Identify The Card With The Name And Number In The Set
Finally, identify the card by looking up its name and card number on eBay.
The name will be located above the illustration of the card and the number is on the bottom right of the card. After checking all three of these steps, you should easily be able to identify every card, even if you dont know exactly what set it is in.
First Edition Holographic Magneton
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $1,750
Composed of three individual Magnemite held together by a strong magnetic force, Magneton is a dual-type electrical and steel Pokémon.
Often found near industrial areas and power plants, this mechanical creature charges itself by eating electrical currents.
Magneton is certainly one of the more unusual-looking of all Pokémon.
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Top First Edition Pokemon Cards: Summary
As you can see, the best first edition Pokémon cards contain some of the biggest names, and theres a distinct preference for the 1999 set. Most of the shiny cards have been long forgotten, and PSA 10 graded shadowless versions often have fewer than 100 copies.
That leads to increased rarity, and the extreme prices were seeing this year. Its only expected to continue as time goes by.
Theres been a massive influx of interest in the hobby in recent months, probably fueled by the record-breaking Charizard purchase for the most part.
For the best investments, its hard to beat the original 151, or exceptional cards such as the Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia.
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Top 5 First Edition Pokemon Cards
Any shiny, shadowless 1st Edition Pokémon card will be reasonably valuable, but there are a few which manage to stand out from the crowd.
Buy on eBay
Lets switch things up, moving on to a set that was released the year after. Lugia was the cover star for the next round of Pokémon games, and while he might not match up to many older options, its still a card that is highly prized by collectors.
A white background is the source of a number of issues that are also seen with the 1999 Chansey card below, leading to higher values than the norm. There are often problems with the lining too, so there are only 41 PSA 10 examples out of almost 1300 that have been submitted.
First Edition Holographic Alakazam
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $2,800
With its psychic powers that stem from its extremely powerful brain, Alakazam can bring massive headaches to those unfortunate enough to be nearby.
The evolution from Abra to Kadabra to its final form of Alakazam is one of the more fun name transitions of the series while this card itself is one of the more fun to own.
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Ultimate First Edition Pokemon Cards Guide
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The same is true for later releases, but its difficult to match the 1999 set in terms of interest or value.
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Most Valuable Pokemon Cards
Heres everything you need to know about the best first edition Pokémon cards, including why some are more special than others, and which ones you should be looking out for.
How Much Are Pokemon Base Set Cards Worth
Before we go further into the many intricacies of Base Set Pokemon Cards, lets discuss values!
If youre one of the many people who rediscovered their old collection this past year, youre probably interested in how much its worth!
A lot has changed in the world of Pokemon since the late 90s, in fact, since then there have been over 120 sets released! And that number keeps climbing every few months.
So how on earth do we determine the value of your Base Set Pokemon cards?!
Well, theres a few factors I want you to consider:
- Condition is everything! The price swings between cards in played condition versus mint can be huge!
- Youre not alone So many people rediscovered their old Pokemon cards recently. Unless you have some real stand out pieces, youre competing with everyone else.
- Determining the value for one card is fairly straightforward for binders full of cards, its not so simple!
I regularly get valuation requests with dozens of pictures, hundreds of cards, in various conditions and from various sets!
As you can imagine, it is not easy slapping a valuation on it!
So, my best advice for people looking to quickly covert it into cash put it on eBay and let the market decide.
Apologies if youre looking for something a bit more detailed, but no collection is the same!
Were not comparing apples with apples here, so take great pictures, show off your best cards and let collectors come to you and bid .
Another approach is to hold long term
That is my best advice.
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What Are My Pokemon 1st Edition Base Set Cards Worth
If you own any of the cards listed below, condition is the biggest factor in figuring out what your cards are worth. The prices below illustrate what these cards are worth after grading in mint condition as PSA 9s & 10s.
Important to note: It is very unlikely that your cards will grade this high if they have been played with. If you have these cards laying around in less than mint condition, it still may be worth getting them graded as long as they are in pretty good shape.
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What Is A Heavy Booster Pack
Basically, some smart Alec realised a long time ago that packs with a holographic card weigh more!
Generally speaking, the pull rates of a holo are 1:3 packs, therefore you can simply weigh the packs, extract the valuable items and flog the rest.
Not exactly fun or ethical right?!
But, thats the game I guess when a lot of money is at stake.
Its important to know this for two reasons:
Anyway, lets get into the different pack variants
1st Edition Base Set Booster Packs
- Estimated current value £5k £10k
- Easily identifiable by the 1st Edition logo on the foil
Shadowless Base Set Booster Packs
- Estimated current value £1k £3k
- Harder to identify. This helpful article explain the different Shadowless booster pack variants
Black Triangle Error Base Set Booster Packs
- Estimated current value £1k £5k
Unlimited Base Set Booster Packs
- Estimated current value £300 £600
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The Pokmon Trading Card Game General Mills Cereal Promotion: What Are The Cards And How To Get Them
The Pokemon General Mills Promotion
PokeBeach
It’s not just McDonalds who’s getting in on the food-themed Pokémon tie-ins this month. To celebrate the series’ 25th Anniversary, General Mills is now including booster packs including exclusive cards in boxes of select cereals.
What Are the Cards?
Each box comes with a booster pack containing three cards. While technically all of them are reprints from the Vivid Voltage and Darkness Ablaze sets, fix are holo foils. These are:
– Galarian Ponyta
– Hatenna
– Wooloo
Finally, one card will come stamped with an exclusive 25th Anniversary emblem, making it the standout collectors item in the set. This is, of course, Pikachu.
The remaining cards in the set are:
– Snom
– Galarian Meowth
How Do I Get These Pokémon Cards?
As mentioned, these are a limited-time promotion found in certain boxes of General Mills cereal. So far packs have been found in Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix and Pokémon Berry Blast cereal. In North America you’ll be able to find these anywhere you normally buy cereal, but internationally it is going to be much more difficult.
Much like the McDonalds promotion, the cards have caused stocks of the cereal to fly off shelves. You may need to look in a few different stores before finding a box. Fortunately, it seems as if scalpers haven’t taken to this set quite as much as they have the McDonalds promotion, greatly increasing your chances of finding them.
Are They Worth Anything?
A Simpler Approach To Base Set Variations
Now, although my guide above is technically correct, it may not be entirely helpful to you especially if youre just getting back into Pokemon and trying to learn the ropes!
So lets break the Base Set cards down into three variations for the sake of this article, and your understanding of the cards
- 1st Edition As you probably know, the rarest and most valuable
- Shadowless Still pretty rare and valuable, just not as much as 1st Edition!
- Unlimited highest volume of cards printed, therefore less rare and valuable than the other two
1st Edition and Unlimited are pretty self-explanatory, but people often get a bit confused regarding Shadowless Pokemon cards
If you want to do a bit of extra reading Ive written a handy guide to Shadowless Pokemon cards here.
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First Edition Holographic Clefairy
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $2,500
Clefairy is a lovable Pokémon that is incapable of fighting and first evolves from Cleffa and later to Clefable after exposure to a Moon Stone.
The adorable creature uses its small wings to store moonlight that can allow it to float away when in danger.
Known for its extreme shyness, Clefairy is rarely seen and will only emerge from its mountain shelter under a full moon.
Almost as rarely seen in high grade as Clefairy itself, this card can bring $2,500 or more in PSA 10 condition.
Pokmon Game #4 Charizard Holo
Average Value in PSA 10: $23,224
As the de facto face of Pokémon, much has been said of the iconic 1st Edition Holographic Charizard. Maybe its the spectacular artwork. Maybe its because Charizard has been a popular, powerful character since the inception of the franchise. Whatever the case may be, the card that has been likened to the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card of the Pokémon realm is, without a doubt, the most desirable of the set. In PSA 10, the card has sold for as high as $40k and regularly commands values in the $20k range.
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Holographic Shadowless Mewtwo: $20000
While the other Kanto starters dont come close to Charizard in the realm of First Edition cards, its hard to ignore the second-place winner off of its fame in the series. Most Pokemon fans are plenty aware of Mewtwo from the original Pokemon movie, and as a result cards featuring the character will often go for record-high prices in any set.
Much like the First Edition Charizard mentioned earlier, Mewtwo has its own Holographic and Shadowless version that PSA Collector has seen sold for at least $20,000, putting it far above Venusaur and Blastoise but still far below everyones favorite Fire-type tyrant of the skies.
Video Of Me Looking Up How Much My Pokemon Cards Are Worth:
If you get too many results that include cards NOT like yours, use the checkboxes to pick the ones just like yours. Choosing a few comparable items by using the checkboxes gives you a much more accurate estimate of what your Pokemon card is worth.
What to do next:
Once youve gone through and searched for what your Pokemon cards are worth using mavin.io, you have several options:
If your Pokemon cards are worth a lot of money You could hold onto the cards and collect them, as most collectors do, and hope they appreciate in value over time. It may be a good investment to get them professionally graded by PSA, this will dramatically increase their value.
You could sell your Pokemon cards to a local card shop, knowing full well what theyre worth . Keep in mind dealers will buy them from you at wholesale prices they have to make a profit after all, and selling a large collection takes a considerable amount of time and resources so dont expect to get 100% of what youd get online.
Selling your Pokemon cards online will get you the highest prices, but it can be time consuming: taking pictures, writing descriptions, responding to customers, packing, shipping, returns its a lot of work. If you have the time and patience, selling them online is a great way to make money. Read our guide to selling on eBay.
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Misprinted Fossil Krabby: $2200
Yes, you read that right. Krabby is the star of one of the rarest Pokemon cards of all. By all accounts, this crab-based Water-type isn’t exactly a battling superstar. The fact that one version of its Pokemon card is so rare is a bit of a fluke, as its price comes down to a relatively simple misprint of the card.
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The difference between these multiple miscuts and a normal card is that part of a fossil symbol to the bottom-left of its art is missing. This seemingly minor difference has driven up the price of these cards immensely, and despite going for under two dollars in its normal state, Pokemon Prices has the card record of a misprint selling for over $2200 dollars.
First Edition Holographic Hitmonchan
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $3,250
Sporting boxing gloves, shoulder pads and extreme quickness, Hitmonchan exhibits every bit of the appearance of the fighting-type Pokémon that he is.
The five protrusions on top of its head round out an overall ferocious look.
Bidding for this card in high grade can be just as ferocious as Hitmonchan itself as prices will often rise above $3,000 or more.
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Pokemon Base Set Booster Boxes
Once upon a time, a Pokemon Base Set booster box cost around £144. Now, 1st Edition boxes sell for north of £300k!
Wheres that time machine hey?!
Aside from the cards themselves, sealed Base Set booster boxes are some of the most desired items in the hobby.
Lets explore some of the different variants, estimated values of how you can spot fake copies.
First Edition Holographic Mewtwo
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $2,000
A member of the exclusive and powerful Legendary Pokémon group, Mewtwo is considered to be one of the best Pokémon of all-time.
Instantly recognizable, the psychic-type Mewtwo was created when a scientist altered its original DNA via gene-splicing techniques that transformed the creature into one of the most vicious and savage of all Pokémon.
Harnessing its psychic energy, Mewtwo unleashes physical damage on its enemies via its signature more, Psystrike.
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Pokmon Game #15 Venusaur Holo
Average Value in PSA 10: $3,605
The original four Pokémon from the Red, Blue, Yellow and Green versions of the video game are Charmander , Squirtle , Pikachu and Bulbasaur , respectively. Each cute companion got its own version of the game. Just like Raichu, you can attribute Venusaurs popularity to its video game origins and heavy face time throughout the franchise. PSA 10 examples of Venusaurs 1st Edition Holo can grab upwards of $4k.
Pokmon Game #16 Zapdos Holo
Average Value in PSA 10: $1,494
The first of the original legendary birds in card form, followed by Articuno and Moltres in the Fossil series, Zapdos rounds out the holographic cards for the 1st Edition set. With an electric close to these iconic holographic issues, Zapdos can achieve values of around $1,500.
*Editors note: A previous version of this article noted the #10 Machamp at $180 in PSA 10, based off of Auction Prices Realized. Upon further review, that figure has been adjusted to reflect SMR values of $1,000.
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First Edition Holographic Raichu
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $2,500
Raichu, the rodent-like evolved form of Pikachu, is an electric-type Pokémon that uses its tail to gather electricity from both the ground and atmosphere.
As it charges, the creature stores the electricity in those circular, yellow sacs on its cheeks and once fully charged, Raichu’s ears will point directly upwards.
Raichu also uses its pointed tail as a ground to prevent itself from being electrically shocked.
Most Valuable First Edition Pokemon Cards
Originally released in Japan as a video game, Pokémon later transformed into a trading card game that began hitting store shelves in the U.S. in 1999.
Today, these trading cards are some of the hottest non-sports cards in the hobby.
And with a catchphrase like Gotta Catch Em All., its easy to understand why.
On top of common and rare cards in the base set, there are variations such as Shadowless and First Edition Pokémon cards needed to complete an entire run.
Those First Edition cards are especially some of the rarest and some are even considered to be among the most expensive Pokémon cards in general.
And in this guide, we take a look at the 25 most valuable.
Lets jump right in!
More
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First Edition Cards In Review
Whether you are a fan of them or not, theres no debating that first edition Pokémon cards are some of the hottest cards in non-sports card collecting.
The video games, television shows, and the cards themselves transformed Pokémon into a worldwide phenomenon with an enormous fan base.
And many of those kids who grew up with these cards are now adults with more spending power able to pay big bucks for them in top condition.
It doesnt look like that trend will slow anytime soon as these cards have found their place as one of the most popular non-sports sets in the hobby.
