Ex Team Rocket Returns Gold Star Torchic
It’s not all that often that a starter Pokemon card that isn’t Charizard sells for big money, particularly a first-phase one from as recently as 2004. Gold Star Torchic from the EX Team Rocket Returns set is something of an exception, however, with a copy having sold for an eye-watering $50,000 towards the end of 2021.
The card in question was one of only 17 to have been given the PSA’s perfect GEM-MT 10 rating and 322 to have been submitted to the company for inspection. A few of the other cards in the set have also sold for high prices over the years, but none have fetched anywhere near as much as the little fire Pokemon.
Japanese Super Secret Battle Number One Trainer
Sold in July, 2020 for $90,000
With just seven examples of this card graded by PSA, the 1999 Pokemon Super Secret Battle “No. 1 Trainer” promo card is one of the rarest Pokemon cards in existence.
Held between July and August 1999, the regional Super Secret Battle events gave school kids ranging from third graders to eleventh graders the opportunity to compete for a chance to be crowned champion.
Upon winning, the champion of each regional tournament would receive this item card as a prize.
Designed by Hideki Kazam, the card features a holographic image of Mewtwo on the left and a Pokeball on the right that make it instantly recognizable.
Across the bottom, the card reads The Pokémon Card Game Official Tournaments champion is recognized here, and this honor is praised. This proves that the person who possesses this card participated in the Secret Super Battle Best in Japan Deciding Match.
Pokemon Portuguese First Edition Charizard
Sold in April, 2021 for $44,850
Only two Portuguese first edition Charizards have ever been graded PSA 10 out of the 34 submitted to PSA as of this writing.
Just two…
Given how the market for Pokemon cards has soared recently and the scarcity of this card in PSA 10 condition, I’m surprised this didn’t sell for an even higher price.
Still, $44,850 is impressive and speaks to the strength of the Pokemon brand and the Charizard character, in particular.
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Japanese Promo Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind
Only 12 Tropical Wind cards exist today, with this promotional gift being given to a dozen of the best Pokémon players at a tournament in 1999. Known as The Tropical Mega Battle, 50 of the worlds best Pokémon players competed in Honolulu, Hawaii to see who really was ..the very best, like no one ever was.
With a sale amounting to around $65,000 in October of 2020, the Tropical Wind promo card is one of the rarest Pokémon cards in this lineup.
Gold Star Pop Series 5 Umbreon: $27000
The Japanese version of the Shining Umbreon Pokemon card is pretty highly desired, with its unique coloring and gorgeous frame-piercing artwork making it fittingly beautiful as one of the first shiny Pokemon to appear on a card.
However, its price is so high because of much more than just its looks and popularity. The Shining Umbreon card only saw a very limited release through the Japanese Pokemon Players’ Club for hitting the maximum number of experience points through attending organised play events between 2005 and 2006, making it one of the rarest cards out there. In 2020, PWCC Auctions sold a PSA-10 copy of it for $20,000, showing just how in-demand it is. Notably, this card was reprinted for the first time ever in 2021, as part of the 25th Anniversary Celebrations set. Though that version is worth way, way less, it’s still the third most valuable card in the expansion.
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Valuation Of The Other Side
So, it does not appear that the people involved in the trade published their exact valuation for each card involved, but it seems that the Charizards were valued at $850,000 and the Mitsuhiro Arita drawing at $50,000. With that being said, we will take a look at all of that shortly!
So, for this section, I think it would be best to do a quick review of each card, similarly to what I did with the Illustrator. This will include a description, some price analysis and my personal opinion on each card! Lets start things off with a look at the centerpiece, a PSA 10 First Edition Charizard.
Pokmon Neo Revelation 1st Edition Holo Houndoom #8
Neo Revelation is a 66-card expansion that was released back in 2001.
Weve mentioned that dark Pokémon were overpowered at the time, but they were also unique enough to stand out from the crowd compared to normal types that had been seen before.
Houndoom is one such example, with the card wrapped in a distinctive black background.
Youll be able to see advancements in terms of the illustration compared to the base 1999 set, as Houndoom howls at the moon in the image. Rather than a full holo background, only the stars glitter in the light.
Another expensive option, its limited to only 28 PSA 10 copies. Thats low enough to allow it to mix with the rarest original Pokémon cards.
Most Damage One Attack: 2016 Mega Charizard EX Card
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Lugia 1st Edition Neo Genesis
- Release Date: 2000
- Grading: BGS Pristine 10
- Pokemon card value at auction: $144,300
Similar to Mewtwo, Lugia was an iconic Legendary for many children who grew up with the series in the 00s. So it should come as no surprise that its debut as a Pokemon card was a major hit.
While a 1st Edition Lugia broke records by selling for a mind-blowing $129,000 in 2020, a Beckett graded 10 version of the item sold for $144,300 at a PWCC auction in May 2021. BGS grades a lot harder than PSA, making this pristine Pokemon card one of only three in the entire world.
Japanese Promo Pikachu Illustrator
Sold in February, 2021 for $375,000
During the late 1990s, CoroCoro Comic, a Japanese manga magazine, held a series of illustration contests in which entrants submitted their own unique Pokémon designs and attacks.
Little did they know then that these contests would give rise to one of the rarest and most valuable of all Pokémon cards: the Pikachu Illustrator.
Not only did contest winners receive multiple copies of a card that featured their very own winning design, which was exciting in its own right, each of them also received a copy of the Pikachu Illustrator card as an additional prize.
On the card front, contestants received a special message:
“We certify that your illustration is an excellent entry in the Pokémon Card Game Illust Contest. Therefore, we state that you are an Officially Authorized Pokémon Card Illustrator and admire your skill.”
Just 39 copies were distributed to the contest winners, but anyone is welcome to guess how many still survive today.
Considering this example graded PSA 7 sold for $375,000, it’s highly likely we’d see a price tag north of $1 million for the one example in the hobby graded PSA 10.
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Most Expensive Pokmon Cards In Review
Clearly, the non-sports card collecting world is every bit as hot as the sports card hobby.
Passionate collectors are obviously willing to shell out big bucks to land any one of the prized possessions on this list.
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 doesn’t 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.
Pokemon Japanese Design Promo 4th Grade Winner Illusion’s Zoroark
- Pokemon cards value: $40,800
During a tie-in event for the Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark movie, these were given out to winners of an illustration contest. The six winners were all granted 100 copies of the card they designed, which means there are only 100 copies of this specific card in circulation, making it one of the rarest Pokemon cards ever made.
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Black Star Ishihara Gx Promo Card
Sold in April, 2021 for $247,230
As a gift to top-level employees, Tsunekazu Ishihara, president of The Pokémon Company, gave out an estimated thirty copies of this card during his 60th birthday party at the 2018 Pokémon World Championship.
As of this writing, only eight copies have ever been submitted to PSA for grading, making this one of the rarest Pokemon cards in existence.
Making this particular example even rarer is the fact that Ishihara personally signed it as well.
The artwork on the card is fantastic and the “60 Congratulations!” and GX attack of 1060 damage are nice touches to help commemorate his 60th birthday.
Ishihara has been instrumental, to say the least, in building the Pokémon brand by contributing to the development of multiple video games and even initiating the creation of the Pokémon Trading Card Game itself.
Holographic First Edition Shadowless Charizard
We’ve talked about Venusaur and we’ve talked about Blastoise, but everyone knew that the real deal was the Fire-type Pokémon, the ultimate evolution and the biggest fan-favorite in the world, Charizard. Yes, Pikachu is the best-known Pokémon in the world, but when it comes to starter Pokémon, Charizard rules the roost.
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Following that line of thought, it is not surprising that of the trio, the one with the most valuable trading card in the world would be Charizard. Specifically, this Holographic First Edition Shadowless Charizard can be sold on the online market for almost $12,000.
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Ex Deoxys Gold Star Rayquaza
Sold in December, 2020 for $45,100
Among the most powerful of any Pokémon, Rayquaza is a large, serpentine creature that gained a considerable boost in notoriety after serving as the box art mascot for the Pokémon Emerald video game.
EX Deoxys was the 24th set in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and its symbol is that of a shooting star.
The set consisted of 108 cards, three of which come with a gold star variant, including the Rayquaza Holo.
You’ll notice that next to the “Rayquaza” name in the upper-left, there is a foil gold star that sets it apart as the gold star variant.
Pokmon Base Set 1st Edition Shadowless Holo Mewtwo #10
One of the best hits from the original set, and the main antagonist from the first Pokémon movie, Mewtwo is a man-made Pokémon that was created from the DNA of Mew.
Psychic cards were also fairly rare at the time, while Mewtwo is considered to be a legendary Pokémon-type. The holofoil looks like rays of power emanating from the genetic anomaly.
This time, the number of gem mint copies that appear on the PSA registry is 81. Its a tiny bit rarer and more expensive than any of the cards discussed above. That makes sense due to the sheer popularity.
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Pokemon World Championships Number 2 Trainer
Sold in February, 2021 for $110,000
From Friday, August 18 to Sunday, August 20, 2006, the best of the best battled at the World Championships held at the Hilton Anaheim hotel in Anaheim, California.
Contestants across three divisions competed feverishly to be one of the top 32 players from each division to advance to the finals on Sunday to crown a champion.
Those who finished in second place received this number 2 trainer card which features a fantastic image of Pikachu holding a silver cup trophy.
The official 2006 Pokemon World Championships logo rests in the bottom-right corner, adding a nice touch to an already impressive-looking card.
Pokemon Japanese Promo Family Event Holo Kangaskhan Trophy Card
Sold in October, 2020 for $150,100
Another holy-grail trophy card, the 1998 Japanese Promo Kangaskhan Family Event card, continues to be one of the rarest and most desirable of all Pokemon cards.
This card is especially interesting compared to other trophy cards because teams consisting of a parent and child battled each other to obtain it, which was an admirable effort to build family bonding.
Fittingly, the tournament organizers chose none other than Kangaskhan, a kangaroo-like Pokemon with a baby Kangaskhan in her pouch, as the trophy card mascot.
Just 47 examples have made their way across PSA’s grading table, with eleven assessed in PSA 10 condition.
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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 you’re 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.
Typhlosion First Edition Set Of Three
Another first edition from Pokemon Neo Genesis in 2000, this card is rated as 9.5 according to the Beckett Grading Service another firm which confirms condition.
According to PSA the most recent 9 scored card sold for £1,584, but this did not have the “red dot error” that the cards in the listing have.
Errors can have an effect on the value of cards, as it can mean they are rarer, but should be a recognised error.
Florence Codjoe, finance expert at money.co.uk, says if you find one you think is worth money and want to sell, compare prices across sellers.
She said: “Its sometimes hard to know if youre selling for the right price, or if youre being ripped off with one you have your eye on.
“Compare listings with similar ones across marketplaces like Amazon or eBay, or even niches selling sites like Cardmarket.
“It can help to compare historical sold prices too, to check youre not overpaying.”
When comparing prices ask yourself, is it in a similar condition? Is it authentic? Does it have its original packaging?
If its in mint condition then it might be worth selling it through an auction house or directly to a collectables website.
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Blastoise Wizards Of The Coast Presentation Galaxy Star Holo $ 360000
Blastoise Wizards of the Coast Presentation Galaxy Star Holo
It is unquestionably the leader when it comes to elitism. There are only two such cardsand an interesting fact is that it was released in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast. At an auction in January 2021, one of them was sold for 360 thousand dollars.
Pokemon Ex Team Rocket Returns Torchic Gold Star
Sold in December, 2020 for $25,400
Released in 2004, the EX Team Rocket Returns set marked the seventh expansion from the EX Series and featured 111 cards in its checklist.
Three of the cards, #107 , #108 , and #109 , are special holographic shiny rare cards noted by the gold star next to their name.
First introduced in the third generation of Pokemon games, Torchic is one of the three starter Pokemon that originate in the Hoenn region.
This orange and yellow chick may look cute and cuddly, but make no mistake, this fire-type Pokemon can shoot fireballs at its enemies that will instantly leave them burnt to a crisp.
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Pokemon Japanese Champion’s League
Sold in April, 2021 for $30,000
Beginning in 2000, Champion’s League and Battle Roads tournaments offered contestants throughout Japan the opportunity to battle it out amongst the best of the best.
In 2000 and 2001, there were two Champion’s League tournaments, one in the Spring and another in the Summer.
From 2002 to 2006, however, there was a reduction to just one Champion’s League tournament per year.
And before the 2005 tournament held in Tokyo, no trainers received any kind of promotional card.
However, the top four ranking players in each age division of the 2005 tournament received this promotional stadium card, making it the first Champion’s League promo stadium card.
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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