Japanese Tropical Mega Battle Promo Tropical Wind: $147633
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, an annual Pokemon Trading Card Game tournament was held in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the 1999 event, just 12 of these Tropical Mega Battle cards were produced to be distributed to some of the lucky 50 players who attended the event , meaning the remaining number of mint copies is especially low all these years later.
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Showing a Psyduck having a nap in a hammock on a tropical island, this legendary Trainer Card sells for a whole lot of cash thanks to its rarity. Though it has sold for up to $65,100 at auction, PSA estimates the card is worth vary more than that, at a whopping $147,633.
Identify The Card With The Name And Number In The Set
Image credit: eBay
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.
World Championships Sprint Battle Road 2002 No 1 Trainer Promo: $31000
No. 1 Trainer promo cards are almost always valuable, thanks to them only being printed in limited quantities and being awarded to finalists in World Championships. What makes the Battle Road Spring 2002 promo special, though, is that every card is unique.
Each one has the name of its owner, and the region they were the champion of, printed in the card’s text. As there were seven regions for the tournament, it can be assumed that there were at least seven produced.
It’s so rare that PSA doesn’t have an appraised value for it, however it has sold at auction in the past for $31,000.
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Japanese Promo Tropical Mega Battle No 3 Trainer
Like the 1999 Japanese Promo Tropical Mega Battle No. 2 Trainer, this No. 3 Trainer card was awarded to the respective third-place winners from each region at the 1999 Tropical Mega Battle in Hawaii. This event was the first Pokémon TCG World Championship, which is partly the reason these cards are so historically significant. Of course, the exclusivity and rarity further cement their place in the list of the most rare and expensive Pokémon cards. This edition is graded CGC NM/Mint+ 8.5 and is the only one graded by CGC.
Pokemon First Edition Raichu
Sold in March, 2021 for $17,100
As Pokemon skyrocketed in popularity over the years, one character became almost synonymous with the franchise as its de facto mascot.
Much of Pikachu’s popularity originates from the first episode of the Pokemon anime series entitled “Pokemon – I Choose You!” when the main protagonist of the series, Ash Ketchum, a trainer, receives Pikachu as his Pokemon from Professor Oak.
However, when exposed to a Thunderstone, the lovable, yellow, furry, rodent-like creature evolves into the final form of Raichu.
Raichu looks quite similar to Pikachu, but with a few distinct characteristics, namely its tail, ears, and dark coloration of the tip of its paws.
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Pokmon Japanese Promo Spring Battle Road Victory Ring
The Victory Ring from the 2005 Spring Battle Road is one of the most rare and expensive Pokémon cards. Takumi Akabane redesigned the 2003/2004 promo card, keeping the concept of Pikachu holding the Victory Ring from the earlier versions. Because it was an event exclusive card awarded to the top three competitors in each age bracket, PSA has only graded 26 of them. Of those, only 18 take the PSA 10 Gem Mint designation, including this example that sold in 2021 for $36,000. It boasts excellent condition with a holographic design, no evidence of wear, and incredible visual appeal.
Grade: PSA 10 Gem Mint
See What The Card Has Sold For Before
The value of Pokemon cards spans a vast range: from a few bucks to hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are Full Art EX and GX Pokemon cards worth anywhere up to $100, Base Set cards worth thousands, and the numbers only get more ludicrous from there.
All that being said, it can be hard to know where to start when trying to find the value of a Pokemon card. The best way to find out how much a card is worth is to check how much it has sold for in the past.
The year is 2011.Youve battled long hours on the Battle Subway on your way to visit Ns Castle for your showdown against Team Plasma.Whatever happens, youre unfazed because you just pulled a full art Mewtwo-EX card from the #PokemonTCG.Life is good.#PokemonDay
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Special Cards To Keep An Eye Out For
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!
Why Are Pokemon Cards Suddenly Popular Again
Pokemon card collecting has always been popular, as evidenced by the 34 billion cards now in circulation.
But even the makers of Pokemon cards were caught off guard when demand began skyrocketing in mid-2020. In addition to being fun, addictive, and nostalgic, collecting Pokemon cards during the pandemic even promised a potential form of economic relief each $4 booster pack could contain a Charizard GX SV 49 worth $1,800.
Soon, celebrities and influencers picked up on the resurging popularity of Pokemon cards. In early October, Logan Paul live-streamed an event where he opened a rare box of cards worth $200,000 in front of his 22 million subscribers. Pokimane and other influencers quickly followed suit, offering a Pokemon-flavored version of the ever-popular unboxing videos.
Things came to a head on October 13th, 2020 when rapper Logic bought a first-edition, holographic Charizard for an eye-watering $220,574.
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Pokmon Trophy Card Neo Summer Battle Road Number 2 Trainer
Fukunishi Tomoki was the 2nd place Junior Division winner of the Kanto region tournament of the 2002 Neo Summer Battle Road. As such, he received this Number 2 Trainer card, which was the last year that displayed both the region and winners name, making this an extra unique piece of history. It also has artwork from Pokémon legend Ken Sugimori. Being a trophy card, there was only ever a minimal number given out, so its surprising that such a one-of-a-kind example ended up for auction in 2021, achieving an extraordinary price of $34,100.
Tamamushi University Magikarp Trophy Promo
- Release Date: 1998
- Grading: PSA Gem Mint 10
- Pokemon card value at auction: $66,100
In 1998, Shogakukans Magazines in Japan offered a contest for school students. Fans that took the various tests offered in the publication could send them back to the company to have them graded.
Those studious enough to pass with high scores were then invited to a special conference held in Osaka of that year. Once there, the children got to participate in a unique Pokemon card battle tournament. Winners of the rare contest ultimately received the Magikarp Trophy Pokemon card Promo.
Due to the insane obscurity of how the TCG item was given out, its easily one of the rarest Pokemon cards on our list. It was not very surprising then when the Trophy collectible went up for auction in February 2021 and sold for $66k at PWCC.
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Backless Blastoise Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Holo
Sold in January, 2021 for $360,000
Wizards of the Coast printed this extremely rare presentation card as a test run sometime during 1998 as it ramped up efforts to launch the English version of its base set in 1999.
Though it has a similar appearance to the base set Blastoise, notice it has squared corners instead of rounded corners.
Moreover, the back of the card is completely blank.
Hobby experts believe that WOTC printed only two of these “backless Blastoise” cards, so the hobby was stunned when this card came up for auction in early 2021.
Given that the market responded with a $360,000 selling price for this card, I can only imagine what it would have sold for had Charizard been on the front.
Pokmon Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9
A legendary Pokémon on a legendarily rare Pokémon card
Sold for $144,300 in May 2021
Lugia is one of the most iconic and popular Pokémon in the entire series, having starred on the front of early Game Boy game Pokémon Silver and its Nintendo DS remake SoulSilver. A legendary bird Pokémon from Gen II, Lugia is one of the most powerful and hard-to-find Pokémon that players can catch in the video games – so its only fitting that its Pokémon card is also extremely rare.
The Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9 Pokémon card is described by auction house PWCC as one of the most difficult Pokémon cards to grade, as the result of a number of errors and misprints that were included in the early runs of the Neo Genesis set for the Pokémon TCG. Later print runs were corrected, but many of the cards from the expansion remain more common in their earlier uncorrected forms.
As of May 2021, PWCC claims that only 41 Gem Mint 10 condition Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9 cards have ever been graded by PSA, with just three earning the maximum BGS 10 Pristine rating from grading company Beckett Grading Services. The Lugias rarity means that it ranks almost as highly as the legendary first-edition Charizard when it comes to the most valuable Pokémon cards.
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Most Expensive Pokemon Cards Of All Time
Initially released in Japan in the 1990s to accompany the Pokémon video games, the Pokémon Trading Card Game has transformed into one of the most popular trading card games of all-time.
Because of the red-hot popularity of the franchise, some of the most expensive Pokemon cards can sell into the six-figure range…
That may sound shocking, at first, but given that Pokémon is a worldwide phenom, there is a vast, passionate collector base around the globe just waiting to get their hands on these prized cards.
From trophy cards, to First Edition Pokemon cards, to lesser-known rarities, the value of these cards is quite impressive.
And in this guide, we take a look at the 50 most valuable of them all.
Let’s jump right in!
What Pokemon Cards Should I Buy
Pokemon has been going on since 1999, and theyre still making new sets of cards to this day. As a result, there are now thousands of Pokemon cards in existence.
Other than individual cards, there are also sealed decks, booster packs, booster boxes, and more the choice of Pokemon TCG items for sale is almost endless.
If youre buying Pokemon cards as a gift for someone, this makes things even harder, especially if you dont know much about Pokemon.
If youre unsure what Pokemon cards to buy, feel free to send us an email at enquiriesthecardbazaar.com.au or submit a message at our contact form.
When getting in touch, please let us know how much youd like to spend, and who youre buying for do they just collect the cards, or do they battle and play the Pokemon trading card game as well? From this information, well try and help provide a recommendation for individual cards or sealed packs to buy.
Information
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Card Condition Is Important
The condition of your Pokémon cards is a vital part of whether they have any value. Collectors arent interested in ripped, stained, or otherwise defaced cards, and such wear can severely tank a cards value even if it is a rare one.
Youve probably heard of mint condition cards before. If youre wondering whether or not a card qualifies as mint, youll need to get it graded by a PSA representative. Your card could be worth more if you have its condition officially graded. However, it costs money to get your card graded by a professional, so you should only do so if you are sure that your card is worth at least the money it will take to be professionally graded.
Most Expensive Pokemon Cards In 2022
It should be noted that top lists are almost always up for debate. A cards value can be determined by the highest its ever sold at auction, or what it sells for on average.
A Pokemon cards value can also wildly fluctuate with the market and are largely dependent on the items grading and condition. Our list is based on what the collectible has sold for in the latest auctions, and its position will be updated if another card outsells it and makes a new record.
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Daisuki Club Holo Masters Scroll Promo
- Release Date: 2010
- Grading: PSA Gem Mint 10
- Pokemon card value at auction: $35,200
In Japan, fans were able to sign up for the Pokemon Daisuki Club. The organization would offer players unique promotions to score limited-edition merchandise. One of those campaigns was for the Pokemon Trading Card Game in 2010.
Fans signed up to the club were able to complete various activities to earn points which could then be exchanged for a special reward. At the very top of the prize pool was the extremely limited Masters Scroll Pokemon card promo which required a whopping 8,600 points to unlock.
Due to the difficulty of obtaining the collectible and its overall scarcity, the gorgeous gold spreckled holographic has become one of the rarest promotional items in the TCGs 25-year history. So its not often that one of these goes up for sale.
Its not surprising that collectors went wild when a Master Scroll promo appeared at a November 2021 PWCC auction. The Daisuki Club promo ended up fetching $35,200 from bidders. The rare collectible will no doubt have great potential to grow in price in the future given how little of them actually exist.
Ex Dragon Frontiers Charizard Gold Star
Sold in November, 2020 for $30,300
Released in November 2006, the EX Dragon Frontiers set marked the fifteenth main expansion of the EX Series.
Of the 101 cards in the set checklist, there are two rare Gold Star cards: Charizard and Mew .
With the odds of pulling a Charizard thought to be roughly 1 in 144 packs, many collectors never had the fortune of pulling this card from a pack, giving it a reputation as one of the toughest Charizard pulls of any set.
Featuring a stunning image penned by the gifted hands of Masakazu Fukuda, the eye-appeal of this card is also tough to match as the powerful creature breathes fire onto the edge of the card.
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Pokmon Japanese Base Set No Rarity Symbol Holo Venusaur
A very rare Pokémon card made ever more valuable by its artists autograph
Sold for $55,000 in November 2021
Image: PWCC
Many of the rarest Pokémon cards date from the trading card games early days, with first edition cards released in the 1990s ranking as among the most valuable Pokémon cards today.
While the first edition stamp on cards is highly sought-after in the English edition of the Pokémon card game, the rarest Japanese Pokémon cards are instead identified by their lack of a stamp. Specifically, a missing black star in the bottom-right of a Japanese-language card is whats known as No Rarity – meaning that the card is missing the common symbol used to signify a Pokémon cards rarity.
No Rarity Pokémon cards are among the rarest Pokémon cards in existence, and few come rarer than the Venusaur Pokémon card from the games first print run in 1996. Just five copies of the Bulbasaur evolution – famous for appearing on the original video game Pokémon Green – have been graded at a perfect Gem-Mint 10 by PSA, making a flawless copy of the card extremely rare.
While a No Rarity Venusaur card commands a high price by itself, a copy sold in November 2021 set a new record for the rare Pokémon card by fetching $55,000 at auction. Helping the record sum was the signature of the cards illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita – the legendary artist behind many Pokémon cards from the last 20-plus years – on the cards case, making the already rare Pokémon card truly one-of-a-kind.
Pokemon Trainer Deck B Blastoise
Sold in March, 2021 for $20,000
This Blastoise card is one of the rarest in existence that was originally part of the Trainer Deck B or “Misty’s Deck” given out as a promotional piece to Pokemon League members ahead of the official launch of the Pokemon TCG in North America.
The Trainer Deck B theme deck contained sixty base set cards in all, with the most desirable of them being Blastoise.
Had Charizard been included in the Trainer Deck B set, it would have been the most desirable, but that’s beside the point.
An easy way to recognize a Trainer Deck B Blastoise is that it is the only non-holographic base set Blastoise.
And, if you’re still not 100% sure, you can flip the card over and you’ll see that the card’s reverse is printed with a distinct red border and “Misty’s Deck” verbiage.
Standard Deck
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