A rare NES cartridges auction is coming after a Wisconsin retro game shop found 97 unopened copies of Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. sitting in storage, according to Nintendo Wire. PSA later authenticated and graded the cartridges, with every submitted unit receiving at least a 9.6 and five earning a perfect 10.
The find came from OneStopWonders in Waukesha, about 15 miles west of Milwaukee. Owner Kevin Braun told Nintendo Wire that he bought the box years ago from a seller who said his grandfather had run a business recovering precious metals from circuit boards. The seller said the cartridges had supposedly come directly from Nintendo of America and had been sold for salvage.
Braun did not buy them as museum pieces. He thought he might move them through his shop for roughly $10 to $15 each, according to Nintendo Wire. Then they stayed in storage, which is the closest thing the collector market gets to a preservation strategy by accident.
Why are these NES cartridges rare?
The cartridges are unusual because Nintendo Wire says they appear to be previously undocumented variants of Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System. They are also unopened, which matters in game collecting because sealed condition, packaging details and production markings can drive grading and auction interest.
Jason Ganos, editor-in-chief of Nintendo Wire and a friend of Braun’s, examined the cartridges and shared the discovery in a high-end gaming Facebook group. Nintendo Wire reported that two people who were directors at separate grading companies contacted him after seeing the post, saying something looked off in a way that deserved closer inspection.
Ganos then supplied additional photos of a cartridge and manual and was asked to open one unit for inspection, according to Nintendo Wire. That check pointed to production during the 40th week of 1993, making the cartridges among late NES-era units. The manuals also differed from known versions: Nintendo Wire reported that the back page used the phrase “maintenance or service,” where earlier known manuals said “maintenance or repair.”
After that, Ganos flew to PSA in California, where the grading company confirmed the cartridges’ authenticity, according to Nintendo Wire. PSA’s grades landed at 9.6 or higher, with five copies receiving the company’s top 10 grade.
What were these cartridges made for?
Nintendo Wire reported several plausible explanations: the cartridges may have been intended as warranty-replacement stock, refurbished-console pack-ins, or part of a bundle that did not reach stores. Nintendo of America has not confirmed the reason they were produced, so any cleaner explanation remains guesswork.
Three of the cartridges are scheduled to be sold through Goldin Auctions beginning August 12. The final prices are not known. Nintendo Wire reported expectations of at least four-figure results, with PSA 10 copies possibly reaching five figures.
That range is not absurd by retro game collecting standards, though comparisons can get slippery fast. A rare gold Nintendo World Championships NES cartridge had reached $77,000 at auction, according to the reporting cited by Nintendo Wire. These Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. cartridges are a different kind of rarity, tied less to a public competition and more to unopened, undocumented late-production Nintendo stock.
This story draws on original reporting from Tom's Hardware.
