Ancient Mew Card Variants Explained: Nintedo Error, Ancient Mew II, English and Reprints (and What Each Is Worth)

Quick Facts

• Six versions exist: three 1999 Japanese prints, the 2000 English card, a 2019 Japanese reprint and a 2020 Korean print, per Bulbapedia.
• Two checks identify any copy: the copyright line at the bottom and the holo pattern behind Mew.
• The English card is the common one: PSA had graded 26,918 English copies at PSA 9 as of about 19 October 2026.
• The top earner is the Japanese "Nintedo" error: a $5,150 median in PSA 10 (18 sales, 90 days to 26 October 2026).
• The runes are readable: they spell English words, including "New Species."
• The 1998 Meiji "Ancient Mew" is a different card: a chocolate-box promo, not one of the movie cards.

If you saw Pokémon the Movie 2000 in a US theater during its opening week in July 2000, you probably walked out with a gold-bordered Mew covered in runes. That's the Ancient Mew card. Yours is almost certainly the English print, which is common. But five other versions exist, two of them misread constantly, and the price gap between them runs into thousands of dollars at the top grade. Here's how to tell which one you hold in about 30 seconds, and what each is worth right now.

Every Ancient Mew Variant at a Glance

Release dates, holo types and the Wizards credit are from Bulbapedia. The 2019 and 2020 copyright lines match the version table kept by Elite Fourum collector shadowcardcollector.

Speckle means a dense, even sparkle with no shapes in it. Cosmos means scattered orbs and swirls.

How to Identify Your Ancient Mew in 30 Seconds

You need good light and, ideally, a phone camera zoomed in on the bottom edge.

1. Read the copyright line.
   • Mentions Wizards? You have the English/international card. Stop here.
   • Starts ©️2019? Japanese 2019 reprint.
   • Starts ©️2020? Korean print.
   • Shows the 1995, 1996, 1998 dates and reads "Nintedo"? Japanese Ancient Mew I, error print.
   • Same dates, "Nintendo" spelled correctly, no Wizards credit? It's one of two Japanese 1999 prints. Go to step 2.
2. Tilt the card and look at the holo.
   • Speckle: Japanese Ancient Mew I, corrected.
   • Cosmos: Japanese Ancient Mew II.

That's the whole decision tree. One trap: the Japanese Ancient Mew II and the English card share the cosmos holo. Bulbapedia notes that the English print sets its copyright in a different font, adds the Wizards credit, and has a wider border whose pattern stops short of the card edge. The Wizards credit is the fastest tell.

The Nintedo Error

The first Japanese print misspells Nintendo as "Nintedo" in the copyright line. Bulbapedia confirms it carries the speckle holo, and that a corrected print followed with the same speckle holo. That's why the spelling, not the holo, separates them. If you collect misprints, the Nintedo is one of the best-known vintage examples, and it sits naturally alongside the cards in our vintage Pokémon error cards guide.

All three 1999 prints came inside the Japanese pamphlet for the second movie, sold at cinemas from 17 July 1999. Because the card sits inside the pamphlet, a sealed one gives no clue which print it holds.

Error or corrected: which is rarer?

Guides disagree. Poke Master Center calls the corrected print significantly rarer, but cites no print or population data. Here's what can actually be checked:

• Bulbapedia says the corrected print was released for only a very brief time.
• PSA tracks the two separately. PSA population figures shown on eBay listings put the corrected print at 1,352 graded copies (231 PSA 10s) in April 2026, and the error at 6,270 graded copies in June 2026.

Both point the same way: the corrected print looks scarcer. But nobody has published a print run, and graded counts measure what collectors chose to submit, not what was printed. The error is the famous one, so more people send it in. Our read: likely the corrected, not proven.

We don't quote a price for the corrected print. In sold-listing data its sales are mixed with 2019 reprints and listings that don't say which version they are, so no clean median exists.

Ancient Mew II

The third Japanese print switched to the cosmos holo used on the English card, with the copyright spelled correctly and no Wizards credit, per Bulbapedia. Collectors call it Ancient Mew II. It's the most commonly sold Japanese version and the cheapest raw (see the price table below). If you're shopping for one from Japan, our guide on how to buy Pokémon cards from Japan covers proxies and shipping, and our early Japanese Pokémon cards guide covers the era it came from.

The English Movie 2000 Card (and Regional Versions)

Per Bulbapedia, the English card was given out with tickets at participating theaters during the first week of the film's run, sealed in a plastic wrapper with a teaser card for the Pokémon League. After that week, theaters switched to Moltres, Articuno or Zapdos. The US release opened 21 July 2000.

It's the common Ancient Mew. PSA's population tells the story: 26,918 PSA 9s and 19,367 PSA 8s as of about 19 October 2026.

Regional versions. The card itself is the same international print everywhere. What changed by country was the insert sealed with it. Elite Fourum collectors have documented sealed copies with US, UK, Australian, Danish, German, French and Italian inserts, and photos of Norwegian and Swedish ones. One member notes two US inserts exist, one with a Pokémon League logo. A Norwegian collector there calls the Nordic versions the hardest to find. These matter only if your card is still sealed: once opened, a Danish card and a US card are identical.

The 2019 Reprint (and Other Lookalikes)

2019 Japanese reprint. Bulbapedia records it in pamphlets for Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution from 12 July 2019, with the speckle holo and a 2019 copyright. The rune text was changed too (see the FAQ). Speckle holo plus a 2019 date makes it easy to confuse with a 1999 Ancient Mew I at a glance. Read the date.

2020 Korean print. Released in South Korea from 30 September 2020, again speckle holo, with a 2020 copyright (Bulbapedia). An Elite Fourum collector, citing an official Korean announcement, reports a limit of 30,000 copies. We couldn't view that announcement ourselves, so treat the figure as reported.

1998 Meiji "Ancient Mew." Bulbapedia lists a 48-card Meiji set released in Japanese chocolate boxes in 1998, and PSA files the Ancient Mew from it as a non-sport card (1998 Meiji Promo #3). It isn't a TCG card and isn't one of the six movie versions. If yours has no attack text or HP, check whether it's this.

What Is Ancient Mew Worth?

Median prices from eBay sold data, 90 days to 26 October 2026. Sale counts in brackets.

Why an English PSA 10 sells for about 12 times a PSA 9. It's supply. As of about 19 October 2026, PSA had graded 3,724 English copies at PSA 10 against 26,918 at PSA 9, 19,367 at PSA 8 and 7,663 at PSA 7. Of all the English copies PSA has graded 7 or higher, about 6.5% made it to 10. The movie card wasn't printed with care, so a clean one is the rare thing, not the card itself.

Is My Ancient Mew Real?

The Pokémon Community forum's own moderators note this card is a popular target for counterfeiters. Checks you can do at home:

• Copyright line. It should match one of the six lines above exactly, in a clean, crisp font. Majesty Grading flags wrong or blurry fonts as one of the most common giveaways on fakes.
• Holo pattern. The holo should match the version the copyright line claims. A "Nintedo" card with cosmos holo, or an English card with speckle, is wrong.
• Card back. Ancient Mew has its own unique back design, not the standard Pokémon back. Compare it with a known genuine copy. Card Mavin notes genuine backs show more color variation in the shading, while fakes look flat.
• Light test. Card Mavin recommends shining a light through the card: genuine cards are layered stock, while fakes are often a single sheet.

Two cautions. First, don't fail your card because its edge lacks a dark line: Elite Fourum members comparing genuine English copies found a white edge. Second, real copies can look rough. A PokeCommunity member reports that sealed copies straight from the cinema peeled at the surface. When real money is on the line, professional grading authenticates the card. Our full guide on how to spot a fake Pokémon card goes deeper.

Should You Grade Yours?

Run the numbers, not the nostalgia. For the English card, the medians are $100 raw, $245 in PSA 9 and $2,969 in PSA 10. A 9 barely covers grading costs on a $100 card. Nearly all the upside sits in the 10, and only about 6.5% of English copies graded 7 or higher reached it.

So grade only if your copy passes two tests:

• Centering. The border should look even on all four sides, front and back. Off-center copies almost never get a 10.
• Condition. Under bright light, look for any surface scratches, print lines, whitening on the edges, or soft corners. Ancient Mews were wrapped loosely and handled by kids, and it shows.

For the Japanese Nintedo error, the math is friendlier: a PSA 9 at $776 is already more than double the $315 raw median. Plug your own fee and expected grade into our PSA profit calculator, and see our data-driven guide on whether to grade your cards.

Price Yours in Seconds

BankTCG lets you:

• Scan for free, no account needed: 270,000+ cards across Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic and One Piece, with live prices.
• Measure centering from a photo: know where you stand before you pay to grade.
• Track it in the Vault: see what you paid and what it's worth now.

Use the two checks above to confirm your version, then let the app handle the rest.

Download BankTCG

FAQ

What does the Nintedo error say?

On the first Japanese print, the copyright line at the bottom of the card misspells Nintendo as 'Nintedo'. That print has the dense speckle holo. A later Japanese print fixed the spelling but kept the same speckle holo, so check the spelling, not the holo, to tell them apart.

How much is an Ancient Mew card worth?

It depends on the version and the grade. In eBay sold listings for the 90 days to 26 October 2026, the English movie card had a median of $100 raw, $245 in PSA 9 and $2,969 in PSA 10. The Japanese Nintedo error had medians of $315 raw, $776 in PSA 9 and $5,150 in PSA 10.

What's the difference between Ancient Mew I and II?

Both are 1999 Japanese prints from the same movie pamphlet. Ancient Mew I has a dense speckle holo and exists in two forms, the Nintedo error and the corrected print. Ancient Mew II has the cosmos holo, with scattered orbs and swirls, and a correctly spelled copyright line.

Is the 2000 movie Ancient Mew rare?

No. It was handed out with tickets at participating theaters during the first week of the English release of The Power of One, and PSA had graded 26,918 copies at PSA 9 alone as of about 19 October 2026. High grades are the scarce part: PSA counted 3,724 PSA 10s on the same date.

What do the symbols on Ancient Mew say?

The text uses Germanic runes as a cipher for English letters. Per Bulbapedia, which draws on a decoding sheet published in the September 1999 issue of CoroCoro, the middle line reads 'New Species' and the bottom line reads 'Little God... or Evil?' The 2019 reprint changed it to 'Little Good... or Evil?' The four glyphs in the artwork stand for Birth, Enthronement, Right of Succession and Death.

Which Japanese Ancient Mew I is rarer, the error or the corrected print?

No print run has been published, so nobody can say for certain. The available evidence points to the corrected print: Bulbapedia says it was released only briefly, and PSA has graded far fewer corrected copies than error copies. Graded counts reflect what people submit, though, so treat that as a strong hint rather than proof.

Sources & Further Reading

How we got these numbers. Prices are medians from eBay sold data for the 90 days to 26 October 2026. Sale counts are in brackets, and we leave a price out when sales of that version can't be cleanly separated. PSA counts are dated where quoted, and some were read from eBay listings rather than PSA's site. Release details come from Bulbapedia and Elite Fourum collectors, and the article says where we couldn't check a source ourselves. Checked by the BankTCG team on 2 November 2026.

From our blog

• Vintage Pokémon Error Cards Guide
• Early Japanese Pokémon Cards Guide
• How to Spot a Fake Pokémon Card
• Should You Grade Your Cards? A Data-Driven Guide
• How to Buy Pokémon Cards from Japan
• PSA Profit Calculator

External sources

• Bulbapedia, Ancient Mew (The Power of One promo): release dates, print order, holo types, card text, rune translation
• Bulbapedia, Pokémon Meiji Movie set
• PSA, Cert lookup: 1998 Meiji Promo #3 Ancient Mew
• PSA population report: English Ancient Mew (as of ~19 October 2026); Japanese error and corrected counts as displayed on eBay listings, corrected (April 2026) and error (June 2026)
• Elite Fourum, Ancient Mew versions and sealed insert variants
• Elite Fourum, Sealed Mew insert variants
• Elite Fourum, Ancient Mew without a black line down the edge
• Poke Master Center, Ancient Mew guide
• Pooka, Ancient Mew promo spotlight
• PkmnCards, Ancient Mew: HP, attack and retreat cost
• Pokémon Community forum, Mew Ancient
• Card Mavin, How to Spot Fake Pokémon Cards
• Majesty Grading, How to Spot a Fake Pokémon Card or Product
• PokeCommunity, Ancient Mew defect or fake?