Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt Variant to Auction This Week

Nearly 100 rare Nintendo cartridges have been uncovered at a retro gaming store in Wisconsin, with several set to be auctioned this week. The individually packaged Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt NES cartridges appear to originate from an unknown production run, surprising collectors who were previously unaware of their existence.

The collection of 97 Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridges belongs to Kevin Braun, who operates OneStopWonders, a retro game store in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The identification of these cartridges was aided by Jason Ganos, editor of Nintendo Wire. According to reports from Nintendo Wire, these cartridges were initially held by a precious metal recovery service, which Nintendo had apparently hired to dismantle them.

For decades, the cartridges remained untouched until Braun acquired the box of games from the owner’s grandson. Initially, he intended to sell them at OneStopWonders but forgot about them in a storage unit until they were mentioned in a discussion with Ganos.

“After Kevin finished his story, I immediately realized my face had gone pale,” Ganos recounted the moment of discovery on Nintendo Wire.

Although Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt are not rare titles on their own, their impact on gaming is undeniable. Released in the U.S. during the NES launch in 1985, these games have established themselves as two of the platform’s most iconic titles. In 1988, they were packaged together in dual cartridges and sold with the NES as part of an Action Set bundle.

Braun’s cartridges do not seem to belong to this known run. In fact, they appear to be from a previously unknown production batch. Differences in their back labels and instruction manuals, along with their manufacturing codes, suggest they were made in 1993. Nintendo Wire pointed out that this production date places these cartridges after any known Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt bundles.

“What we discovered was the very last production run and an undiscovered variant of Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt. This is arguably one of the most loved and documented games in Nintendo’s history,” Ganos stated. “Moreover, nearly every cartridge was in pristine condition.”

Initially, there was speculation about the authenticity of the cartridges, but PSA, an authentication company, has confirmed they are legitimate. PSA also assessed their condition, awarding several cartridges scores between PSA 9.6 and 9.8, while five achieved a perfect PSA 10. Nintendo Wire noted that a PSA 10 grade had never been awarded to an NES cartridge before.

This Wednesday, three games from this remarkable collection will be auctioned by Goldin Auctions, including one cartridge that received a PSA score of 10. While Braun and Ganos plan to keep some of the cartridges, many others will be auctioned in the future, including for charity events.

The potential auction prices for these cartridges remain uncertain. they are expected to far exceed the initial $15 Braun intended to ask for them. A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. with a PSA score of 9.6 recently set a new auction record in June, selling for an astounding $3 million.