First off, I am not trying to piss anyone off or ruffle feathers, but I am sure they will get ruffed. There was an interesting thread on Hisstank last week that questioned the legitimacy of the MOC Cobra De Aco Unpunched on eBay. Immediately, several well known people in the community came to the defense of the seller as he himself is well known. I too am inclined to believe the seller. However, rather than blow off the OP’s comments, I took a look for myself. What is VERY interesting is the unique similarities in the MOC De Aco that is on eBay with another MOC De Aco that was supposedly sold by the same seller.  I will post what I find intriguing about the two cards and I would like to open it up for discussion.

First, the punch itself appears to be a brighter white than the rest of the card. Second, on the back of the punch, the hairline does not match up with the rest of the card (I could not find another unpunched Brazilian card to see if none of the hairlines match up). Third, both figures are in a very similar and unique position; both are bent over. Fourth, underneath the green tag there is a white tag (it is straight and rectangular, and not part of the green and rounded tag). Comparing the “unpunched” version to the “punched” version, the white tag underneath the green tag appears to be in the same location and angle on the card. Fifth, and along with the white tag underneath the green one, I find to very compelling is the same discoloration on the back of the card on the first “o” in Commandos. The discoloration even extends on to the “m” in both the unpunched and punched versions.  The discoloration appears to be  identical.  Sixth, the dent in the upper right corner of the accessory bubble is very similar.

The more I look at it, the more I think they are one and the same. I realize this is a touchy subject. However, I would ask everyone to examine the cards for yourself, setting aside preconceived notions, and let me know what you think.

Below are pictures to compare for yourself. (Note: I added red outline boxes to the areas of the card that I think are very similar. These pictures are available online on HT and Ebay for you to look at without the red boxes I added.)

Notice the white tag. Its position and alignment is similar to the unpunched version. Same or very similar figure position. HT De Aco.

similar bubble crunch in top right corner of accessory bubble. HT De Aco.

VERY similar and I would say unique discoloration on the first “o” extending to the “m” on both cards. HT De Aco.

Zoom in and you can clearly see a straight and rectangular white tag underneath the green tag. Same/similar figure position. Notice punch is brighter than rest of card. Ebay De Aco.

Hairline does not matchup. Same or near identical unique discoloration on first “o” and extending to “m.” Ebay De Aco.

similar bubble crunch in accessory bubble. Ebay De Aco.