Found Behind the Halloween Decorations
Kevin Braun, owner of Onestopwonders in Waukesha, bought the box two to three years ago from a man who had kept it untouched in his garage for 20 to 30 years. The cartridges had originally been headed to a metal recovery service to be melted down for their gold content. They never were.
Then Braun forgot about them. The box sat hidden behind Halloween decorations in his storage unit until a conversation with Jason Ganos, owner of Nintendo Wire, prompted him to finally open it.
"Finding this kind of thing is just unheard of," Ganos said. "I just couldn't believe what I was seeing."
Why These Cartridges Are Different
At a glance, the games are the familiar Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt combo that shipped with millions of NES consoles. Pop one in and it plays exactly the same. But the hardware tells another story.
The cartridges feature different screws, labels, motherboards and manuals from every previously known variant of the game, according to Ganos. That matters enormously in a hobby built on cataloging every production run.
"This is one of the most documented video games in history," Ganos said. "It's probably the most popular video game that's ever been released."
The strangest detail is the date. The production year stamped on the discovered box is 1993, two years after the last known copy of Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt was ever produced.
Two Theories, No Answers Yet
Why was Nintendo apparently still producing this game in 1993? Ganos sees two possibilities. The cartridges could have been replacement stock for warranty repairs and refurbished systems. Or they were made for a planned bundle that never reached store shelves.
Neither theory has been confirmed, which is part of what has collectors searching for answers.
Perfect 10s and a Friday Auction
Professional Sports Authenticator, the memorabilia grading company, has already graded several of the cartridges a perfect 10. That is a first for any Nintendo Entertainment System game.
Three of the cartridges are tentatively scheduled to hit the block at Goldin Auctions on Friday.
A Red-Hot Market
The timing could hardly be better for the seller. On June 12, a PSA 9.6-graded copy of Super Mario Bros., the highest-graded copy of the earliest sealed edition, sold at Heritage Auctions for a record $3 million.
"As an entire collectible market, video games is experiencing an incredible wave," said Claire Shelton, head of Professional Sports Authenticator Games.
A previously unknown variant with perfect grades, discovered in a barn-find-style story, checks every box that drives collector prices skyward.
What Comes Next
Friday's auction will put the first real price tag on the discovery. Beyond the money, preservationists will be digging into Nintendo's production records to figure out where these cartridges came from and why they exist. Nearly four decades after the NES launched, the most documented game in history just proved it can still keep a secret.
FAQ
What was found in the Wisconsin game shop?
Nearly 100 copies of a previously unknown variant of Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt for the NES, with different screws, labels, motherboards and manuals from all known versions.
Why are the cartridges so unusual?
The box carries a 1993 production year, two years after the last known copy of the game was produced, and the variant had never been documented.
How much could they be worth?
No sale has happened yet, but three cartridges go to auction at Goldin Auctions on Friday. A 9.6-graded copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $3 million in June.
Have any been graded?
Yes. Professional Sports Authenticator gave several cartridges a perfect 10, a first for any NES game.
Where were they discovered?
At Onestopwonders in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in a box the owner had forgotten in a storage unit behind Halloween decorations.
