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How To Tell If Pokemon Card Is Worth Money

Pokemon Japanese Hr Contest Winner Full Art Charizard

The Little-Known Method to Determine if Your Pokémon Cards Are Worth Money

Sold in June, 2021 for $20,100

Despite the global health situation in 2020, Pokemon tournaments still took place at home and in shops throughout Japan.

From July to September 2020, contestants in the Charizard VMAX HR competition could participate in 16-player tournaments for a chance at winning two unique Charizard cards.

Winners of the first rounds consisting of four players each won the Full Art Charizard V shown here.


Those four players would then advance to the championship round for a shot at winning the Full Art Charizard VMAX HR competition card as the top prize.

The extreme difficulty of receiving the BGS 10 Pristine grade gives this card a significant boost in value.

Who Buys Pokmon Cards These Days

Celebs arent the only ones interested in becoming the ultimate Pokémon masters. People all over the internet are excited to bid on these valuable pieces of memorabilia. If youre new to selling Pokémon cards, the process might seem a little daunting, but before you give it a hard pass, think about the potential rewards.

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 Hitmonchans boxing gloves, shoulder pads, and five protrusions on the top of its head create an aura of a Pokemon that you dont want to face.

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

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Psa 10 Neo Genesis First Edition Holo Lugia: $129000

Neo Genesis is effectively the Base Set of the second generation of Pokemon. It was the first time Pokemon from Silver, Gold, or Crystal appeared in the TCG, and it was also marred by a large number of misprints and mistakes in its very first run. Alongside it being the mascot of Pokemon Silver, that’s mainly why a mint condition, holo, first edition Lugia from Neo Genesis is so highly desirable. The PSA has only given a PSA10 grade to 43 of these.

Prices for this card are incredibly unstable, even between cards with the same condition. In November 2020 PWCC sold a copy for $129,000, while less than a year later in September 2021, Goldin sold one for “just”$47,970.


What Are The Other Expensive Cards

Japanese Pokemon Cards

Cards that feature the Starly monster are the most expensive cards, worth a median price of £399.51.

Those that have the character of Bidoof on them are selling for around £285 on average.

Charizard cards are pricing at £150 and Lugia ones at £149.99.

Cards with the character Umbreon on them are going for £142.

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Where To Value Your Pokemon Cards

The easiest way to get an estimate of the value of Pokemon cards is to see how much they are currently going for on the Pokemon TCG marketplace. Reliable websites include TCGPlayer.com and TrollandToad.com, which are also where collectors can put their cards up for sale should they choose to part ways with them. CardCavernTradingCards.com is a good place to sell both cards and the Pokemon TCG Live codes that come with booster packs and boxes. Collectors who discover they have a very valuable card should consider having it authenticated and graded by professionals. Most Pokemon card collectors turn to Professional Sports Authenticator , which authenticates cards and grades them before sealing them in a protective casing.

There will be plenty more opportunities for collectors to find more valuable Pokemon TCG cards. The Silver Tempestset launches this month, and it will be the last mainline set for Sword and Shield. In January, collectors can look forward to the Paldea Collection as well as Crown Zenith.

Top Tips In This Article

Scott Pratte, our expert card trader and collector, provided lots of tips to make money selling Pokemon cards. Here is his best advice:

  • First edition or New Edition? All kidding aside, we know that you know New Edition is a boy band from the 70s and 80s. Still, you need to know what you have in that box of Pokemon cards. In other words, which are the rare cards and which are not. Do you have one of the original holographic cards? Cha-ching.
  • Whats the condition of your cards? If theyve been under the bed in a box so light didnt fade them or the dog didnt get to them, you may be in good shape. Never taken out of the wrapper? More cha-ching. That is whats called mint. All cards in good condition are likely worth more than what you paid for them.
  • The best place to sell Pokemon cards? Its eBay all the way. It would be great to sell one card for oodles of money and eBay has facilitated some of that. But if you want a big audience and buyers willing to shell out $30 a pop for your cards, you can rack up sales.
  • Think youve got something valuable? Consult the Professional Sports Authenticator and get an estimate. This will put you in a good position to haggle with a buyer, which you should expect to do.

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Year Of Manufacture: 1950s Or 1960s

The most collectible Barbie dolls are from the period between her debut in 1959 and the late 1960s. Barbie dolls from this era are popular due to their beauty, style, and nostalgic values.

They can fetch over $20,000 if they are in mint condition, which means the box and toy are both intact and undamaged.

Early versions of Barbie have a more contoured face than later versions, which have a rounder face shape. They also have divided fingers , unlike the newer Barbies, whose fingers are permanently joined.

Specifically, pre-1972 Barbie dolls are stamped Made in Japan under one foot. You can also check the hips of your barbie to see if you would find a Barbie stamp on one side. Lets not forget the iconic high ponytail hairstyle.

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Special Cards To Keep An Eye Out For

FAST & EASY – How To Find The Value Of Any Pokemon Card!

Aside from the various rares mentioned above, there are a few unique traits worth looking out for that can mean a Pokemon card has high value. These are often printing errors or limited distribution that led to a card becoming extremely precious to collectors. Sometimes these cards look no different than others of the same kind at first glance and require special attention to identify, so look carefully!

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How To Check A Pokemon Cards Value

Pokemon trading cards have begun to reach unprecedented heights in terms of overall popularity and value.

Recently a rare Blastoise Pokemon card went for $300,000 at auction, and thats not even the most expensive Pokemon card ever sold. While most people arent going to find a 1st edition Shadowless Charizard in their old Pokemon card collection, there are countless other cards worth a decent chunk of change. Heres how to find out how much a Pokemon card is worth.

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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 it 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.

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How Do I Know What My Pokemon Cards Are Worth

There is a lot that goes into determining whether you have valuable pokémon cards. Even if you have some of the rarest Pokémon cards sitting in your collection, it takes more than just Pokémon card rarity to know the expected value of your pokemon TCG cards.


Lets go through some of the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to figuring out Pokemon card prices.

In general, Pokémon cards from the original Pokemon base set printing are worth more money than cards printed in recent sets. This is due to supply and demand economics as obtaining older cards no longer in print is much harder. However, the condition of a card is key in determining its value.

A card that is still in print is not likely to rise to an extremely high value soon. On the other hand, older cards that are not being printed anymore, especially limited editions or promo cards, generally have a higher value.

This can be a great place to start when trying to decide which of your Pokémon cards may have some value Check your oldest cards first.

However, you will need to know more than the cards age if you are truly hoping to find out if there might be gold stashed in your card binder collection.


Pokmon Snap 64 Pikachu Snap Promo Card

Dark Typhlosion 1st Edition Metal Pokemon Card  AcademGames

In 1999, fans participated in a photography contest for Pokémon Snap on the Nintendo 64 console. The best pictures were then turned into Black Star promo cards by Wizards of the Coast. Because many players were able to easily get the promotional items at the time, the collectibles weren’t believed to be worth that much. In 1999 however, a Pikachu from the Pokémon Snap Nintendo 64 competition was printed in the Japanese Corocoro magazine, and it had a black camera stamp on the artwork. Because this specific version of the promo card was so obscure, the rare Pikachu Snap promo has sold for as much as $9,800 at a PWCC auction in 2020.

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Super Secret Battle No 1 Trainer

The answer to “What’s the rarest Pokémon card of all time?”

Sold for $90,000 in July 2020

Its unlikely youve heard of Super Secret Battle No. 1 Trainer, and extremely unlikely youve ever seen a copy in person. When it comes to rare Pokémon cards, there are very few cards rarer than this.

No. 1 Trainer is a holographic promotional card awarded to finalists in the Secret Super Battle tournament held in Tokyo, Japan in 1999. To earn a place in the competitions finals, which were held in a secret location, players had to first win a regional tournament. Their prize was the No. 1 Trainer card, which granted them access to the finals.

The cards text translates to: The Pokémon Card Game Official Tournament’s champion is recognised here, and this honour is praised. By presenting this card, you may gain preferential entry into the Secret Super Battle. The card features the Japanese logo for the Pocket Monsters Trading Card Game, along with artwork of original generation Pokémon Mewtwo by illustrator Hideki Kazama.

This is a card so rare and valuable that Indiana Jones probably had to escape a crumbling temple with it at some point. Its 1999 counterpart cards No. 2 Trainer and No. 3 Trainer, similarly awarded to winners in Japanese Pokémon tournaments during the late 1990s, are almost as rare and valuable.

How To Find The Value Of A Pokemon Card

To determine what a specific Pokemon card is worth, there is an easy process you can follow.

Often, Pokemon card price lists and websites are out of date, so its important to look at what the card is actually selling for right now to see what its really worth.

Below, well show you how to perform a Pokemon card valuation using this Shaymin EX Pokemon card as an example.

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Here Are Some Of My Favorite Tcg Accessories

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it helpful on your TCG journey. After 20 years of being in the Trading Card Game community, I commonly get asked what my recommendations are on X products. To help save everyone a bit of time, Ive listed below my top picks as a TCG collector that I hope youll also find helpful.

These are affiliate links, so if you do decide to use them, Ill earn a commission. But in all honesty, these are the exact accessories that I use and recommend to everyone, even my own friends and family.

Sleeves: If you want the best for Magic and Pokemon cards, I really like Dragon Shield Matte Art sleeves. They have an excellent shuffling feel to them and have great durability, so you dont have to worry about them breaking on you. If you want my full thoughts on these sleeves, check out my .

Binders: For competitive Magic and Pokemon players, go with the Vault X 12 Pocket Binder. Im a big fan of 12 pocket binders for keeping playsets of 4 together and this binder is good quality without premium prices. For the pure TCG collectors, I would recommend Dragon Sheild 9 Pocket binders.

If you are looking for a solid deck box, then you cant go wrong with Ultra Pro Towers. Fantastic protection at affordable prices, everything you need. If you want to get a bit fancy like me, go with the Gamegenic Watchtower.

Umbreon Gold Star Holo

*ARE YOUR POKEMON CARDS VALUABLE?* How To Find Value!
  • Release Date: 2005
  • Grading: BGS 9.5
  • Pokemon card value at auction: $70,000

Eevee and its evolutions are some of the most popular characters in the Pokemon franchise. It makes sense then that a Gold Star Umbreon would quickly become one of the most coveted Pokemon cards in the TCG.

The story behind this Pokemon card also makes it unique as players had to accumulate over 70,000 XP points by the end of the Pokemon Players Clubs fourth season to obtain it. Trainers not only had to physically go to events, but they had to win a lot of matches.

Due to its low population, not a lot of these Pokemon cards have actually gone up for sale. All of that changed in June 2021 when the Gold Star Umbreon sold for $70,000 at auction. Its BGS grade of 9.5 makes it all the rarer, as only two in the whole world have received a grade this high.

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Pokemon Japanese Base Set Holo No Rarity Symbol Holo Charizard

Sold in November, 2020 for $57,877

The 1996 Japanese No Rarity Charizard card is a true piece of hobby history as it marked one of the first appearances of the iconic character.

Most Japanese base set cards will contain a rarity symbol in the lower-right corner of the card that varies based on the card type.

Holographic cards in the set feature a star symbol, so if you find one without the rarity symbol, then you know youre looking at the more rare, first-print no rarity Charizards.

The no rarity Charizards are much more difficult to find as PSA has graded 3,634 regular base set Charizards compared with only 273 no rarity Charizards.

Furthermore, roughly 14% of the regular base Charizards have achieved a PSA 10 grade compared to less than 2% of the no rarity Charizards.

The Best Place To Sell Your Pokemon Cards Online: Ebay

The main marketplace is for sure going to be eBay, Pratte says. Even if youre someone who just stumbled upon your childhood collection, its really easy to take a couple of pictures make a decent listing.

Why eBay? Its home to several high-profile deals, and it also caters to the $20 and $30 transactions. In short, eBay is the perfect meeting ground for nostalgic buyers and sellers and those whove been wheeling and dealing Pokemon cards since the 90s.

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Tropical Mega Battle Trainer Number 1 Card

There was a tournament that was held in Hawaii from 1999-2001, which was replaced by the world championships. These cards were given out at the first tournament, making them some of the rarer cards that you can find out there.

These cards are valued at anywhere around $5,000 but have been known to sell for more depending on the card. So if your Pokémon seems to be wearing a sunhat or a lei wreath, you just might have a valuable card.

Pokemon Neo Destiny 1st Edition Shining Charizard

Tcg reviews: base set 2

Sold in January, 2021 for $20,250

The fourth main expansion of the Neo Series, Neo Destiny, is notable for featuring both light and dark Pokémon whose characteristics and destiny are reflective of how a Trainer trains them.

Light Pokémon are caring and bright-spirited, while dark Pokémon are the exact opposite.

Dark Pokémon have appeared in several different series, but the Neo Destiny set is the only one in which you will find the light Pokémon.

Charizard appears as neither light nor dark in Neo Destiny but instead as a special Shining Charizard that gets its name from the unique foil design that glimmers and shines in the light.

The Shining Pokémon in this series also feature a unique rarity symbol in the lower right in the form of three stars.

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