Pokemon Original Cards Worth

What Makes First Edition Shadowless Base Set Hitmonchan So Valuable

In the red corner, with the purple trunks, weight in at 50kg , representing the Kanto region HITMONCHAN .

Perhaps a surprise entrant at number 6, and despite my pumped up intro, Hitmonchan isnt often everyones cup of tea!

Lets just say if you were opening a 1st Edition Base Set Booster Pack, there are plenty of other cards youd want to pull first. So why is it so high up?

Again, like Chansey, the holofoil area is vast and clear meaning its hard to grade. In fact only 56 copies exist in a PSA 10.

Now if you were going to drop this kind of money on a card, would you do it on this one? Perhaps not. But remember there are plenty of collectors out there would love low pop vintage cards, and are on a mission to complete sets. So although I wouldnt do it myself, I cant say Im overly surprised by the kind of acquisition.

1999 1st Edition Base Set Hitmonchan PSA Population Report

What Makes The Topsun Blue Back No Number Charizard So Rare

• It is the Blue Back version, which is far rarer than the Green Back version which was printed later
• It also doesnt have the number, which was later included on the top-left of the card
• PSA doesnt distinguish between the No Number and Numbered variants in their population report, but of the 24 PSA 10s that exist only 2 are known to be No Numbered copies you dont get much rarer than that!

Recent Copy Sold

Pokmon Jungle 1st Edition Holo Snorlax #11

The 1999 Complete 1st Edition only covered about a third of the original Pokédex, with a number of heavy-hitters left out.

One such Pokémon was Snorlax, who played a large role in the first Game Boy games.

64 cards were released in the series, which added a number of interesting holo shinies to the original collection.

These cards featured different illustrators who brought their own ideas to the fore when designing the images.

Snorlax is found in the jungle expansion, as the eleventh card in the 99 release.

Only 71 copies have earned gem mint status so far, and the lazy Pokémon features on a difficult card to seek out.

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Pokmon Neo Revelation Holo 1st Edition Entei #6

One of the few options released past the turn of the century to make the list, Entei is found as part of the 2001 Pokemon Neo Revelation set.

As were looking at the most valuable cards were sticking with 1st Edition versions, although you wont have to worry about shadows.

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Entei is also known as the Legendary Beast of Johto and made his first appearance in Pokémon Gold and Silver.

His legend lives on as of 2021, even if the Pokémon only just misses out on a space in the top 10.

There are 30 gem mint first edition cards in existence, making for a great pick that contends with the 1999 set.

/30 1st Edition Shadowless Chansey

The popularity of the base set is one of the driving forces behind the skyrocketing prices of Pokemon cards. It may be Charizard leading the charge, but plenty of other holographic cards from the wests very first set have sold for staggeringly high prices over the last year or so including this GEM-MT 10 Shadowless Chansey.

It was auctioned off by PWCC towards the end of 2020 and sold for more than $35,000. This makes it the most expensive Chansey sold to date and is great news for anybody else currently sitting on a mint-condition copy of the card. According to the PSA webpage, there are at least 47 of them out there.

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What Are Pokmon Cards

For the uninitiated, Pokémon Cards are part of the Pokémon Card Trading Card Game that originally launched in 1996. Back then, the original set contained just 151 cards one for each OG Pokemon.

In simplest terms, Pokémon cards are baseball cards but for adorable Japanese Pocket Monsters.

Since then, Pokémon has exploded into the worlds most valuable media franchise, valued at over $100 billion worldwide. For comparison, thats more than Star Wars, Spongebob, and James Bond combined.

Fueling two decades of meteoric growth was a steady stream of new Pokémon creatures and thus new cards to collect. There are around 898 total Pokémon and over 9,100 Pokémon cards to collect in the English market.

Not all 9,100 cards are available on store shelves at once, of course. The Pokémon Company International, the folks who make Pokémon cards, publish and release cards one generation at a time, with each generation lasting about two years.

In total, there have been eight generations of Pokémon cards since 1996. And as the next generation of cards begins appearing on store shelves, the previous generation tends to sell out. At that point, its no surprise that certain cards begin shooting up in value.

Pokemon Japanese Play Promo 70000 Pts Holo Gold Star Umbreon

You probably recognize Masakazu Fukudas artwork, but did you know this version of the iconic Gold Star Umbreon is way rarer and more valuable?

In fact, its one of the rarest Japanese Pokemon cards in existence

Backstory

To be rewarded with this card, members of the Pokemon Players Club needed to acquire at least 70,000 experience points after four seasons.

To put this in context, players started with 1,000 points, and only gained 100 points for attending an official event.

They could also gain points for hosting events, playing matches and attending tournaments, but the points acquired werent exactly large hauls!

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Take The Time To Study Their Worth

As Pokemon re-enters mainstream culture with the release of new video games and movies, expect to see an uptick in buying and selling activity of old cards. But interest doesnt pick up overnight.

Its not binary in that sense, Pratte says.

Instead, its a more gradual process where each new Pokemon-related release reminds twenty- and thirty-somethings of their childhood: the crinkling sound of ripping open a new pack of cards followed by a strong whiff of ink as they shuffle through the set, hoping to find something rare.

But as you rummage through your collection, remember that theres no rush to purge now. Spend some time with your cards. See if theyre valuable. Consider getting them authenticated. Then decide if theyre worth selling.

After two decades, Pokemon and its card-collecting hobbyists arent going anywhere anytime soon.

Adam Hardy is a former staff writer for The Penny Hoarder and specializes in stories on the gig economy. Hes a University of South Florida graduate, who studied magazine journalism and sociology.

Venusaur No Rarity Symbol Base Set

• Release Date: 1996
• Grading: PSA Gem Mint 10
• Pokemon card value at auction: $55,000

While the English version of the TCG Base Set had the coveted 1st Edition stamped cards, the original run of the 1996 Japanese release simply had no symbol at all. Called No Rarity, the scarce artifacts are truly the first Pokemon cards to ever be made.

A Venusaur from this original batch went up for sale at PWCC Auctions on November 18th, 2021, and sold for a jaw-dropping $55,000 a record for the beloved Kanto starter Pokemon. According to PSA, the grade 10 collectible is only one of 5 to exist in the entire world.

As if this collectors item wasnt special enough, the casing on the outside was also autographed by the cards original artist Mitsuhiro Arita. This is truly a one-of-a-kind artifact that any Venusaur fan would die to have in their collection.

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/15 Venusaur Base Set Shadowless

Once again it’s clear that Venusaur cards, though valuable, don’t hold a candle to their Blastoise and Charizard counterparts. The Shadowless Base Set version of Venusaur may go for around $600, but it only puts it Charizard’s Base Set card, which will be discussed next.

On one hand, being a Venusaur fan will save the collector money, but on the other, it’s just another example of the Grass-type starters being treated like second-class citizens despite having a loyal following of their own.

Daisuki Club 8600 Pts Master Scroll Holographic

Up next we have one of the rarest and most sought after Japanese Promo Pokemon cards there is.

Backstory

The Pokemon Daisuki Club is the Japanese equivalent of The Pokemon Trainer Club.

Its a big deal in Japan!

Anyway, in 2010, they held a competition where fans could sign up, carry out various Pokemon trading card game related activities and earn points.

These in turn could be exchanged for prizes, the top one of course being the coveted Holographic Master Scroll card.

8,600 points was incredibly difficult to achieve, hence why the card is so darn rare and one of the most valuable Pokémon cards today.

The holographic border and scroll make it such a visually beautiful card to appreciate.

The scroll also has connotations to the idea of obtaining the holy grail with grail card a commonly used term in the hobby.

Overall, its easy to see why this card is so desirable for collectors.

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First Edition Holographic Zapdos

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $1,400

Together with Articuno and Moltres, this electric and flying creature is one of the three Legendary birds of Kanto.

Only seen during thunderstorms, Zapdos will create lighting bolts and loud cracking sounds as it flaps its wings when airborne alerting everyone in the area to its presence.

The yellow and black spiked feathers that surround its body make Zapdos look just like the blasts of electricity it creates.

/12 1999 Poketour Promo

The 1999 PokeTour Promo Pikachu isn’t a stunner. It’s got a neat gold imprint to let folks know it was only available during this event. That’s really all you need to know about it. If anything, it’s a bit puzzling how cheap it is relative to the rest of this list. At $200 per peak, you can freely masquerade as somebody who attended a one-off gig over two decades ago no matter where you should happen to live today.

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What Is The Rarest Pokemon Card And Is It The Most Expensive

Many names will be thrown into the fray but the consensus opinion is that it is the Pikachu Illustrator card. Manufactured in 1998, the card was only given out to the winners of a CoroCoro Comic Illustration Contest that took place that year. They numbered about 39 but with the passage of time, only 10 survived which has made the card the Holy Grail of Pokémon. As a confirmation of its coveted status, it has twice broken the world record for the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold. The first time was in 2019 when it sold for about $195K and the second time was in 2020 when it sold for about $226K.

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Pikachu Holo Illustrator $9450000 Million

The worlds most expensive Pokémon card was last purchased from Dubai in February 2021 for a whopping $9.45m .

And you know who bought it? Logan Paul. Make of that what you will. He also wore the extremely rare and expensive Pokémon card as jewellery to his WWE debut. Is it iconic or cringe?

So whats muy importanté about this Pokémon card? Well, back when it was first produced in 1997, the only way to obtain one was by participating in either CoroCoro or Manga Magazines Pokémon card drawing contests. Everyone that took part was awarded one of these fancy cards, which means that a grand total of 39 were distributed.

To this day, its unknown how many are actually left. But we do know that the one Logan Paul owns is the only one thats ever been graded a PSA 10 .

Please note: All prices have been converted to AUD from USD.

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Look Up Your Card On Ebay

Once you are certain that you have an exact match, you can now “comp” your card, which means that you can use the information you just collected to figure out what your card is worth.

Keep in mind, there is a major difference in value between a card that is gradedmeaning it is encased in plastic and given a score based on its conditionand a raw card that has not been graded. Even if you think that your card is in mint condition, it won’t sell for as much as a card that has been inspected and authenticated by one of the top grading services.

For more information on grading, check out this article we put together!

What Makes First Edition Shining Charizard So Valuable

Lets dive back into the Neo Era and into Neo Destiny one of the best sets EVER from Wizards of the Coast.

What makes this set so special is that it contains eight secret rare Shining cards. The holofoil was on the character themselves, instead of the background, which is something unique collectors hadnt seen before.

Charizard was always going to lead the pack in terms of value, and that tiny little first edition stamp adds that extra level of rarity too.

In terms of the PSA population, its certainly not as low as some of the others on this list. In fact 229 PSA 10 1st Edition Shining Charizards exist. But with a smaller holofoil area, grading is relatively easier, therefore this is to be expected.

So is it worth it? For so many reasons , YES. This is an awesome first edition, WOTC era, secret rare Charizard. It ticks so many boxes.

1999 1st Edition Shining Charizard PSA Population Report

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Pokemon German First Edition Glurak

Sold in January, 2021 for $37,000

If you come across a First Edition Charizard from the German release, youll notice that Charizards name is instead Glurak.

Also, unlike the English version, youll notice the First Edition German version is not shadowless.

Thats true of the other non-English first editions as well.

Of the 900 German first edition Gluraks that PSA has graded at the time of this writing, 50 have received the lofty PSA 10 distinction.

Thats about a 5.5% success rate compared to around 3.7% for the English first edition Charizards, making it relatively easier to find in that condition.

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What Makes First Edition Shadowless Base Set Blastoise So Valuable

If youre more of a water-type trainer, Blastoise is your guy. It may not be able to breathe fire, but with water canons on your back who cares!

This much appreciated middle child of the big three will forever be in Charizards shadow, but will eclipse Venusaur in terms of value.

With only 100 PSA 10s in existence, the stats are very similar to Charizard.

Interestingly, the value of PSA 10 1st Edition Base Set Blastoise, is relatively similar to a PSA 9 1st Edition Base Set Charizard .

So which is the better investment? PSA 10 Blastoise or PSA 9 Charizard

My head says the Blastoise 100% the numbers are much more favourable.

But god damn it, my heart says the Charizard! I just want it more! That bad-ass dragon gets me every time.

1999 1st Edition Base Set Blastoise PSA Population Report

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Kangaskhan Holographic Trophy Card

Regarded as the third-rarest Pokémon card in the world, this holographic Kangaskhan is a special Japanese promo card awarded to participants of the 1998 Parent/Child Mega Battle Tournament. Apart from having unique artwork, this glorious card features the original Pocket Monsters Card Game logo on the front and back, and only 46 copies have ever been officially graded.

This card is so rare that only three have ever been sold publically, with a PSA 7 copy selling for $35,000 in 2020. However, everyone was shocked when a mint condition copy of the card sold for $150,100 on eBay in October of the same year.

Of course, a card featuring the grandaddy of all Pokemon would be worth a lot!

/15 Charizard Base Set

It’s hard to name a Pokemon card more iconic and/or synonymous with the hobby of collecting Pokemon cards than the Base Set Charizard card. This is the one featured in almost every article pertaining to the hobby and the core evidence of Charizard cards being worth so much more than its contemporaries.

As previously mentioned, a graded version of this card is worth thousands, but those looking to simply feel the thrill of nostalgia can get one for themselves for around $600 if the logo of Base Set 2 bothers them.

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Team Rocket Returns Gold Star Torchic

Next up weve got a card that fetches an incredibly high price at auction.

To the untrained eye, it might not look like anything out of the ordinary, but to seasoned collectors and people in the know , its an absolute gem.

Backstory

In the post-WOTC era, Pokemon needed to reignite collectors back to the hobby.

In the wildly underrated Team Rocket Returns set, it introduced three special Gold Star Cards Mudkip, Treecko and the cute, but fiery Torchic.

They had a considerably lower print run than the main cards in the set, and were therefore, incredibly hard to pull.

What Is The Psa Grading Scale

Getting a PSA grade can make high-value cards worth even more and can also help you avoid unnecessary haggling or debating with a potential buyer about the condition of the card you have.

When you are looking to buy a card and the seller makes claims to a certain grade, ask for the required documentation from the PSA or the grading number. All grades that get graded by PSA are given a unique ID number that anyone can look up on their website.

This can help potential buyers spot fake Pokémon cards or cards that claim to have been graded when they havent. So if you are planning to get your Pokémon cards and get them professionally graded its important that you hang on to these details.

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Lastly, try not to be disappointed if you dont find hidden gems in your collection.

Unfortunately, it is not an all-too-common event that you will discover a card that is worth several thousands of dollars well, this is why rare cards are called rare!

If you are only in it for the money, trading Pokémon cards will likely be a rather disappointing experience.

You can also treat it as a moment of nostalgia and an opportunity to re-connect with a childhood passion, constantly looking at your Pokémon card collection with a cold, monetary appraising stare can often suck the enjoyment that we get from collectible trading card games.

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