Find The Set The Card Belongs To
If there is no logo on the right side, its Base. Every other set has an indicator.
When looking into what set a card belongs to, make sure to see if there is any logo on the right side, just underneath and to the right of the illustration. If there is no symbol, the likelihood is that its a Base set card.
There have been error cards that do not have a symbol, so make sure the year matches with the set.
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.
Misprinted Fossil Krabby: $2200
Yes, you read that right. Krabby is the star of one of the rarest Pokemon cards of all. By all accounts, this crab-based Water-type isn’t exactly a battling superstar. The fact that one version of its Pokemon card is so rare is a bit of a fluke, as its price comes down to a relatively simple misprint of the card.
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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.
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Not Worth Much: Set Of 3 Gen 1 Starters
Many fans would think that selling a set would be a good way to get more money out of it. After all, if you want one starter you might as well have all three to complete the set! However, this, unfortunately, isn’t the case and it sells for so low that most end up selling the cards separately!
Selling at around $4.00 – $20.00, in some cases, collectors and sellers, aren’t even making the money back they spent on the card pack in the first place, making this set pretty much worthless.
Pokemon Japanese Hr Contest Winner Full Art Charizard
Sold in June, 2021 for $20,100
Despite the global health situation in 2020, Pokemon tournaments still took place at home and in shops throughout Japan.
From July to September 2020, contestants in the Charizard VMAX HR competition could participate in 16-player tournaments for a chance at winning two unique Charizard cards.
Winners of the first rounds consisting of four players each won the Full Art Charizard V shown here.
Those four players would then advance to the championship round for a shot at winning the Full Art Charizard VMAX HR competition card as the top prize.
The extreme difficulty of receiving the BGS 10 Pristine grade gives this card a significant boost in value.
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Kangaskhan Family Event Trophy
- Release Date: 1998
- Grading: PSA Gem Mint 10
- Pokemon card value at auction: $150,000
Were now at the top five, and the prices of these most expensive Pokemon cards continue to skyrocket. This 1998 Trophy Pokemon card could only be obtained by participating in a special tournament in Japan. The adorable item features artwork depicting Kangaskhan with its baby in its pouch, surrounded by holo sparkles.
Fittingly, the contest required both a child and their parent to participate alongside each other in TCG battles . According to reports, there are only 11 of these currently in existence that have been graded, making it one of the most rare Trophy Pokemon cards to exist.
In October 2020, two PSA 10s of the collectible went for $150k. With its scarcity, we expect this Pokemon cards value will only continue to go up over the next couple of years.
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.
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How Do You Know If You Have A Rare Pokmon Card
The info in the corner of the card can only tell you what the creators of the game knew when they put the card to print, but the hobby of collecting gives objects lives and stories far beyond anything their creators may have intended. Just like with finding the value of baseball cards, age is one of the most significant factors in determining Pokémon card rarity: simply by the nature of cards deteriorating or being lost over time, older cards tend to be rarer.
While people of all ages collect Pokémon cards now, most of the oldest cards were once owned by young kids who didnt put much thought into keeping them in pristine physical condition. Bent corners, scuff marks, and other signs of wear are very common old cards that are still in great physical condition are much rarer than their worn-and-torn counterparts. Check out our guide to finding out how much Pokémon cards are worthfor more in-depth info on Pokémon card condition grading.
The age of a card, a casual assessment of its condition, and the aforementioned official rarity designations will give you a general idea of how rare a particular card may be. From there, you can punch its name into the PSA Price Guide, find its entry, then click over to the Population tab to find out how many officially graded copies of that card are in circulation. Looking for eBay listings will give you a look at the broader market since you cant count on every last card being formally graded.
Espeon And Umbreon Gold Star Pop Series 5
A pair of Gold Star Pokémon cards from one of the most valuable Pokémon sets of all time
Sold for $22,000 in February 2021
Gold Star Pokémon cards are among the most valuable sets of Pokémon cards in existence and command an incredibly high value as a result. The cards are named after the gold star that appears next to the Pokémons name at the top of the card, which signifies that the card features alternative-colour artwork different from the common version. Only 27 Gold Star cards were released from 2004 to 2007, making them some of the rarest Pokémon cards available.
While all of the Gold Star Pokémon cards are rare, only appearing once in approximately every 88 booster packs for certain Pokémon TCG expansions, the very rarest are the Eeveelutions – the many evolutions into which basic Gen 1 Pokémon Eevee can evolve. And the rarest of the rarest are the original Japanese-language versions of the cards offered to members of the Pokémon Players Club, who could spend points earned by participating in official organised play and tournaments to obtain exclusive cards.
While Eeveelutions Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon could be acquired in the EX Power Keepers set released in 2007 via the Pokémon online store, their psychic and dark elemental siblings Espeon and Umbreon could only be picked up by players who collected enough Pokémon Players Club points. The Espeon 025/PLAY card required 40,000 EXP points earned, while Umbreon 026/PLAY was even most pricey at 70,000 points.
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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.
Pokmon Base Set 1st Edition Shadowless Holo Ninetales #12
Not the fire Pokémon shiny youd be hoping for back in 1999, Ninetales is the evolved form of Vulpix.
Designed to look like a golden-white nine-tailed fox, its inspired by the kitsune, which is a Japanese fox spirit.
Its backed by a cool blue holo background, but Ninetales Fire Blast attack is one of the more powerful in the base game.
Its not the most popular Pokémon with a western audience, but there are only 67 gem mint copies according to the registry.
The rarity hasnt translated to higher prices, but that could all change in the future.
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Pokemon French First Edition Dracaufeu
Sold in February, 2021 for $37,300
The First Edition Dracaufeu, or the French name for Charizard, is also relatively easier to find in PSA 10 condition than the English version.
Though only 28 examples have achieved that grade, PSA has only graded 382 overall, meaning that roughly 7% of them are PSA 10s.
Typhlosion First Edition 16500
This set is from the Neo Genesis series of 2000 the first in the trading card game to feature Generation II Pokemon.
They are rated 9.5 by the Beckett Grading service another firm that assesses the condition of cards.
These ones currently on eBay have a red dot error a printing anomaly which saw small red spots accidentally featured somewhere on the card.
Although they are misprints, they do in some ways make these cards all the more rare.
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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.
Pokemon Japanese Promo Daisuki Club 7200 Points Holo Umbreon
Sold in June, 2021 for $18,100
The Pokemon Daisuki Club started in 2004 and provided many benefits to its members, such as mini-games, contests, and special offers.
One of those cards was this holographic Umbreon card, and to earn it, the player needed to acquire 7,200 action points, which was no easy task.
Umbreon is one of eight different characters into which Eevee, a normal-type Pokemon, can evolve when leveled up with high friendship during the night in certain areas.
Its red eyes and the yellow markings on its slender black body give the dark-type Umbreon an unmistakable appearance giving this card tremendous eye appeal.
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Top 5 First Edition Pokemon Cards
Any shiny, shadowless 1st Edition Pokémon card will be reasonably valuable, but there are a few which manage to stand out from the crowd.
Buy on eBay
Lets switch things up, moving on to a set that was released the year after. Lugia was the cover star for the next round of Pokémon games, and while he might not match up to many older options, its still a card that is highly prized by collectors.
A white background is the source of a number of issues that are also seen with the 1999 Chansey card below, leading to higher values than the norm. There are often problems with the lining too, so there are only 41 PSA 10 examples out of almost 1300 that have been submitted.
Which Pokmon Cards Are Worth Good Money
Although some Pokémon cards are not worth more than $1, some worth tens and hundreds of dollars due to their rarity and are regarded as the holy grail, especially the first edition cards. If you are lucky to have a few in your deck of cards, then you could be set up for hefty cash in. Those that have established new records in recent years include:
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Why Cards Are Rising In Value Right Now
Pokémon card sales and prices have skyrocketed this year, with some cards selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
On Thursday, a sealed box of Pokémon booster packs sold for a record $360,000 through Heritage Auctions, while a similar set sold for $198,000 only two months ago. According to eBay, there were 60% more Pokemon card sales on its platform in September compared to January of this year.
YouTube stars, celebrities and investors have dropped big bucks on cards, which has contributed to the frenzy and helped push up their value. That, in turn, has encouraged others to snap up cards in hopes that theyll be able to turn a profit.
Theres an entire genre of buyers unboxing card sets on YouTube and Twitch, where DJ and producer Steve Aoki recently hosted a live charity event devoted to opening up packs.
Publicity is always something that can drum up momentum and price, said Eugene Smith, a 24-year-old card collector and investor from Tampa, Florida, who also happens to work in finance.
Controversial YouTuber Logan Paul has spent almost $300,000 , while the rapper Logic dropped $226,000 on a rare 1st edition Charizard.
When I was a kid I absolutely loved Pokémon but couldnt afford the cards, Logic .
People my age are finally in their late-20s, mid-30s, and they can afford the stuff they liked when they were kids, said Jesus Garcia, an assistant comics & comic art operations supervisor at Heritage Auctions.
Pokemon Japanese Promo Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind Trophy Card
- Pokemon cards value: $43,200
Available only as a participation award in a 1999 tournament at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, where only 50 of the top players around the world were invited, this is one of the rarest and most coveted cards in the world. Its also unlikely you have one shoved in a drawer somewhere unless youre a retired pro.
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How To Value Your Pokmon Cards
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If you want to sell your Pokémon cards, it’s important that you value them first so you know you’re getting a good deal. Fortunately, Pokémon cards are easy to value once you know what to look for and where to look.
Reasons To Invest In Rare Pokmon Cards
Why adding collectibles to your portfolio makes sense in 2020 and 2021.
Entrepreneur
Pokémon cards were introduced in 1996 as part of the franchises trading card game. Less than 25 years later, some of these first-edition Pokémon have appreciated in price at over 10,000 percent.
Alongside the limited supply and extremely high demand, there are plenty of reasons why Pokémon cards make for excellent investments.
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Selling Your Pokemon Cards At Auction
If you have Pokemon cards that you’d like to sell at auction, get in touch and we can help you with a valuation. You can join us at one of our valuation days every Tuesday, email us for an appointment on or call us on Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm.
If you can’t come in and see us in person but would like to submit items for auction or valuation, send us an email to with details and a photograph and one of our experts will provide information and auction estimates. Alternatively, give us a call on to arrange an appointment.
