What comes in a complete Burger King gold card set?
Four pieces make the set: metal card, Poké Ball, certificate, box. Most survivors are missing at least one.
The gold cards were not sold loose. Each one left the restaurant as a small kit, and knowing the kit is the whole of telling a complete example from a card that has simply survived. The checklist below is the issue exactly as Burger King and Nintendo put it together in November 1999.
There were six cards to collect, and a completist set means six of everything: six metal cards, six Poké Balls, six certificates and six boxes. Because the Poké Balls were recalled within weeks of the sale (the recall has its own page in this shelf), and because the paper parts were the first things thrown away, the humble box and certificate are now the pieces that separate a display from a drawer find.
THE CHECKLIST
One gold card, complete, is four objects1 · The card
A thick slab of 23-karat gold-plated metal in a clear plastic cover. Picture on the front; the Pokémon's Pokédex entry and evolution line on the back. Not a playable TCG card: no stats, no attacks.
2 · The Poké Ball
A plastic ball with a shiny red top and white bottom and a push button to open and close it. Card and certificate both lived inside it.
3 · The certificate
The certificate of authenticity, signed by Howard Lincoln, Chairman of Nintendo of America. It is the document that states the 23-karat gold plating claim, and the piece most often lost.
4 · The box
A red or blue outer box printed with images of the Pokémon, the card, and the whole set of the campaign's paper trading cards. Two box colors exist for every card; neither is an error.
THE SIX CARDS
Charizard · Jigglypuff · Mewtwo · Pikachu · Poliwhirl · TogepiCharizard
Pokédex line on the back: fire hot enough to melt boulders. Evolution: Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard.
Jigglypuff
The lullaby singer. Evolution: Jigglypuff to Wigglytuff, by Moon Stone.
Mewtwo
The clone, listed with no evolution line at all: "Evolution: Mewtwo."
Pikachu
Evolution: Pikachu to Raichu, by Thunder Stone.
Poliwhirl
The middle stage: Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Poliwrath.
Togepi
Back reads "Information on Togepi unknown at this time!!" Evolution: "?". The rarest thing on any of the six backs is an admission of ignorance.