Collector uncovers 97 pristine Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridges, including undocumented variant
A retro game store owner and a longtime collector found a box of 97 brand-new Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridges, later identified as a previously unknown production run and graded by PSA, with several receiving PSA 10 scores.
A small retro shop in Wisconsin yielded a sealed box containing 97 individually wrapped, brand-new Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridges, each with an original instruction manual. The box, originally intended for gold recovery from circuit boards, had been stored for decades before being discovered by the shop’s owner, Kevin Braun, and a veteran video-game collector.
The cartridges were labeled as a “Mario – Hunt Remanufactured NES” shipment dated December 1995, with Japanese and English markings indicating a factory-origin box of 100 units, three of which were missing. After posting images in a gaming collector group, two grading-company directors flagged the items as unusual. Examination revealed a distinct back label, multilingual text, and manufacturing codes dating to late 1993, suggesting an undocumented variant produced after the known NES bundle runs.
The collector delivered the entire set to PSA for authentication and grading. PSA reported that 12 cartridges were graded, with more than half receiving scores of 9.8, several at 9.6, and five achieving a PSA 10—the first such rating for an NES cartridge. The graded cartridges are being returned to the owners, with three slated for auction on August 12 at Goldin Auctions, including one PSA 10.
The find highlights a rare example of late-stage NES production, possibly intended for warranty replacements or an unreleased bundle, and underscores the ongoing interest in preserving video-game history.