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How To Tell Fake Pokemon Cards

Wait Arent There Misprints In Pokmon

How To Spot Fake Pokémon Cards

Yes, misprints – also known as error cards – do happen, but they are generally documented. In these cases, collectors look for a specific misprint of a card. If you think you have a misprint, look it up online and see if anyone else has noticed the same mistake. If you do have a misprint, you could have an even more valuable Pokémon card than you initially thought!

Price Of Fake Pokmon Cards

When purchasing sealed products price can be a good indicator that you are buying a genuine product.

Prices for current expansion set products are generally:

Booster packs £3.50 £5 Booster boxes £95 £140 Collection boxes around £20 Collection tins around £20 Elite trainer boxes £40 £50


Products from earlier sets tend to be more expensive unless they are reprints.

It would be advisable to be wary of any store selling products at vastly reduced prices. The image shown is a screen shot from a newly established online store.

If the price seems too good to be true then it probably is.

Other Tips For Identifying Fake Pokemon Cards

There are many different production methods for fake trading cards, including Pokémon TCG cards, each with their own tell-tale signs that differentiate the product from the genuine article ;which;means no one guide to identifying fakes can contain every possible red flag. Here are a few pointers on what to do if youre not sure about a card.

If, for some reason, youre looking at a Pokémon card to buy, but you cant physically hold and inspect the card for yourself , always ask the seller to take an original, high quality photo of both sides of the card for you. This should let you carry out all but the material-based tests, and allows a good deal of confidence the card is real.


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Recently Updated Pokemon Card Values

The following is a list of all Pokémon cards that have recently had their price values updated. Clicking on a specific Pokémon card image will take you to that cards listing. Selecting the cards name will bring you to the individual Pokemon listing pages which are further broken down by TCG set.

Card Image

How To Spot Phony Pokemon Cards

How To Spot Fake Pokemon Cards

Here are some tips on how to spot a fake Pokemon card.

_ Double Vision. If the image is dull in color or the print on the card is hard to read _ usually a product of shoddy reproduction _ experts say its probably a fake. Nintendo officials also say you can see dots when you look closely at the printed images on fake cards. Sometimes the colors of the characters are wrong.

_ Look for Logo. Some fake cards do not carry the Nintendo trademark logo or “seal of quality found on official Pokemon cards. Copyright information is also printed somewhere on the package.


_ Flimsiness. Compare the thickness of the card to other Pokemon cards. Counterfeit cards are often printed on cheaper, thinner paper stock that bends or “crinkles.

_ Glue. Pokemon cards _ licensed by Nintendo and made by Renton, Wash.-based Wizards of the Coast _ are made out of two pieces of heavy stock paper glued together. Fakes are often just one piece of cardboard. Experts say you shouldnt be able to see the other side of a Pokemon card when you hold it up to the light. As a last resort only, cards can be ripped apart to see if there is glue inside. But be warned: damaged cards are generally worthless.

_ Foil Finish. Some special Pokemon cards called “holofoils have a foil-like finish embedded in the card to give it a 3D look. Counterfeiters have a hard time reproducing this look, so their work is often low quality and easy to spot.

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Font Text And Spelling

Pokémon has its own unique font which is not in the public domain.;


Producers of counterfeit cards use fonts that are similar and appear genuine. Even when compared with a genuine card the difference in font is not always obvious.

The card on the right is genuine and the only major difference in font is the style of the letter g. The spacing between the letters is also slightly wider on the fake card but that is only noticeable when compared with a genuine card.

Fake or Pseudo cards often contain spelling mistakes and may use a plain e rather than an é in the word Pokémon. In the example above, an r has been used instead of an e at the end of Zygarde. However, it should be remembered that genuine cards do sometimes contain mistakes so other factors should be looked at as well.

What Is The Use Of Pokemon Cards

Pokemon cards are used by lovers of characters in Pokemon to feel closer to the idol. Pokemon cards are usually used by pokemon cards collectors as part of their collection. But the longer time passes, Pokemon cards are transferred functions as part of the game. Many people create games through Pokemon cards with various versions. Using pokemon cards will make you always remember all about pokemon stuff and find out in detail what is in the world of pokemon.

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How To Print Pokemon Cards

At the printing stage, like other printing processes, you need a computer that is connected to the printer machine. On a standard printer, there is a program tab that functions as a setting for the page you will print. To customize the size of the design of the pokemon card to have a size that matches the original pokemon cards. You dont want to print one pokemon card with one paper size, right? So make sure that you pay attention to page size. After that place the paper with the type that can be processed by a standard printer. Now you have your own Pokemon cards.

More printable images tagged with:

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Use Free Valuation Sites

How To Tell If A Pokemon Card Is FAKE!

Another great way to figure out how much a Pokemon card is worth is to use card valuation sites. These websites allow a user to input a couple details about their card, such as its name and number, and be returned with results about its estimated value.

Websites like CardMavin compile up-to-date information about how much individual cards are selling for across the internet and use that information to make an estimate about the cards current value. This is the easiest way to check what a Pokemon card is going for in the present market.


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Japanese Pokmon Heartgold And Soulsilver Sets

When the Heartgold and Soulsilver Pokémon trading card lineup was released in Japan, it was done differently from in America. It also had an abnormally long waiting period in between the first and second sets.

Heartgold and Soulsilver Collection

Heartgold and Soulsilver Collection is the first Japanese set based on the Heartgold and Soulsilver games. It has 140 cards in total, including the following special cards: Alph Lithograph, Ursaring Prime, Crobat Prime, Typhlosion Prime, Meganium Prime, Blissey Prime, Donphan Prime, Ampharos Prime, Feraligatr Prime, Lugia LEGEND, and Ho-Oh LEGEND. Starting from this set, the Trainer cards in Japan have been renamed Goods cards. It has been renamed in America as HeartGold SoulSilver, or HS.

Heartgold and Soulsilver special decks

The Heartgold and Soulsilver special decks were released in between the releases of the first and second Heartgold and Soulsilver sets. Expert Deck: Leafeon vs. Metagross is a set of two 60-card decks with a CD for online play. In addition to being more powerful than most theme decks, the Leafeon and Metagross decks have special cards that werent released in any other Japanese sets. There are also Battle Starter decks, which were released with special cards only available to their specific deck. The decks are named Offense , Defense , Speed , and Skill .

Heartgold and Soulsilver Revived Legends

Lost Link Mini-Series

How To Tell If A Pokmon Card Is Fake

Strategic depth: Medium


Publisher:Wizards of the Coast

Pokémon cards are back in vogue. And with the uptick in interest, there is now a thriving market for buying and selling Pokémon cards. As the number of people looking to buy Pokémon cards continues to increase, so does the number of scammers looking to take advantage of the trend and make a quick buck.

The most notable example of this involved the famous YouTuber Logan Paul. He and a group of investors almost bought a box of Pokémon cards valued at $375,000. The seller agreed to open the box and packs before exchanging the cash. The box turned out to be fake. Fortunately for Paul, he didnt pay a dime, but the mistake even slipped past Pauls Pokémon advisor.

While the average person doesnt have the money to hire a specialised advisor, the average person can easily identify a fake Pokémon card with a little advice. This guide will teach you how to spot a fake and protect yourself from buying a counterfeit card. This guide is structured to give you more detailed advice on how to spot a fake as you go on. Whether you collect as an enthusiast or you just want to round out your latest deck, welcome!

$375k FAKE #Pokemon box…Thats why you buy PSA/BGS graded!Are you kidding me!?!?

Crypto King

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When And Where Did Pokemon Originate

Pokemon was created in Japan, by Satoshi Tajiri, in 1995. In Japan, it is also sometimes called Pocket Monsters. It started out as a game with picture cards that were used for trading. It soon evolved into a video game as well and took the world by storm.

The Pokemon Company was founded by and is still owned by the popular video game company, Nintendo. Many of the worlds children have grown up playing Pokemon games, and Pokemon cards are amongst their most prized possessions.

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Check The Cards Details

How to Know If Pokemon Cards Are Fake

Name of the Pokémon

It may seem too obvious to mention, but, with all the identifying minutiae involved in counterfeit trading cards, its all too easy to overlook perhaps the biggest possible mistake: the actual card name.

Sometimes its simply a spelling error, sometimes the entire name may be totally incorrect. With nearly 900 types of Pokémon on the loose now its harder than ever for the casual punter to tell whats a real Pokémon and whats not and that makes fakers jobs easier.


So, just you make extra sure your Blacephalon is titled Blacephalon, not Barcelonion, eh?

HP and Damage values

Likewise, fake cards may have obviously, absurdly incorrect numbers for the Pokémons HP or attack damage . In that case, its a dead giveaway you have a fake in your hands.

Even if the numbers arent self-evidently out of this world, you can still check the Pokémon TCG database to find the correct stat range for the card, and make sure yours matches up. If that fails, in a pinch, a google search will often turn up an authoritative picture of the authentic card to compare against just make sure youre confident in the photos source.

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Pokemon French First Edition Dracaufeu

Sold in February, 2021 for $37,300

The First Edition Dracaufeu, or the French name for Charizard, is also relatively easier to find in PSA 10 condition than the English version.

Though only 28 examples have achieved that grade, PSA has only graded 382 overall, meaning that roughly 7% of them are PSA 10s.

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Verify The Pokemon Cards Information

This is the first thing you need to do when authenticating a Pokemon card. By the information, we mean all the cards details.

The information that you should know about the Pokemon card includes:

  • How much HP does this Pokemon have?
  • Whats the correct spelling for the name?
  • What is the rarity of this Pokemon card?
  • What set does this Pokemon card belong to?

When there were only 102 Pokemon cards to collect, you could just memorize everything. Thats what hardcore collectors did to spot fake Pokemon cards.;They just knew every card out there.

As were more than 20 years into Pokemon cards now, knowing them all-let alone memorizing them- is much harder than it used to be. This is what Google searches are for!

So, all you have to do is Google the Pokemon card that youre trying to authenticate youll get all the information of the genuine card. Another way to do it is to use the Pokemon Card Database.

You can favorite this page and access it from your phone whenever you need to. Its like a Pokedex for Pokemon card collectors.

If the cards information doesnt check out, you dont have to proceed to step two. The card youre examining is fake.;

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How To Spot Fake Pokmon Cards

The Pokémon franchise is currently experiencing a record level of interest and demand for its products. For some people the level of interest has been fuelled by the 25th Anniversary celebrations, others have seen it as an investment opportunity while others have taken up collecting during the lockdowns imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

With such a high level of interest it is no surprise that scammers want a slice of the pie. While some fake Pokémon cards are immediately obvious, other forgers produce copies that need very close observation to determine whether they are genuine or fake. Indeed, many serious high-value collectors hire Pokémon advisors to check cards for them.

This article has been produced to offer some guidance in weeding out cards that may not be genuine. Being aware of what to look for is very useful when considering a purchase.

Check The Cards Front

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR POKEMON CARDS ARE FAKE!

When youre checking the front of a Pokemon card to find out if its real or fake, youre looking for anything abnormal. Before fake cards got better, you could easily identify them with a distinctively offset yellow frame.

While original cards have a frame thats equally thick on all sides, which is not always the case with fake Pokemon cards.;They usually have a misprinted frame thats much thicker on one side.

Something like this would never pass the strict quality checks of The Pokemon Company. So, if you find a card with such an error, its definitely fake.

In the case of the fake Pokemon card below, there is nothing wrong with the yellow frame. However, the colors and thin material of that card give it away immediately.

Another thing to pay attention to when examining a Pokemon cards front is the font. All genuine Pokemon cards use the same font. If you find a card with a different font or bold text that shouldnt be, this card is fake.

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Are There Any Common Fakes To Look Out For

Dicebreaker asked Edward Nguyen, a Pokémon card dealer and owner of Vermilion Collectibles and Games, if there were any specific Pokémon cards that are commonly sold as fakes. Most of the ones I see are people who seem to think that they have something valuable, but realistically it was one of those cheap stickers that people bought from vending machines or whatever, he says.

In addition to those stickers, buyers should also be weary of vintage cards. In order for a counterfeiter to be profitable, they will target something thats higher value, Nguyen says. So usually generally any old vintage card requires a closer look. As for newer cards, hes found some fake cards while buying in bulk, but hasnt seen any high quality counterfeits and could pick them out easily.

Verify The Credibility Of Energy Symbols

If you spot an irregularity in how an energy symbol appears, you may be holding a fake card. The symbol may be irregular, misplaced, smaller, or bigger. Sometimes, counterfeits do not have elemental symbols. It is also easy for scammers to recreate fake Pokémon cards with funny creatures, especially the Birthday Pikachu set that is no longer being produced by the Pokémon franchise.

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Compare Your Card With The Original Version:

When buying new Pokémon cards, it is essential to compare them to the official cards. Any changes in the overall look would make it easier for you to pinpoint the fake one. Mostly, unreal variants arent made with care, so you can even expect to find a Pokeball printed upside down.

You might be thinking this is a joke, but there are a few variants of these cards that dont even look close to real, but people are still buying and selling them. So, you need to be vigilant when buying them online.

Tips From The Pokmon Company

How to spot fake Pokemon cards (step

Unfortunately, with a product as popular as the ;Pokémon Trading Card game, there are those who will counterfeit our ;merchandise for their own gain.

There are a few things that you as a customer can do to protect yourself from purchasing counterfeit merchandise.

There are images of our products available at Pokémon.com. Familiarizing ;yourself with what our decks look like will help assure that you arent ;fooled by one of the many knockoffs that look nothing like our official ;packaging.

Often, fake booster packs are very difficult to ;discern from the real thing. As a rule of thumb, if the price of a pack ;seems too good to be true, it probably is. Pokémon Trading Cards are ;produced from the highest quality materials, to assure a positive ;experience for the player and collector alike. Because of this, finding a pack of cards priced dramatically below our suggested retail price is a near certain tip-off that youre being sold counterfeit merchandise. In ;addition, we find that we receive the highest reported instances of ;counterfeit sales originating from Flea Markets.

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