Pokmon Blastoise #009/165r Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram
A two-of-a-kind card that suddenly became one of the most valuable Pokémon cards of all time
Sold for $360,000 in January 2021
One of only two such Pokémon cards in existence – making it extremely rare – this Blastoise suddenly became one of the most valuable Pokémon cards of all time after it sold at auction in January 2021 for a whopping $360,000 .
The ultra-rare Pokémon card was created in 1998 as a presentation piece by Magic: The Gathering maker Wizards of the Coast to convince Nintendo of Japan executives to allow it to handle the TCGs English-language release. The game would eventually make its international debut one year later in 1999.
While two Blastoise Presentation cards were produced, this is the only one that has been seen publicly. Even more impressively, it has been graded at a NM/Mint+ 8.5 level by certification website CGC, meaning that the 20-plus-year-old card is in near-perfect condition. The location and state of the other Presentation card remains unknown – meaning that this may well be the only such card of its type left.
Rare Pokemon Charizard Card Sells For Us$336000
Going once. Going twice. Sold!
A rare first-edition 1999 Pokémon Charizard No. 4 card sold on Thursday for US$336,000 at auction.
The Charizard card, sold by Heritage Auctions, drew widespread attention because it’s from the game’s first English print run and had been given a perfect PSA GEM-MT 10 grading. It’s one of only 121 to be given that rating, according to the auction house.
The sale was part of a larger trading card games auction, which included Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. In total, the auction netted more than $3.7 million.
“This auction, especially the trophy-level cards, did exceptionally well,” Jesus Garcia, Heritage Auctions Trading Card Games consignment director, said in a statement.
“This sale reinforced the fact that demand for Pokémon cards continues its climb. We fully expected Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering to fare well, and they did.”
Since their introduction in the 1990’s, Pokémon cards have made a comeback and have even sparked a sales frenzy.
Last week, a Georgia man was sentenced to prison for using COVID-19 relief funds to buy a Pokémon Charizard card, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release. He purchased the card for $57,789.
In February, Goldin Auctions sold a rare 1998 Pocket Monsters Japanese Promo Illustrator Holographic Pikachu card for $900,000. Goldin says it was an “all-time record public sale for any Pokémon card.”
Why Is Charizard So Expensive
Charizard has a special place in the hearts of collectors. Whether you were trying to complete the video games, show off your card collection to your friends, or routing for Ash to become the worlds greatest Pokemon master on TV, you knew that with a Charizard it was possible. To this day, this fire-breathing dragon is a symbol of strength, power and prestige and people will happily pay to acquire him. This is why Charizard Pokémon cards are so expensive and sought-after.
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Charizard ~ Battle Road Spring
While the commonly found version of this card in English is also quite valuable at an average of $386, it’s the version that released exclusively in Japan that truly brings in the big bucks. These were only available at events that took place back in 2006 and players had to get past the preliminary rounds of tournaments to even get one at all. With how hard these were to come across, they’re particularly valued by collectors today.
Help Is My Charizard Fake
Good news, Ill start by saying there is a good chance your Charizard is real. If its fake, aka a proxy card, its worth $0. Weve handled literally millions of Pokemon cards during our time collecting. If theres one thing were good at, its spotting a fake Pokemon card.
We have seen nearly every single fake counterfeit Charizard 1st edition card under the sun.
Seeing images over a computer screen can sometimes be difficult when determining authenticity. Thats why when we get offered a Pokemon collection we cant offer our best price until we see the cards in hand.
While it may be second nature for us to spot them out, we wanted to take some time and put together this guide to help you spot fake Pokemon cards and better educate yourself.
If your Charizard is any/all of the following, your bill is fake:
- Its laminated
- It feels like printer paper
- Its smaller than Pokemon today
- Its much bigger than Pokemon today
- It does not have a holographic layer
- It looks blurry
- It doesnt feel like a Pokemon card
There are many other factors that go into finding out if a Charizard card is fake or real. These are the quick indicators that are easiest to spot when first learning.
First edition Charizard cards are typically the most highly counterfeited Pokemon cards in the world. This comes as no surprise when it is one of the most sought-after Pokemon cards in the game.
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Charizard First Edition Holographic Base Set #4
Price: $360,000
Release Date:1999
A PSA-Gem.Mint 10 and the 90s kid delight, Charizard cards are the apple of every card collectors eye, especially the shadowless ones- an early model with zero shadows around its art border.
In 2009, L. A rapper Logic bagged a piece of this card for over $226,000, a record soon topped by a bidder at PWCC auction on December 31st, 2020, who bought for $350,000.
A new record was reportedly set less than five hours later as a bidder at the Goldin auctionpurchased a copy for a record-breaking $369,000. Today, this record still stands, making it the most expensive shadowless Charizard Pokémon card ever sold.
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.
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What Makes The Skyridge Holographic Crystal Charizard So Valuable
Next up we have an extremely unique and much sought-after card. The Crystal Charizard from Skyridge, is different to its predecessors because of its colour, design and artwork. Featured a cartoon-esq drawing that almost pops off the card, were also treated to a pale background and eye-catching crystal holographic area.
Released in 2003, Skyridge was a good four years beyond the initial Pokemon boom, and one of the last few WOTC area sets to come out. As such, sealed product is incredibly hard to find, and mighty expensive if you do. Needless to say, this ultimate chase card now costs a lot of money, with recent eBay listings advertised north of £20k.
2003 Skyridge Holographic Crystal Charizard PSA Population Report
Shadowless Charizard With Psa 10 Gem Mint Rating: $311800
Charizard has always held a special place in Pokemon history and fans hearts. However, for card collectors and those who play the trading card game, this particular Charizard is important in two different ways. Firstly, it was a very high-powered card for play. If you had one of these in your deck and hand, it didnt guarantee a win, but it helped a lot. Considering the popularity of this high-powered card for playing with, thats unusual. Most copies of this card are weathered. Secondly, this Mitsuhiro Arita-designed Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Variant has a perfect ten in Gem Mint Rating. Not only is the card made by an exceptional and well-loved artist, but this specific copy is pristine. Resultantly, only a single copy sold for over three hundred thousand dollars to a collector on eBay. Over two and a half thousand were submitted for rating, and less than a hundred and fifty achieved a ten. As NintendoLife News puts it, in other words, its the rarest version of the card ever released, and in the best condition it could possibly be in.
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Topsun Charizard Blue Back No Number Error
Sold in January, 2021 for $493,230
As with the other Topsun cards mentioned earlier on this list, Top-Seika didn’t distribute them until 1997, even though their copyright date reads 1995.
And since they weren’t part of the official Pokemon Trading Card Game, they are considered more in the realm of novelty collectible cards.
Still, an early Pokemon card is an early Pokemon card…
And, whether you’re talking about the prism holos, green-backs, or blue-backs, collectors are willing to pay thousands of dollars for several of the Topsun cards when graded in PSA 10 condition.
But a price tag of thousands of dollars turned out to be quite an understatement in January 2021 when Goldin Auctions sold the most desirable of them all, the only “no number error” blue-back Charizard on record in a PSA 10 holder, for a whopping $493,230.
The blue-back checklist contains 150 numbered cards in total, but for some reason, about 50 of the characters were also printed with no number on them by mistake.
So, while the standard blue-back Charizard should contain a “006” on it in the upper-left of the front of the card, the “no number error” will be blank.
If you can find one and are lucky enough to have it graded PSA 10, you could be looking at life-changing money.
How Do I See What Grade My Card Is
Third-party professional grading companies, like PSA, BGS, and CGC, focus solely on doing this for their customers. They essentially grade the card, put it in a clear holder, with a label that explains the details of the card.
PSA 9 Charizard Pokemon Card
This takes the guesswork out of seeing a raw card and not being sure if its an EX or Gem Mint.
The difference between EX, NM, or Mint can literally be hundreds, if not thousands dollars.
While lower-graded Pokemon cards are easier to determine the grade from a picture high-graded Pokemon are much different.
Some cards are inked and cleaned, making conditions extremely difficult to see in pictures.
If you have an old Charizard card youre interested in selling or want to know its value, send us a picture and well be glad to help.
Whatever you do, do not bring your collection to a pawn shop or card shop who doesnt know its true value. Contact a trading card expert to get the most for your collection.
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Team Up Black Star Staff Prerelease
Promotional cards are a tough thing to look at in the realm of collecting cards are they’re often very rare due to their limited printing of them. The Charizard that was featured as a Team-Up Black Star set card had a promotional staff version that was given to members who helped hold the prerelease event for the release of the set.
Alongside it was Gyarados, Machamp, and Mewtwo, which were at different various locations. The Charizard version of the promo can fetch a little over $2,000, provided it is PSA 10 grade.
Pokmon Skyridge Charizard #146
Price: $28,100Release Date: 2003
The last to ever be produced by the Wizards of the Coast was illustrated by Kouki Saitou, a top Japanese animator. There are 150 cards in this set, and six of them with the Charizard version has a crystal-type feature that makes it very powerful to handle any energy.
The Skyridge is the third and final expansion of the digital cards series that has playable e-reader apps on the cards. It sold in November 2020 for $28,100.
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Charizard Japanese Basic Card
Reason for Value: Card Year:
photo source: psacard.com
Coming in at number eight is the Charizard Japanese Basic Card. This card features Japanese writing and was printed in 1996. The cards language and interesting design make it popular among American collectors, but a big part of its value probably comes from its age. The card was made right at the beginning of the Pokémon trading card phenomenon, making it a significant part of the games history.
Collectors can sometimes snag this card for around $6,000, but prices as high as $13,900 have been recorded!
Although Pokémon trading cards were introduced in 1996, the game didnt hit U.S. markets until 1998 when the first demo pack came out. About a year later, the first official U.S. set came out. The game was preceded by the Pokémon TV show which debuted in 1997.
Charizard ~ 1999 Cd Promo
A special promotional CD was released exclusively in Japan on January 1, 1999. It came with some incredible promotional art inside alongside a random selection of promo cards. As the CDs themselves tend to sell for hundreds of dollars when they appear on auction sites, it makes it expensive to even home to receive one of these rare Charizards. Those that do though can make quite a bit of money, with some selling for over $700 on eBay.
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The First Charizard Card Ever Printed
The first Charizard card ever printed was in 1995 in Japan. These cards are called Topsun cards and have the potential of being incredibly valuable.
The Pokemon craze had yet to hit North America as the Japanese Pokemon market was starting to really take off.
1995 Nintendo Charizard Japanese Pokemon Card
If you have something similar to whats pictured above, your Pokemon card is likely real, however, the condition of the one above is Gem Mint meaning perfect condition. The better the condition, the more money it will bring.
Counterfeits, or fake cards, are prominent among collections. Its important to realize you may have a fake card and it would be worth nothing in the market. If you are buying Pokemon cards, read our section about spotting Fake Charizard cards so you do not get ripped off.
A year later, October 20th, 1996, Japan released the official Pokemon Base Set in Japanese which was the first official Pokemon set ever released.
Remember, the chance of pulling a Charizard card from a pack of Pokemon cards was and still is, incredibly rare. The combination of having a cool orange/red dragon artwork along with a low pull-rate means only one thing A very rare card!
1996 Japanese Charizard Pokemon Card
Japanese counterfeit cards are not as common as the English versions, however, they do exist. Were almost always able to spot a fake card simply from the image, as long as the image is clear.
1st Edition Symbol
Shadowless Charizard Pokemon Card
Insanely Rare Charizard Pokemon Card Sells For Record
Charizard is one of the most sought-after Pokemon cards.
A rare shadowless Charizard from the Pokemon Trading Card Game broke world records after being sold at auction for a mind-blowing $350k. The collectible was a 1st Edition from the 1999 Base Set.
Despite releasing decades ago, the Pokemon TCG has seen a major explosion in value in 2020. Items once traded away for nothing on school playgrounds can now sell for as much as a sports car.
A Charizard card from 1999 broke records on December 12 when it sold for an astonishing $350k making it the highest price anyone has ever paid for the Gen I Fire-type mon.
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Charizard ~ Dragon Frontiers
This card not only has shiny Charizard, but it is the only one where the Pokemon is also a Dark type making it truly special. It’s also a Basic Pokemon meaning that players didn’t even have to even have to go through the lengthy route of evolving before playing it!
Related: Pokemon TCG: Cards From Your Childhood That Are Worth A FortuneAs it’s a star card, only one was allowed to be in any deck. Despite how few players needed to actually use it competitively if they wanted, people grabbed as many as they could for its epic art and of course, the fact that it was a Charizard.
How To Know If Your Charizard Pokmon Card Is Rare And Valuable Or Not
Charizard
Paul Tassi
Time is a flat circle, and it seems like just yesterday I was spending my allowance every week on Pokémon cards in junior high. Well, now Pokémon cards, and opening them on Twitch streams and in YouTube videos, are all the rage again, and it turns out some of those cards you got as a kid may be valuable today, if you kept themand kept them in good shape.
Wading into the exact valuation of all Pokémon cards is a swamp that its hard to emerge from, so I thought Id focus on one particular type of card which was coveted when I was a kid. I saved it because I thought it might be worth something someday, and it turns out I was right. Well, depending on which version you have.
Here is a gradient scale on which of the old school Charizard cards are the most and least valuable. Exact figures for selling prices are hard to pin down. The low end might be a few hundred, the higher end for the rarest Charizard editions can be tens of thousands, if not over $100K for true perfection. The prices below are estimates and again, its a wide range. If yours isnt here at all, it may be too common to be worth all that much. These cards are also usually PSA 9-10 graded meaning they have to be in stellar condition, not just sitting in a shoebox somewhere, in order to see these ranges of prices.
2016 Pokémon XY Staff Charizard Prerelease
Charizard
Game Freak
2002 Legendary Collection Charizard Reverse Holo
Charizard
Game Freak
2002 Legendary Collection Charizard Holo
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