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Are Japanese Pokemon Cards Worth More

Umbreon And Espeon Gold Star Cards

Are Japanese Pokémon Cards Worth It? (Collection Tour)

These two cards are rare because the packs they are drawn from were never released in stores. Coming from POP Series 5, these packs were given to those who participated in the Pokémon Organized Play program. This set, Series 5, was one of the last Japanese promotional sets to be released in English and included these two Pokémon with a unique gold star next to their name. Because of the criteria to have an opportunity to draw one of these cards, they are some of the rarest in circulation today.

Pokemon Japanese Topsun Holofoil Charizard

Sold in October, 2020 for $37,600

The Charizard is the most desirable Topsun prism holofoil card.

You’ll notice it features the same imagery used for the cover art of the Pokemon Red videogame released on the Nintendo Game Boy in Japan in 1996.


As mentioned earlier regarding the Topsun prism holofoil Blastoise, these cards feature a 1995 trademark date.

Still, most believe Top-Seika didn’t distribute them until 1997, after the official Pokemon Trading Card Game launched in 1996.

Pikachu Trainer Trophy Cards

The Pikachu trophy trainer cards are holographic promotional cards handed out to the winners of the Pokémon World Championships. They are in three different types No. 1 Trainer card, No. 2 Trainer card, and No. 3 Trainer card and are given to those that finish in the 1st, 2nd, and third place respectively in each year tournament. This gives the winners direct entry into the following years world championship, making the card valuable and rare to find.

Surprisingly, the Pikachu trophy trainer cards have been sighted for sale online on very few occasions. In July 2020, a No. 1 Trainer card that was in perfect shape, having been graded by the Professional Sports Authenticator as Gem Mint 10, was auctioned by the Heritage Auctions for $90,000.

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Japanese Pokmon Promo Card: Illustrator Pikachu: Psa 7

$375,000

Limited edition promotional cards, such as this illustrator Pokémon card, can command huge fees.

According to PWCC, approximately only 40 of these cards were created, to be distributed during competitions held in Japan where contestants were asked to create their own Pokémon cards.

Winners received custom printed cards featuring their original artwork as well as this rare Illustrator Pikachu card as a trophy.

Pokemon World Championship Masters Key

Jolteon 1996 NO.135 old original vintage Pokemon Card ...
  • Release Date: 2010
  • Grading: BGS 9
  • Pokemon card value at auction: $26,900

In 2010, the best pokemon cards players around the world were flown into Waikoloa Village, Hawaii for the World Championships. Upon arrival, contestants were given a Master Keys Pokemon card.

Because the item was only printed for participants at the tournament, only 36 of these in total were ever created, making it technically one of the most rare Pokemon cards to ever exist in the hobbys nearly 25-year history.


Despite only being intended for those at the event, one of these made there way out to the public and was sold for an astonishing $26,900 in August 2020. A pretty sweet reward to receive 11 years later.

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First Edition Shadowless Holographic Charizard

Price: $220,574

A PSA 10 Base Set 1st Edition Charizard just sold at auction with an ending bid of $183,812.00 via .

Including the 20% buyer’s premium, the total transaction value exceeds $220k.

As of now, this is the highest known sale of the card.

Cardhops

This card is often referred to as one of the most sought after cards, having been printed in the Pokémon Trading Card Games early days. They have been in existence for over twenty years and are limited in number. Its distinguished by a printing error as it doesnt have a shadow underneath the fire breathing dragon Pokémon.

As such, it stands out as one of the most valuable cards of all time, with the error being corrected in most of the subsequent print runs. This shadowless iconic card was purchased by former rapper, Logic, for a staggering $220,574 at an auction held in October 2020, thus, setting a new record as the most valuable Pokémon card.

Tropical Mega Battle Legendary Bird Card $7500

These legendary bird cards are extremely rare within the tropical mega battle set, which can fetch a very high price anywhere between $7,500 and $10,000. These cards fetch a high price because not many have been distributed, being from an event that only a select few attended.


While your old cards might not have the same worth, you never know how far down the line these cards have gone. Keep looking for those diamonds in the rough.

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Pokmon Vs Card Series

Due to its lack of common circulation in the United States, and to the doubled price of these cards, it is very uncommon to find these cards. If you do end up finding any of these cards, they can fetch around $200 to $300 asking price.

While these cards are not worth much in the card collecting world, the rarity of these cards is not lost to many collectors. If you want something modern and rare, keep an eye out for these cards.

Pokemon Korean First Edition Charizard

What are no rarity Japanese Pokemon Cards?

Sold in March, 2021 for $40,000


Unlike some of the other first edition Pokemon cards distributed in different regions and languages in 1999, the Korean version did not debut until a year later in 2000.

Still, they can fetch colossal price tags on the open market just like the other first edition sets.

Not surprisingly, the Charizard is the most desirable of the Korean first edition series.

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What Is The Rarest Card In Pokemon

Pikachu Trainer


The rarest Pokémon card to date is the Japanese No. 1 Trainer Pikachu trophy card given to the winners of the first official Pokémon TCG tournament. With only four copies in circulation, netting one of these can cost you millions of dollars, as the only listing online is asking for two million USD.

Espeon And Umbreon Gold Star Pop Series 5

A pair of Gold Star Pokémon cards from one of the most valuable Pokémon sets of all time

Sold for $22,000 in February 2021

Gold Star Pokémon cards are among the most valuable sets of Pokémon cards in existence and command an incredibly high value as a result. The cards are named after the gold star that appears next to the Pokémons name at the top of the card, which signifies that the card features alternative-colour artwork different from the common version. Only 27 Gold Star cards were released from 2004 to 2007, making them some of the rarest Pokémon cards available.

While all of the Gold Star Pokémon cards are rare, only appearing once in approximately every 88 booster packs for certain Pokémon TCG expansions, the very rarest are the Eeveelutions – the many evolutions into which basic Gen 1 Pokémon Eevee can evolve. And the rarest of the rarest are the original Japanese-language versions of the cards offered to members of the Pokémon Players Club, who could spend points earned by participating in official organised play and tournaments to obtain exclusive cards.


While Eeveelutions Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon could be acquired in the EX Power Keepers set released in 2007 via the Pokémon online store, their psychic and dark elemental siblings Espeon and Umbreon could only be picked up by players who collected enough Pokémon Players Club points. The Espeon 025/PLAY card required 40,000 EXP points earned, while Umbreon 026/PLAY was even most pricey at 70,000 points.

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Holographic Shadowless Blastoise: $2475

Out of the three final-evolution Kanto starters, it’s Blastoise who has the least valuable Shadowless holographic card, reaching heights of $2475 on Pokemon Prices. We say “least valuable”, but that’s still a lot of money for just the one card, and its hardly far behind its sibling Venusaur.

That’s if Blastoise is still in mint condition, of course, which is a big ask considering these cards are over 20 years old. Carrying the powerful Water-type move Hydro Pump, this version of Blastoise was a pretty impressive card to carry in your deck back in the day, but at this point its still a solid collectible card.

Pokemon Snap Trainer Magazine Pikachu

Pokemon Card Japanese XY CP6 Mewtwo

This card goes as far back as 1999, where the creators blended it with a model from the Pokemon snap to exhibit its creativity. As a result, different hilarious-looking creatures were created on the card and highlighted in Japans Pokemon Trainer Magazine.


So, if you were a massive fan of Pokemon back in the days of Nintendo 64, youd probably remember the classic Pokemon Snap card game. Unfortunately, however, the card is quite expensive, and its around $900 other sites will attach a higher amount of $1000 or more.

This price also varies due to the cards condition and quality, so you could also get it at a much lower rate of $300 or a higher rate of $100,000.

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First Edition Holographic Charizard

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $24,000

The #4 Charizard is by far the most desirable of all the first edition Pokémon cards.


Charizard made its first appearance in the Pokémon Red and Blue video games released for the Nintendo Game Boy and Game Boy Color back in the mid-90s and trainers have been relying on the characters overpowering fire and flying abilities to win battles ever since.

Just how powerful are its fire abilities?

Well, simply refer to the bottom of the cards front and you can see that Charizard is capable of melting boulders and starting forest fires with ease.

Charizards appeal as a dragon and one of the more rare cards certainly adds to its popularity but I think where this card gets an extra boost in value comes from the fact that Charizard appeared on the cover art of the Pokémon Red video game:

That additional exposure greatly increased the characters notoriety and has driven up the value of this card similar to the effect we see with the Garbage Pail Kids card, Adam Bomb, and its status as the original cover art for that series.

Regardless of why this card is so popular, its value will continue to soar just like the lovable flying dragon creature itself.

The Masked Royal Prize Promo: $18000

This is undoubtedly one of the most recent rare cards, featuring the Masked Royal character from Pokemon Sun & Moon and released as recently as 2017. This is essentially a promotional card that was given out to players in an invitation-only prerelease in Tokyo for the new Shining Legends set, where only 100 copies were made.

Even though this is a relatively normal card by most standards, this short print run means its incredibly hard to get, especially since it was handed out in such a restrictive event. As a result, there are actually preserved tweets of players first opening it in places like Pokeboon, while Japanese trading sites like Miyabi Hobby have past listings of the card at ¥2,000,000, which currently is equal to around $18,000 USD.

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Is It Worth Grading Japanese Pokmon Cards

Japanese Pokemon cards can be worth more money than their English counterparts. This is because Pokemon trading cards from Japan are of higher quality and still come with first edition markings. In addition, since Japanese Pokemon cards were launched earlier, some were full of controversy, making them even more valuable and sought after by collectors.

Pokemon Japanese Promo Tamamushi University Magikarp Trophy Car

English vs. Japanese Pokemon Cards

Sold in February, 2021 for $66,100

The Tamamushi University Hyper Test was a two-day event held in June 1998 in Osaka, Japan.

To be invited, children needed to pass a series of test questions that were to be completed and mailed by a specific deadline.

The contestants competed against each other within different age groups with the winners receiving a copy of this card as their prize.

While 1,000 copies were slated for distribution, nobody knows for sure how many actually were.

What is known, though, is that this card is the most expensive Magikarp card in the entire Pokémon series, and one of the most valuable Pokémon cards in general.

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Pokemon First Edition Hitmonchan

Sold in November, 2020 for $23,100

Packing tremendous punching power, the fighting-type Hitmonchan is another collector favorite who can strike with extreme quickness and precision.

Ken Sugimori delivered an excellent design for this card as Hitmonchan’s boxing gloves, shoulder pads, and five protrusions on the top of its head create an aura of a Pokemon that you don’t want to face.

Hitmonchan cards were some of the most commonly used cards in competitive play, making them tough to find in top condition.

Pokemon Ex Deoxys Gold Star Holo Latias

Sold in December, 2020 for $20,100

The eighth expansion of the EX Series, the EX Deoxys checklist contained 108 cards in total, with cards #105 , #106 , and #107 receiving the desirable gold star distinction.

Designed by Masakuza Fukuda, the artwork on the Latias card features eye-catching imagery of the dual-type Dragon/Psychic creature that belongs to a group of incredibly rare Pokemon known as Legendary Pokemon.

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Chansey #3 1st Edition Shadowless Base Set

  • Release Date: 1999
  • Grading: PSA Gem Mint 10
  • Pokemon card value at auction: $36,877

For many Pokemon card collectors, it doesnt get any better than the Base Set which made its North American debut in 1999. Not only does it feature some of the TCG series most iconic artwork, but there is also a ton of nostalgia players have connected to the release.

As a result, Pokemon cards from the release have seen the most explosion in value over the last decade. While not a heavy-hitter in the franchise itself, fans have been going wild for the adorable Chansey #3 Pokemon card. So much so that its surprised industry veterans when it started fetching jaw-dropping prices.

While hovering around $20k since 2019, the collectibles value has only continued to grow. According to PWCC, a 1st Edition Shadowless version sold for $36,877 in a November 2020 auction.

What Pokemon Card Is The Most Rare

18 Incredibly Rare Pokémon Cards That Could Pay Off Your ...

Pokemon has been a popular trading card game for over 23 years and many first edition cards are worth a lot of money. Some Pokemon cards are extremely rare making them even more valuable.

Cards that are kept in mint condition will also go for more money if they are also among the first made.

Pokemon cards that have a limited supply and some special cards are the most rare.

Of all of the Pokemon cards ever made, the most rare is the Illustrator CoroCoro Comics Promo. This promo card was made in extremely limited quantities and many people think there are only a few still in existence.

Lets take a look at the top five Pokemon cards that are the most rare.

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Pokemon Snap Trainer Magazine Pikachu: $900

If you were a Pokemon fan back in the days of the Nintendo 64 console, you might just remember the classic spin-off game Pokemon Snap. The object of this Pokemon spin-off was to snap creative in-game photos of various creatures, and there were several tie-in cards in Japans Pokemon Trainer Magazine to help increase the hype among fans to try this new game.

This card was a Pikachu card with the model from Pokemon Snap as the art, making for a relatively hilarious-looking card that only could be found within this magazine in 1999. Miyabihobby has a record of an unopened magazine being sold for 100,000, or about $900 USD, but PSA Card has records of auctions ranging between $300 and $1000 for perfect condition grades.

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Find The Set The Card Belongs To

If there is no logo on the right side, its Base. Every other set has an indicator.

When looking into what set a card belongs to, make sure to see if there is any logo on the right side, just underneath and to the right of the illustration. If there is no symbol, the likelihood is that its a Base set card.

There have been error cards that do not have a symbol, so make sure the year matches with the set.

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Pokemon Play Third Season Jolteon Gold Star 20000 Pts

Sold in June, 2021 for $20,000

Beginning in 2003, the Pokemon Players Club replaced the Pokemon Fan Club and with that change came the release of several exclusive Pokemon PLAY cards.

As players completed certain actions, such as attending an event, hosting an event, winning a battle, or placing in a tournament, they could accumulate experience points.

Once a player had acquired a certain number of points, he or she could receive a prize promotional card

Between January 2003 and January 2006, there were just four seasons in which players could participate, so time was of the essence in working to obtain these special cards.

If a player accumulated 20,000 points, he or she could earn this exclusive Pokemon PLAY Jolteon Gold Star.

Gold Star Espeon And Umbreon

Japanese no rarity pokemon cards prices are overvalued and here’s why

These cards are scarce and one in a million. There are just a few cards imprinted with the Gold Star. So if you were fortunate to come across one then, youd become the talk of the town. Moreover, the Star is found directly on the right-hand side of the cards name, which awards respect to its owner.

These unique cards are rare because their creators initially gave them only to the Pokemon Players Club members. But, this also came at a hefty price the members had to trade 50,000 points to have it in their possession.

Nevertheless, these cards are now available for the sum of $5,000 and $6,000 each.

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