Rosewater, Mark
Reading through various materials online, we can assume that the first Charizard on the left can be dated around July 1996 (CoroCoro August 1996), the second one is from March 1996 (according to information from a playtester as reported by CGC), while the third is the Charizard released with the Base Set on October 20, 1996
It's not exactly a mystery anymore, even if it was originally meant to be, and if you're curious to check it out for yourself, you can do so here: That's one Unsolved Magic Mystery now officially put to rest, even if the circumstances might be a bit disappointing
Sealed Alpha booster pack today: easily $8,000 to $12,000 or more
The cards that went in the topmost slots are there because they have the most synergy with other cards, the most chance to be a staple of a high-performing deck, or are simply so strong they change the course of a game if they resolve
In the end, we decided that Cases worked best if they had three pieces