distinguishing German Unlimited 3rd Edition from 4th Edition
Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 4:27 pm
Some discoveries are made by occasion. Initiated by a request of a friend of mine to help him distinguish German Unlimited 3rd Edition cards from 4th Edition, I have taken a very close look at my stock of German cards from these two sets. Alerted by a statement I found in the internet about an oddity of lower-case characters (more of this in a minute), I am happy to announce that I indeed found a difference between both editions which apparently affects ALL cards: the exact placement of the card title name! When holding both variations next to each other, card titles from Unlimited 3rd Edition cards are placed a tiny bit lower than card titles from 4th Edition cards. As a consequence, the old question whether some cards from both editions are truly identical is finally answered and collectors will need to find both copies, if they intend to finish both editions. In summary with other, more apparent distinctions, if you wish to determine which of the both editions a card originates from, you can do the following:
1. Check both set lists. Many cards are only part of one edition.
2. Take a look at the lower-case letters "i", "j" in the card title. If their dot looks like a slash, the card is from 3rd Edition, if their dot is round, the card is from 4th Edition.
3. Take a look at the lower-case letters "ä", "ö", and "ü". If their dots are nicely centered above the letter, the card is from 3rd Edition, if their dots are slightly left-aligned, the card is from 4th Edition.
4. Take a look at the lower-case letter "ß". If the space between this letter and its preceding letter left from it is bigger than the space between other letters, the card is from 3rd Edition. If the space is similar to the space between other letters, the card is from 4th Edition.
5. For the remaining cards, take a look at the amount of space between the letters of the card title and the upper template border above and the upper art box border below. If the card title is aligned nearer to the art box, the card is from 3rd edition, if the card title is aligned nearer to the upper card border, the card is from 4th Edition. If the card title contains the lower-case letters "g", "p", or "q", then the determination is easier:
On 3rd Edition cards, the "g", "p", and "q" touch the upper art box border, while on 4th Edition cards, the "g", "p", and "q" float above the upper art box border.
For card titles without these letters, the exact card title placement is hard to determine, but possible, for example by direct visual comparison with a confirmed card.
There are other differences between cards from both editions, such as text box text, text box layout, and card title name, but they do not reveal which version is from which edition. Furthermore, cards from 3rd Edition have a slightly higher color saturation, are slightly darker (best seen on card template), and have a slightly higher contrast (best seen on card title letters) than cards from 4th Edition, however, due to print run variations, this is not a reliable distinction.
The above method to distinguish both editions might also be true for the Italian and French cards (although the French sets can almost completely be held apart by their copyright date). I can not confirm this yet.
Side note for all global set collectors: I still have some rare cards from both sets. Given the possibility to distinguish these cards now, I can trade or sell them to you. Just contact me.
1. Check both set lists. Many cards are only part of one edition.
2. Take a look at the lower-case letters "i", "j" in the card title. If their dot looks like a slash, the card is from 3rd Edition, if their dot is round, the card is from 4th Edition.
3. Take a look at the lower-case letters "ä", "ö", and "ü". If their dots are nicely centered above the letter, the card is from 3rd Edition, if their dots are slightly left-aligned, the card is from 4th Edition.
4. Take a look at the lower-case letter "ß". If the space between this letter and its preceding letter left from it is bigger than the space between other letters, the card is from 3rd Edition. If the space is similar to the space between other letters, the card is from 4th Edition.
5. For the remaining cards, take a look at the amount of space between the letters of the card title and the upper template border above and the upper art box border below. If the card title is aligned nearer to the art box, the card is from 3rd edition, if the card title is aligned nearer to the upper card border, the card is from 4th Edition. If the card title contains the lower-case letters "g", "p", or "q", then the determination is easier:
On 3rd Edition cards, the "g", "p", and "q" touch the upper art box border, while on 4th Edition cards, the "g", "p", and "q" float above the upper art box border.
For card titles without these letters, the exact card title placement is hard to determine, but possible, for example by direct visual comparison with a confirmed card.
There are other differences between cards from both editions, such as text box text, text box layout, and card title name, but they do not reveal which version is from which edition. Furthermore, cards from 3rd Edition have a slightly higher color saturation, are slightly darker (best seen on card template), and have a slightly higher contrast (best seen on card title letters) than cards from 4th Edition, however, due to print run variations, this is not a reliable distinction.
The above method to distinguish both editions might also be true for the Italian and French cards (although the French sets can almost completely be held apart by their copyright date). I can not confirm this yet.
Side note for all global set collectors: I still have some rare cards from both sets. Given the possibility to distinguish these cards now, I can trade or sell them to you. Just contact me.