Cultural critic Carole Boston Weatherford wrote an op-ed piece about the issue in 2000
That was too close
Matte sleeves have a slightly textured back, making them easier to hold
While you can use the Wonder Pick feature to pull a card from a pack opened by a friend, you arent able to properly trade duplicates or unique cards, yet
EN Wave 1 and Wave 2 have different centering characteristics At $1,700+ per EN box, counterfeit OP-01 products are a real risk

image430599 51 KB image431600 71.1 KB Some Alternate Cards were special arts, but most were just slight variations of the original card image429599 62.9 KB image428599 60.9 KB BW EX (The Generational 2-Prize Gimmick) (TPC did not distinguish these from Rares until XY) (TPCI) image430599 46.2 KB Shiny Secret Rares (Ultra Rare - TPC) (Secret Rare - TPCI) image431600 56.7 KB image432599 45.4 KB for BW, these would be textured shiny alternate arts, eventually with gold accents on the card - this new rarity would be the precursor to Gold Cards L/HGSS LEGEND - image250250 2.18 KB image413599 57 KB SL (Call of Legends) - Subset that featured Alternate Art Shing Pokemon with a foil border similar to the previous LV.X from DP/Pt and ex from ADV-PCG/EX image432599 50 KB image432599 49 KB DPt LV.X (The Generational 2-Prize Gimmick) - image350495 97.2 KB Super Rares (TPC) / Secret Rares (TPCI) These were reprints of original cards ranging from competitive staples, popular pokemon cards, and promos