The Pokémon Trading Card Game took the world by storm back in the late 1990s, especially with its very first set called the Base Set. This set kicked off everything, introducing fans to over a hundred cards featuring beloved Pokémon like Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur. But within the Base Set, there were different versions of prints, each one a snapshot of how Wizards of the Coast, the original English publisher, kept up with huge demand. People often talk about the 1st Edition prints, the Shadowless prints, and then the Unlimited prints that came later. The question of when the 4th print of this Base Set hit the market gets collectors excited because it ties into rarity, value, and a bit of printing history from 1999 into 2000.
To understand the 4th print, you first need to know how printing worked back then. Wizards of the Coast released the Base Set in January 1999. The very first batch was the 1st Edition, marked with a stamp on certain cards to show it was the initial run. Demand exploded fast because Pokémon was everywhere—on TV, in video games, and now in cards. So they quickly printed more. The next major wave dropped the 1st Edition stamp and went “Shadowless,” meaning no shadow under the character art on the right side of the card. These Shadowless cards are super sought after today because fewer were made before they switched to the standard Unlimited format, where the shadow returned and print runs got massive.
The Unlimited prints kept coming as stock sold out in stores across the US, Canada, Europe, and beyond. Sources from collector sites and price trackers like PriceCharting list specific cards from the Base Set with a “4th Print” label dated to 1999. For example, a Caterpie card numbered 45/102 is called out as Base Set 4th Print 1999 in sales records, with prices for graded versions hitting $75 or more for top condition ones. These listings confirm the cards themselves carry a 1999 copyright or print indicator, tying them firmly to that year. Bulbapedia, a go-to encyclopedia for Pokémon TCG details run by dedicated fans and researchers, notes that the “4th issue” or 4th print Unlimited cards followed the rarer 1st Edition and Shadowless ones, making them more common but still vintage.
Digging deeper, the 4th print wasn’t a single big release date like a new expansion. Instead, it was part of ongoing production runs throughout 1999 to meet skyrocketing sales. Wizards printed Base Set cards in waves—1st print in early 1999, Shadowless shortly after, then Unlimited starting mid-year, with the 4th print emerging late 1999. Auction records on sites like eBay, tracked by PriceCharting, show 4th Print Base Set cards from 1999-2000 popping up consistently, like a PSA 7 graded Caterpie from that era sold for around $6 to $15 in recent years. This lines up with how print runs worked: each “print” was a batch from the presses, numbered sequentially on the cards or in fine print details that collectors spot under magnification.
In some regions, like the UK, the 4th print run had unique tweaks. Bulbapedia points out error corrections specific to the UK 1999-2000 4th print of Base Set cards, fixing things like text mistakes on cards such as Imposter Professor Oak. This version was released exclusively there, showing how Wizards tailored prints for different markets while keeping the core 1999 timeline. No exact day or month stands out universally because production was ramping up non-stop—think factories churning out booster packs weekly to fill shelves at places like Walmart and Toys R Us.
Why does the 4th print matter so much now? Rarity plays a huge role. While Unlimited prints overall are common, later prints within Unlimited, like the 4th, had subtle differences in card stock, centering, or even slight color shifts that hardcore graders notice. A 1999 4th Print Charizard from Base Set Unlimited might not fetch the $200,000-plus of a 1st Edition, but graded gems still go for thousands. PriceCharting data shows Base Set 2 Charizard sales in the $4,000 to $12,000 range for PSA 10s, and while that’s Base Set 2, it reflects the value bleed-over from original Base Set prints. Collectors hunt 4th Prints for complete sets because they’re from that pure 1999 era before Base Set 2 came out in February 2000 as a reprint compilation.
Speaking of Base Set 2, some folks mix it up with the 4th print. Wikipedia’s list of Pokémon TCG sets clarifies Base Set 2 as the fourth expansion overall, released February 24, 2000, with 130 cards pulled from earlier sets—no new ones, no 1st Edition stamp, just a Poké Ball with a 2 symbol. It’s not the 4th print of the original Base Set; it’s a whole separate product to keep the hype going after Jungle and Fossil expansions. Wargamer’s timeline of all sets confirms the original Base Set timeline ends in 1999 prints, with later stuff like EX series starting in 2003. The 4th print stays rooted in 1999, predating Base Set 2.
Production details from collector blogs like Kanto Shark highlight how Wizards tested and printed early sets like Jungle in 1999, mirroring Base Set’s frenzy. Test prints and errors got ironed out by the 4th run, making it cleaner. By late 1999, Wizards was printing millions of Base Set packs, but the 4th print batch stood out for balancing supply without flooding the market too much—enough to get cards into kids’ hands but not so many that they’d lose that fresh-out-the-booster feel.
Fast forward to today, and the 4th print’s legacy lives in the secondary market. Sites tracking sales show steady demand: a 2024 eBay sale of a 4th Print Caterpie PSA 7 at $6.84, or higher grades pushing $75. These aren’t flukes; they’re from cards marked explicitly as 1999 4th Print Base Set. Videos and forums buzz about spotting them—look for the copyright line saying ©1999 Wizards of the Coast, no shadows on holos sometimes lingering from prior runs, and that telltale print numbering only visible to experts.
The Pokémon boom hit peak fever in 1999, with Base Set prints flying off shelves. Kids traded them at school, parents hunted boosters at midnight releases, and Wizards couldn’t print fast enough. The 4th print captured that moment—late 1999, when Pokémon was cultural lightning. It bridged the gap to 2000, right before Nintendo took over publishing from Wizards in 2003. Even now, opening a sealed 4th Print pack feels like time travel.
Grading companies like PSA and CGC authenticate these, boosting values. A raw 4th Print common might cost $1-5, but holos like Machamp or Dugtrio climb to
