How Can You Tell If A Japanese Card Is Rare
There are several ways to find out how rare a Japanese card is worth. For example,
- A marker near the bottom of the card or close to its name will indicate rarity
- A circle means the card is standard.
- A diamond means its less common.
- Stars showcase how rare the card is.
In addition, other characteristics that can boost the rarity include: a higher printed number than there should be in a given printed set and holographic artwork or reverse holographic in a Japanese card. Furthermore, a card that bears the first edition mark on the side denotes it is from the first run of cards in the set. Therefore, giving the Pokemon card extra value.
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Pokemon Promo No 2 Trainer World Championships: $110100
Even runners-up get big prizes at World Championships, with all three finalists at Anaheim, Californias 2006 championships each receiving a copy of this massively valuable card. Winning the card in 2006 automatically granted entry to the finalist in 2007 as well, bypassing the whole organised points play system they would otherwise need to work through.
In February 2021, PWCC sold a PSA 9-graded copy of the card for $110,100. The fact it wasnt even in pristine, PSA 10 condition and still sold for six figures should go some way to show the value of this card.
Super Secret Battle No 1 Trainer Card
This super rare Pokémon card was given to finalists at the Secret Super Battle Tournament held at, you guessed it, a super-secret location in Tokyo in 1999. Only seven of these cards were ever made, and only one has ever gone up for sale .
This card is a holy relic in the TCG community, featuring a unique illustration of the series resident badass Mewtwo and the original Pocket Monsters Trading Card Game logo.
Aw, look how happy he looks with his trophy!
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The Importance Of Sub
Despite PSAs dominance, theres a reason why theres space in the market for the likes of Beckett and CGC they provide sub-grades where PSA do not.
If you dont know, sub-grades display how the card graded in the four key areas:
This gives the owner much more detail with regard to how mint the card actually is.
A card graded a PSA 10, could actually vary quite drastically if it were graded by Beckett or CGC.
A perfect Beckett card is actually called a Black Label, and CGCs version is called Perfect.
Should a card achieve this status, it value significantly increases. This is particularly the case with Beckett Black Label cards.
Below is a piece from my collection. Note the subgrades! Its not quite Perfect, but CGC still class as it Pristine which is pretty cool!
Now Im well-aware that their graded cards dont sell on the secondary market for the same prices as well-established US companies do.
Reputation and adoption by the masses will take years to achieve. But if they dont properly understand the importance of differentiation and adding value, I would guess that some of these companies will cease to exist in the short-to-medium term.
In my opinion, any UK Pokemon card grading company that doesnt offer sub-grades is missing a trick.
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Identify Type And Assess Rarity
The first step to identify Pokemon card value is to check its type and rarity. In other words, how likely the card is to come across from any given booster pack or special event, and if it has any special characteristics, such as card material or Pokemon types.
There are a few indicators of rarity on any given card, though theyre quite subject to change depending on when said card was printed. A marker near the bottom of the card or near its name will indicate rarity: a circle means the card is common, a diamond means its less common, and stars mean its rare. More stars or with combinations of letters or symbols mean extra rare, including if those symbols are in the name or elsewhere on the card. Other characteristics that can up the rarity include: a higher printed number than there should be in a given printed set holographic artwork or reverse holographic, in which everything but the artwork is holographic artwork that takes up the full card artwork wherein the creature doesnt cast a shadow and any shining characteristics, not to be confused with holographic.
While rarity isnt the only factor in appraising value, its certainly a major factor: Some of the highest-selling cards worth tens of thousands of dollars, or considered priceless from lack of supply, are only so because of small rarities like misprints or typos.
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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.
Super Secret Battle No 1 Trainer: $90000
These cards were so cool. Awarded to regional champions in 1999, they served as both the prize for winning a regional heat and as the ticket to enter the Super Secret Battle finals held in an undisclosed location in Tokyo on August 22, 1999.
There are estimated to only be seven of these cards in existence, all of which have been graded by the PSA. A PSA 10 copy of the card sold at auction in 2020 for a massive $90,000, but the seller is hoping to get even more for it, as it is now up for offers from a starting price of $198,000.
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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.
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.
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Prices For Pokemon Base Set Pokemon Cards
Pokemon Base Set card list & price guide. Ungraded & graded values for all Pokemon TCG Base SetPokemon Cards., historic prices, and past sales.
Find out how to identify your pokemon card using card numbers, sets, foil, and editions.
Prices are updated daily based upon Pokemon Base Set listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. Read our methodology.
Umbreon Gold Star Holo
- 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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How Is The Value Of A Card Determined
How much are Pokémon cards worth? What would you receive if you offered your Yu-Gi-Oh cards for sale? Ask yourself these questions, and you rightly want to make sure that the value of your cards is determined correctly. Because of the global trade in collectible cards, AP Grading has developed internationally recognized procedures for condition grading.
What Exactly Is Grading
Grading is the objective assessment of the condition and value of trading cards by professional and experienced inspectors. For example, if you want to know which Pokémon cards are valuable and have your Pokémon cards graded, you can contact our experienced inspectors. With the help of their trained eye, as well as state-of-the-art technology and specially developed microscopes, they will confirm the authenticity and quality grade of your cards. At the end of each process, your cards are sealed in secured sleeves to ensure their long-term condition.
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Examine Current Prices Online
While youll typically find the Pokémon cards worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for sale at auctions, you can find plenty of cards worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars online. Visit online sales platforms like:
- Facebook Marketplace
Then use the search function to determine your cards current monetary value. Look through multiple listings on multiple sites to get a good idea of the cards average price. Pay attention not just to price, but also the highest price that actually sold.
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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Psa 10 Southern Islands Reverse Holo Mew: $5950
When the second Pokemon movie was released in Japan, the makers of the Trading Card Game decided to release a special edition set of cards to mark this occasion. The Southern Islands card series was born, featuring just two sets of nine cards apiece that were unique to any other set in the game.
Full sets of these cards can sell for a lot , but the absolute highest value is undoubtedly the Southern Islands Mew, which has a rare reverse foil treatment where the frame around the art is the only part thatâs shiny. In 2020, PWCC Auctions sold a copy of it for $4,155, and more recent auctions push it up as high as almost $6000. There have only ever been 19 copies given the PSA 10 grade, though other conditions are slightly more common.
Pokemon Card Set Symbols
Use this handy guide to look up Pokemon card set symbols, set names, and set years.
The most common way to organize Pokemon cards is by set. To identify the set, look for a little symbol at the bottom of the card, next to the card number. There are a bunch of these set symbols 5-6 sets are released every year, each with a different set symbol, and theyve been printing cards since 1999!
The following table is a complete list of Pokemon card sets, sorted by date the newest sets are at the top the oldest are at the bottom. If I missed something, let me know if the comments! I want this to be THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR POKEMON CARD SETS!
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Misprinted Fossil Krabby: $2200
While misprints might be irritating for the normal player or casual collector, for the hardcore they can be very big money. If a card runs through the printer wrong, is miscut, has a typo on it, or anything else, it can increase the value significantly. One great example of that is this Fossil Krabby,
The difference between these multiple miscuts and a normal card is that part of a fossil symbol to the bottom-left of its art is missing. This seemingly minor difference has driven up the price of these cards immensely, and despite going for under two dollars in its normal state, Pokemon Prices has the card record of a misprint selling for over $2200 dollars.
Blastoise 1st Edition Shadowless Base Set
- Release Date: 1999
- Grading: PSA Gem Mint 10
- Pokemon card value at auction: $45,100
Not only is Blastoise one of the most beloved characters in the Game Freak RPG, but the Water-type starter has also become one of the most valuable Pokemon cards currently on the market.
Those who grew up with the 1999 Base Set easily equated the turtle on the same level as the highly sought-after Charizard, so it makes sense that decades later, many are willing to bust out their wallets for the iconic mon.
While its 1st Edition Shadowless Pokemon card from 1999 has always brought in good money, the popular item has seen a massive jump in value recently. In a PWCC auction held in November 2020, the rare Base Set Blastoise sold for $45,100.
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Kangaskhan Family Event Trophy: $150100
The Kangaskhan Family Event Trophy card sold for over $150,000 at an auction in October 2020. This card is so limited in quantity that its value is off the charts. The company gave this exclusive Pokémon card to a select few who competed and won events at the 1998 live parent and child team Mega Battle in Japan.
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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