Overview
- A Wisconsin retro shop owner said he found a sealed box containing about 97 near‑mint Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridges that had not been seen before.
- Collectors and experts identified clear physical differences in the cartridges, including unique screws, back labels, motherboards, and instruction manuals that do not match known runs.
- The box bears a 1993 production code, which is later than previously documented production for this pack‑in title and has prompted questions about late production runs or service/replacement stock.
- Professional Sports Authenticator reviewed several copies and graded five as PSA 10, the first perfect scores PSA has given to NES cartridges, and some graded examples are being consigned to Goldin Auctions.
- The discovery raises provenance puzzles and market effects because high PSA grades can sharply raise value, and experts say the cartridges might be warranty replacements, refurbished inventory, or an unreleased bundle so further investigation is expected.