The Rarity Of The Pokemon Card
Pokemon cards come in a number of different rarities. Different Pokemon card rarities can be seen from the rarity symbol, which is normally displayed in the bottom left or bottom right corner of the card.
Common: the card has a circle symbol.
Uncommon: the card has a diamond symbol.
Rare: the card has a star symbol.
Ultra rare: the card has a holographic star symbol, possibly gold or silver in colour.
There are many different types of ultra rare Pokemon cards, including EX, GX, Prime, Level X, and V cards. Normally these types of Pokemon cards will have this distinction next to their name.
As a general rule, most common/uncommon Pokemon cards arent worth much typically less than $0.10 each. As a result, theyre normally sold in bulk. There are exceptions to this rule though, especially with very old first gen Pokemon cards.
Rare and ultra rare Pokemon cards can vary in what theyre worth quite dramatically. For example, a typical non-holo rare from the latest set will normally be worth $0.50 – $1.00 or so. But a holographic Base Set Charizard could be worth $500 or more.
Are Your Pokmon Cards Centered
Usually, the artwork of the Pokémon on your card is centered right inside the borders of the card.
Pokémon cards pulled straight from a booster pack will look like they have their artwork perfectly centered, but its actually not that uncommon for the art of a Pokémon card to be slightly misaligned.
Sometimes these cards are classified as Misprints and there are Pokémon card collectors that are willing to pay for cards with printing errors from the factory.
However, if you are looking to get your Pokémon cards professionally graded and valued, then artwork being off-centered will deduct points from the final evaluation score of your cards decreasing its general market value.
Off-centered printings can also occur on the back art of a card as well as the front. The Poke Ball art and logo that are present on the back of the card can also sometimes sit too far left or right of the cards center.
So its best to double-check these factors if you do happen to find a card that you might think is worth some cash!
Tsunekazu Ishihara Signed Gx Promo Card: $247230
These cards were given to employees at The Pokemon Company to celebrate its founder and president Tsunekazu Ishihara’s 60th Birthday.
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We don’t know exactly how many of these cards were produced, but one specific copy of it fetches a much higher price than the others. In April 2021, Goldin Auctions sold a copy of it that had been signed by Tsunekazu Ishihara himself for an eye-watering $247,230. The wildest thing? It wasn’t even PSA 10-graded, and managed to sell for that much with just a nine rating.
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Japanese Promo Card Holo Pikachu Illustrator
Card sale date: April 2022
Card selling price: $6 million
What makes it special: As the most popular and well-known Pokémon character, its no surprise that Pikachu tops the list of most valuable Pokémon cards. Only 39 Pikachu Illustrator cards were given out to the winners of three art competitions conducted by CoroCoro Comic magazine.
Competitors created their own Pokémon art, and winners received this Pikachu card, showing the character drawing two other Pokémon Charmander and Mew. This artwork was created by Atsuko Nishida, who designed Pikachu for the Game Boy Advance.
Specifics of the particular sale: The PSA rated this card, which was sold to Logan Paul in a private auction, as GEM Mint 10.
Reasons Not To Invest In Pokemon Cards
Theres a potential upside to investing in Pokemon cards, but as with all unique investments, the cons deserve to be heard:
- Pokemania may end soon. As with any investment, hype, and influencer marketing drive up the price of investments. So, prices may quickly deflate.
- Appraisal is difficult and expensive.If you plan to invest in a card worth $5,000+ one day in the future, youll have to pay PSA $300 just to reappraise it and if the markets hot enough to sell it, theres a chance the company will become overwhelmed again and suspend services, jeopardizing your timing.
- Cards could get lost, stolen, or damaged.Pokemon cards only hold their value if they remain in 100% pristine condition. If a PSA 10 Charizard drops to PSA 9 while its in your possession, it loses 80% of its value.
- Demand for rare collectibles is extremely fickle. Sure, demand for rare Pokemon cards may be high right now, but it could easily disappear overnight as young investors and collectors turn to something else. The same thing happened with Beanie Babies, some of which sold for $10,000 in the late 90s and are worth less than $10 now.
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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.
Most Expensive Pokemon Cards
Are you still wondering what pokemon cards are worth money? Here is a list to help you:
- Illustrator CoroCoro Comics Promo ,
- Charizard 1st Edition Shadowless Base Set,
- Blastoise Wizards of the Coast Presentation Galaxy Star holo,
- Ishihara GX Promo ,
- 1999 No. 1 Trainer. Also, check out Which Pokemon Oreos are Rare?
While the popularity of Pokémon cards has certainly died down in recent years, there is no doubt that they were once a huge phenomenon. Collectors are still looking for rare and valuable cards, and if youre lucky enough to have some in your collection, you could make a pretty penny by selling them. We hope this article gives you a good overview of what pokemon cards are worth money, what are Pokémon cards worth, and what to look for when assessing their value.
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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 the value of your Pokemon cards using the mavin.io price guide, you have several different options:
If the Pokemon cards are valuable: You can either hold onto the cards, perhaps get them graded if theyre really valuable, and hopefully see them appreciate in value over time. Alternatively, you sell it to a local card shop without getting ripped off since you know its worth. Lastly, you can sell it yourself on eBay to get a competitive price. Read our guide to selling on eBay.
If the Pokemon cards are worthless: A card doesnt have to be worth money to be considered valuable. Each card has sentimental value to someone: where they got it, the deck it was a part of, that time you used it to battle so-and-so a lot of people tend to hang onto them because of the memories. If you want to get rid of your Pokemon cards, they could be worth some memories to a relative or a stranger. Put them on Craigslist, take them to a card shop, donate them, or pass them along to your kids or a relative. Theres still a lot of fun to be had in those dusty Pokemon cards youve been hanging onto!
The Condition Of The Pokemon Card
Pokemon card collectors really care about the condition of the cards they buy.
Even just a few minor scratches on the card, or minor edgewear on its borders, can reduce the value of a Pokemon card significantly.
Pokemon card conditions are described in terms of how close to mint condition they are. Here are some common Pokemon card grades and what they mean.
Mint: flawless, looks like it was just pulled from a booster.
Near Mint: near to mint condition, except the card may have minor edge wear or surface scuffs from being stored in plastic sleeves.
Excellent : slightly worse than near mint, card may have more extensive edge wear or scuffs, may also have other marks. Still playable and collectable. No creases will be on the card.
Good : card may start to have creases, more damage or more major damage in extensive areas.
Played: card will have folds, splitting, peeling, big creases or major damage to many areas of the card.
This Base Set Charizard Pokemon card is in played condition due to the scratches on the front of the card and the edge wear visible on the borders.
Collectors are looking for near mint or mint condition Pokemon cards. If your card is in worse than near mint condition, this will reduce its value.
This isnt to say it isnt worth selling Pokemon cards that have been played with. Since old Pokemon cards are often slightly worn due to their age, these types of cards in particular can often still sell for decent money even if not in perfect condition.
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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.
How Do I Know What My Pokemon Cards Are Worth
There is a lot that goes into determining whether you have valuable pokémon cards. Even if you have some of the rarest Pokémon cards sitting in your collection, it takes more than just Pokémon card rarity to know the expected value of your pokemon TCG cards.
Lets go through some of the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to figuring out Pokemon card prices.
In general, Pokémon cards from the original Pokemon base set printing are worth more money than cards printed in recent sets. This is due to supply and demand economics as obtaining older cards no longer in print is much harder. However, the condition of a card is key in determining its value.
A card that is still in print is not likely to rise to an extremely high value soon. On the other hand, older cards that are not being printed anymore, especially limited editions or promo cards, generally have a higher value.
This can be a great place to start when trying to decide which of your Pokémon cards may have some value Check your oldest cards first.
However, you will need to know more than the cards age if you are truly hoping to find out if there might be gold stashed in your card binder collection.
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First Edition Cards Are King
Pokémon cards that were released before Nintendo began distributing the trading card game were printed in two sets: first edition and unlimited. You can tell that a card is first edition because of the Edition 1 badge located at the bottom-left of the card illustration.
It is these cards that carry great value, while their non-first edition cards are much less valuable. For instance, an unlimited holographic Charizard from the Base Set perhaps the single most famous Pokémon card in existence sells for about $215 on average. However, a quick look at eBay reveals that first edition Charizards can easily sell for thousands of dollars.
What Is Our Pokemon Card Values Chart
Our pokemon card value finder is the largest TCG lookup database that is updated on an hourly basis. Our online price guide tool helps users easily search and instantly find the price of any Pokemon cards. You can search by individual card, by Pokemon name, or browse our Pokemon card set list available for all TCG sets.
People of all ages love Pokemon! We know first hand, as we are major poke-fans ourselves. We grew up collecting Pokemon cards and playing the original games on the gameboy when they first came out. Heck, we remember trading our holographic Charizard card for a copy of Pokemon red for the original gameboy. We love Pokemon and the TCG so much that we dedicated our time to creating this website for other people who love it as much as we do.
Beginning your search is simple. You just type the name of the Pokemon you want to lookup, the Pokemon TCG set name, or the name of the rare Pokemon cards you want to see list information on. We will return you the results that we have in our database and you can easily jump to the next Pokemon, card, and set in line. We believe that browsing cards and finding prices should be simple and easy to do.
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St Edition And Unlimited Edition:
The first print run of a set would have a special Edition 1 logo on the left side of the card, just below the card art. An enlarged example of this logo is shown here. The 1st edition print run would typically be very limited, and once sold out, would no longer be available for sale. In fact, the first print runs of a set were officially called Limited Edition.
To meet super-high demand from the public, an Unlimited edition version would then be printed. Unlimited edition cards dont have the Edition 1 logo on the left side. Typically, a 1st edition card will be worth more than an unlimited edition card. Often this price difference can be quite significant.
Distinct 1st Edition printings were done throughout the 1st and 2nd generation of sets with the exception of reprint sets .
The Masked Royal Prize Promo: $18000
This is undoubtedly one of the most recent rare cards, featuring the Masked Royal character from Pokemon Sun & Moon and released as recently as 2017. This is essentially a promotional card that was given out to players in an invitation-only prerelease in Tokyo for the new Shining Legends set, where only 100 copies were made.
Even though this is a relatively normal card by most standards, this short print run means its incredibly hard to get, especially since it was handed out in such a restrictive event. As a result, there are actually preserved tweets of players first opening it in places like Pokeboon, while Japanese trading sites like Miyabi Hobby have past listings of the card at ¥2,000,000, which currently is equal to around $18,000 USD.
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Super Secret Battle No 1 Trainer
The answer to Whats 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 Tournaments 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.
Psa 10 Charizard Gold Star Delta Species Holo Dragon Frontiers: $25400
The first of three Gold Star cards on this list, and surprisingly only one of two Charizards. Dragon Frontiers’ Charizard Gold Star was one of the first times it was seen in its iconic black shiny colouring, which alone is usually enough to make a card shoot up in value.
In February of 2021, PWCC Auctions sold a PSA 10-graded Charizard Gold Star for a massive $25,400. Other sales tend to come a bit lower, although copies have sold for as much as $60,000 in unverified Ebay auctions.
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