"Ice Age Glossy Serie" (The Truth is out There) Up

Everything that's missing in the Magic Rarities, Magic Card Sets, Magic Memorabilia and Magazine and Comics Galleries Sections.

Moderators: cataclysm80, hammr7, l0qii, Apocalypse2K, berkumps, dragsamou, mystical_tutor, pp

Post Reply
User avatar
MAGICSALEMAN
Legendary Bel Old Guru
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:15 pm
Location: Europe
Contact:

"Ice Age Glossy Serie" (The Truth is out There) Up

Post by MAGICSALEMAN » Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:49 am

Hi Guys !

So...

If you have read this post :

http://www.magiclibrarities.net/forum/v ... php?t=9424
and older ones in Magic Librarities and rumours, I can now explain a little bit this famous "case".
It's of course some speculations about some facts but if got some in my hand so I will try resume you the following things :...

Everyone knows the 4th Alternate cards tested by Wotc and printed in early 1995 with the United States Playing cards corporation...
Here's the internal informations link for it :

http://www.magiclibrarities.net/720-rar ... index.html

Production was stopped due to the quality type of cards (too Glossy, to thick etc...), a little bit like Revised Summer dated 1994 but for other reasons.
4Th Alternate exist only as Starter Decks.

So for now me .... that's the same case for Ice Age (same period).
Wotc at the same period has try to produce the same kind of cards but with Carta Mundi Belgium.
Perhaps to compare the both entreprise for quality, cost etc...
What's happen so ?

4th Alternate Starter Deck production was stopped as well as the first "shot" production of the Ice Age Starter deck by Carta Mundi due to the US "bad" quality result.

That explain the fact that they are 2 differents Ice Age Starter Deck (Same ISBN : 1-880992-64.7 (WOTC Product WOC6506) but :

- For one there's the presence of the old Garfield Games Logo, starter Deck price USD 7.95.

- Fo the other one, no Garfield Games Logo and price USD 8.95.

I think but not sure that the Glossy Ice Age deck are the one with the Old Garfield Logo....

For his distribution, it's seems to be, perhaps stupid, but got some of them and I have only find them in some Belgium collector's collection or my own box of wines ... (I classify my cards in Wood Wine boxes) .

At this Level of course if the production was stopped it's possible that thoses Starter deck are only present on the European ground mainly Belgium because... Carta Mundi "quick" distribution.

I could explain this... because I have sell Ice Age on his time in shop and Ice Age was available from memory before in Europe and a few after on the other markets.

So whats the "Egg Chicken Color in the forest of the big beasts" :

The cards are not so easy to find if I compare with the 4th Alternate.

- The Glossy quality in a certain way is "beter" (so hard to see), the cards are slightly thicker. The Glossy Black cards are more easy to see.
You must play with a good light and compare a bunch of Ice Age cards.
Like a enchantment the glossy ones will appear from themselves.

I don't have tested them for the moment under UV lights.

I can notify as well that some Glossy cards owns printed or handwrited numbers on them (first board printing I think so perhaps done as tested cards).

For the Starter Deck cards containing it's random like the boosters :
3 Rares, 9 Uncommons, 26 Commons and 22 Lands.

It means of course that you have bunch of chance to find Ice Age Glossy common cards but Rare Glossy will be of course more difficult to find....
Logic....

That's all Folks !

Thanks for the guys that have help me in my other post to have a generel basic history of "The Truth is out there" but perhaps ... here.

And already best wishes for this end of year !

Cheers

Eric

User avatar
dragsamou
Administrator
Posts: 5806
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2003 1:17 pm
Location: Paris

Post by dragsamou » Wed Dec 10, 2014 11:56 am

Hi Eric

Interesting, but I don't agree with that theory:

Ice Age cards were not printed in USA by Shepard Poorman Corp. They were printed by Carta Mundi in Belgium and by WOTC printing facility.

The Price changed has nothing to do with that:

*Magic's first price increase took effect in September 1995. In a letter to retailers, Peter Adkison announced the increase, which affected three sets in print at the time. Prior to this, Ice Age and Fourth Edition starter decks were $7.95 and booster packs were $2.45. Chronicles packs were $2.25.



Things in life rarely remain the same. When _Magic: The Gathering(TM)_
was first released in August of 1993, no one knew how much it would
change our industry. It wasn't so long ago that we were five people
working out of a basement.

Things in business are a lot like life. Since our game¹s release, we¹ve
experienced increases in paper prices and printing costs, and a dramatic
fall of the U.S. dollar in the international market. After two years,
the _Magic: The Gathering(TM)_ product line will have its first price
increase.

Effective with all orders shipping in September, our suggested retail is:

_Magic: The Gathering‹4th Edition(TM)_
Starter Deck $8.95 Starter Deck Display $89.50
Booster Pack $2.95 Booster Pack Display $106.20

_Magic: The Gathering‹Ice Age(TM)_
Starter Deck $8.95 Starter Deck Display $89.50
Booster Pack $2.95 Booster Pack Display $106.20

_Magic: The Gathering‹Chronicles(TM)_
Booster Pack $2.45 Booster Pack Display $110.25

One thing in our lives will never change: the success of Wizards of
the Coast, Inc., results from our efforts together. Thank you for
your hard work and continued support.

Sincerely,
Peter Adkison
President & Janitor
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Want/Have Lists.
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8903
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1515
I Love you Dad.R.I.P.

User avatar
MAGICSALEMAN
Legendary Bel Old Guru
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:15 pm
Location: Europe
Contact:

Post by MAGICSALEMAN » Wed Dec 10, 2014 12:13 pm

Yes Ice Age were printed by Carta Mundi.
Where have I write that no ?!!
I will re - check A. ^^

Yes ok for the different prices that can happen but when you make a re-print they change sometimes some things ... so possible that the second print was the normal ones.

Just speculations of course.... :wink:

User avatar
dragsamou
Administrator
Posts: 5806
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2003 1:17 pm
Location: Paris

Post by dragsamou » Wed Dec 10, 2014 12:50 pm

MAGICSALEMAN wrote:Yes Ice Age were printed by Carta Mundi.
Where have I write that no ?!!
I will re - check A. ^^

Yes ok for the different prices that can happen but when you make a re-print they change sometimes some things ... so possible that the second print was the normal ones.

Just speculations of course.... :wink:
Eric

I do own so many Ice Age cards both from the US and Belgium, coming from Booster Boxes, and Starter Decks, and so many printing, color variations on so many cards, blue, grey borders, etc...The list will be too long to make.
Want/Have Lists.
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8903
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1515
I Love you Dad.R.I.P.

User avatar
MAGICSALEMAN
Legendary Bel Old Guru
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:15 pm
Location: Europe
Contact:

Post by MAGICSALEMAN » Wed Dec 10, 2014 1:31 pm

Alexis,

Don't understand ... I just said just that the Glossy Ice Age are logicaly issued from those "special" Starter Deck.
Those glossy are really glossy, I don't talk about color variations etc... just quality card made as a special printing like 4th. :-\'

User avatar
berkumps
Legendary AA Coffin Puppet Master
Posts: 2192
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:56 am
Location: Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Post by berkumps » Wed Dec 10, 2014 3:02 pm

I took a video some time ago of me opening different variations of Ice Age starter decks in the search for the glossy variaton, as I was planning on putting a glossy Ice Age set together. I'll see if i can find the video, but to sum up my findings:

Starter deck with gold pull strip, Garfield Games logo and $7.95 pricing does not contain any glossy ice age cards.

Starter deck with silver pull strip and $8.95 pricing has two variations that I've found, and these variations can be distinguished based on the location of the silver pull strip.

One has the pull strip close to the top, the other has it further down closer to the middle of the deck. I can't remember specifically which deck contained what, but if I remember correctly (and I'll have to watch the video to confirm once I find it), in one of the decks all of the cards were glossy, whereas in the other deck, only the commons were.

I'm fairly certain the glossy ice age cards are just representative of a separate printing (or a portion of a separate printing). Since none of the decks that I've opened with Garfield Games logo and $7.95 pricing have had any glossy cards, I'm fairly confident that the first Ice Age printing did not have this quality difference.

Also, the glossy ice age cards are not overly rare. In a monster box of 5000 Ice Age commons I got in a collection, one third of them were glossy. I also have a few hundred glossy uncommons, and 50-100 glossy rares.

User avatar
MAGICSALEMAN
Legendary Bel Old Guru
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:15 pm
Location: Europe
Contact:

Post by MAGICSALEMAN » Wed Dec 10, 2014 4:18 pm

Yep can be the case of a other certain kind of Ice Age Starter deck of course.
That's was a speculation....

The location of this Silver Pull strip can explain that only one production "shot" is affected.
If I check my Ice Age cards stock I'll say that round max 5 % of them are glossy.
Got them mainly from bying in my country....
Separate printing same period has 4th Alternate.
Common not so rare of course logic.

The best to do is to open regular boosters to have a better fixed idea of course and that an be only done with the time.....


:-\'

User avatar
mystical_tutor
Legendary Old Fart Magic Player
Posts: 3056
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:02 am
Location: Colorado Springs

Post by mystical_tutor » Thu Dec 11, 2014 12:00 am

Man that is all very interesting... I need to go dig out my unopened boxes of IA and see what the prices are, etc. I was in Korea at the time and did not have continued access to this or other web sites so i never saw Alexis's vidio.

Another thing to try and figure out.

Thanks to both of you for the information as i don't think I even know what a "glossy" IA card looks like..... LOL.

Gary

OH, and Alexis, thanks much for reprinting the letter. If you have an original I would really like a scan of it as my son's signature block has been speculated on a few times and this nails down the "janitor" title.

G
Gary Adkison
Father of a former Wizards of the Coast janitor.

Knowledge is proud because it thinks it knows so much; wisdom is humble because it realizes it knows so little.

User avatar
dragsamou
Administrator
Posts: 5806
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2003 1:17 pm
Location: Paris

Post by dragsamou » Thu Dec 11, 2014 2:54 pm

mystical_tutor wrote: so i never saw Alexis's vidio.


OH, and Alexis, thanks much for reprinting the letter. If you have an original I would really like a scan of it as my son's signature block has been speculated on a few times and this nails down the "janitor" title.

G
Hi Gary

The video's is not me but Mark :wink: I do not own the Original letter, I grabbed the info from the internet, as I needed it to look for the Different Sealed Starters (Ice Age and 4Th Edition) and the Chronicles Booster (But no price is showing on those). I can complete with more, but that I don't collect:


September 1998

With the release of Urza's Saga, prices were raised and distribution of cards was changed. Tournament decks now included 75 cards, replacing what used to be 60-card "starter" decks. The number of rare cards in the preconstructed theme decks was reduced from 3 to 2, and the number of uncommon cards increased from 9 to 13.
Tournament decks - $9.99
Theme decks - $9.99

October 1999

Dear Magic Community:

Wizards of the Coast will increase the price of future Magic: The Gathering(R)
expert-level expansion set booster packs from $2.99 to $3.29 beginning with the
October 4, 1999 release of the Mercadian Masques(TM) card set. This is the
first meaningful price increase for Magic(R) booster packs since 1995 and is a
result of increases in production costs over the past five years. We value our
players and are continually working to deliver the highest quality Magic products
at a reasonable price. Prices for other expert-level products and all starter-
and advanced-level Magic: The Gathering products are not being increased.

Thank you,

Joe Hauck
Associate Brand Manager
Magic: The Gathering
Booster packs - $3.29
Fat packs - $24.99

January 2004

WotC Vice President of Sales, Mark Jordan, informed all premiere stores that, as of 15 January 2004, prices for packs would increase.
Tournament decks - $11.29
Booster packs - $3.69
Theme decks - $11.29

September 2006

From Wizards Announces Price Change (August 22, 2006), effective September 22 (paper products) and October 6 (Magic Online).
Tournament decks - $12.29
Booster packs - $3.99
Theme decks - $12.29 (excluding 9th Edition Core Set Theme Decks)
Fat Packs - $34.99
Want/Have Lists.
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8903
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1515
I Love you Dad.R.I.P.

cataclysm80
Librarities Legend
Posts: 709
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:09 pm
Location: Florida

Post by cataclysm80 » Tue Dec 16, 2014 7:16 pm

Ice Age full sheets also have more than one layout design.
Same cards on the sheet, but arranged differently.

Presumably this change happened between printings, but it doesn't have to be at the same time as the price change.

Tav

Neuron
Legendary Print Variant Explorer
Posts: 338
Joined: Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:57 am

Post by Neuron » Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:25 pm

To those who own a lot of cards: How many regular print variants do you have?

As yet, I know 9-10 not counting blue/grey or whatever border inking errors.
I'm convinced that there were two plates involved in at least three print runs, what made end up one version with the black dot on the back, and the other without. From one card I have five with dot and five without, six of them can be paired, so maybe there are four more. The glossy version exists with and without dot, too.
http://magiclibrarities.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9593

axlk69
Member
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:34 am
Location: Austria

Re: "Ice Age Glossy Serie" (The Truth is out There) Up

Post by axlk69 » Sat May 21, 2016 8:22 am

The glossy version also exists on Alliances.
Sorry, my English might be sometimes incorrect.
Ask, if you don´t understand thing I´ll write

User avatar
MAGICSALEMAN
Legendary Bel Old Guru
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:15 pm
Location: Europe
Contact:

Re: "Ice Age Glossy Serie" (The Truth is out There) Up

Post by MAGICSALEMAN » Thu Feb 16, 2017 12:50 pm

Sorry for the delay ..... :-({|=
For Alliances it's more color variations. There's no glossy cards in.
Not the same period as the 4th Alternate.

cataclysm80
Librarities Legend
Posts: 709
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:09 pm
Location: Florida

Re: "Ice Age Glossy Serie" (The Truth is out There) Up

Post by cataclysm80 » Sun Oct 22, 2017 8:45 pm

You should light test the glossy cards and see if they are black core cardstock instead of blue core cardstock.
I've seen rip tests of glossy Ice Age that have black core cardstock. These are presumable printed in the USA like the other black core cardstock cards from Shepard Poorman.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 22 guests