Collector Discovers Unreleased Version of Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt in Historic Haul

Key Points:

• Jason Ganos, a Nintendo fan and website owner, discovered a box of 97 sealed, never-before-seen variant NES cartridges of Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt in a vintage collectibles shop in Waukesha, Wisconsin, after being asked to help sell old video games.
• The cartridges, manufactured in late 1993 and shipped in December 1995, featured unique bilingual back labels and manuals on the back of each cart, differing from any known copies, sparking interest from top grading companies who initially suspected they might be fake.
• PSA Games authenticated the cartridges, confirming all were genuine, with five achieving a perfect grade of 10—unprecedented for NES cartridges—and the entire collection was serialized and encapsulated, a first for the company.
• The pristine condition of the cartridges is attributed largely to each being individually bagged, preserving them from dust and wear, and their rarity and condition could value them in the four-to-five-figure dollar range.
• Three cartridges will be auctioned by Goldin Auctions starting August 12 through early September, with plans to possibly auction one for charity; Ganos expressed amazement at the discovery and its significance to Nintendo history.