blue Series 1 run has 18 numbered sheets of three cards each, sold with cardboard damage counters and coins, and each sheet always carries the same three cards, so sheet 12 always holds Chansey, Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ and collecting all 18 sheets completes the set with a few duplicate commons. Its 36 cards run from Bulbasaur, Caterpie and Weedle through Pikachu, Mewtwo, Chansey and Eevee to Snorlax, with the Trainers Moon Stone and Fossil Excavation, and the reverse of each sheet shows Pokémon from six Kanto locations.

What makes Japanese Vending Series 1 different

• Snorlax, Mewtwo and Pikachu The Series 1 Snorlax 143 is the highest ranked card of the blue run in PSA 10, with Mewtwo 150, Pikachu 25 and Chansey 113 behind it, all tracked above most Series 2 and Series 3 cards.
• Glossy stock Vending cards were printed on glossy card stock rather than the regular matte stock, so surface scratches show readily and PSA 10 copies are scarce.

Collecting and grading Japanese Vending Series 1

Among the Series 1 cards, Snorlax 143 ranks highest in PSA 10, then Mewtwo 150, Pikachu 25 and Chansey 113, behind the Masaki promo holofoils that share the hub. The live chase list above ranks every tracked card by PSA 10 value. The hub tracks vending cards by National Pokédex number in one checklist shared across all three series and the Masaki promos, so check the sheet color when buying: Series 1 sheets are blue.