1st Edition: January to early March 1999
The first English Base Set print ran from the January 9, 1999 release through approximately early March of that year. The 1st Edition stamp under the artwork was a print-run identifier intended to flag the launch product. Exact print quantities have never been disclosed by Wizards of the Coast; population reports from the major grading services are the only public proxy.
The 1st Edition print used a slightly off-gray cardback color compared to later prints, and the holo printing on holo cards is fractionally less saturated. These are subtle differences that experienced collectors can identify but are not used as primary authentication tools.
Shadowless: a transitional window
After Wizards retired the 1st Edition stamp, the printer continued production briefly without the stamp but also without the drop shadow that would later appear on Unlimited. The Shadowless print is not a separate Wizards-acknowledged edition; collectors named it later based on the cosmetic differences. The window is estimated at roughly four to six weeks but has never been definitively documented.
Shadowless prints share the lighter HP font and lower saturation with 1st Edition. Counting Shadowless population versus 1st Edition: PSA graded population for Shadowless Charizard PSA 10 is meaningfully higher than 1st Edition PSA 10, suggesting a longer print window than collector lore tends to credit.
Unlimited: the long tail
The Unlimited print introduced the drop shadow on the right side of the artwork, the heavier HP font, and a slightly different cardback color. Unlimited Base Set was produced for several years and represents the vast majority of surviving cards. Booster boxes from this period were widely opened by kids, which is why high-grade Unlimited cards are scarce despite the long production window.
Other Base Set print artifacts
Square-cut variant
A small number of 1st Edition Base Set cards exhibit sharper, square-cut corners from a different cutting process. These trade for a meaningful premium when graded. The corners need to be definitively factory-cut, not from a sleeve-edge wear pattern.
The miscut and miscolor population
Production errors. Miscuts that show a sliver of an adjacent card, ink saturation problems, or holo printing on a non-holo position. Are tracked separately by graders. Some of the more famous miscuts trade for double or triple the standard print in equivalent grade.