What’s The Rarest Pokemon Card In The World

World Championship Master’s Key

A copy of the Master’s Key card sold for more than $25,000 in August of 2020. Unlike most cards sold at auction, this one wasn’t graded by the PSA and was instead appraised by Beckett. Whether or not a copy still sealed in the original trophy case would have fetched more remains to be seen, though, given the card’s value, it’s perhaps a little surprising that the seller opted to open it up.

The Master’s Key was originally handed out to contestants at the 2010 Pokemon World Championships. The event took place in Hawaii and was contested by just 36 players. As a result, the card is incredibly rare, with only nine GEM-MT 10 copies – the highest grade that can be handed out by the PSA – in existence.

Holo Gold Star Rayquaza

This exquisite Rayquaza is a rare Pokemon card thats gotten from the Ex Deoxys set. This Pokemon card highlighting the Gold Star makes it extremely powerful in your deck of cards.

Its subtle colors and artwork make it classic and standard, and as a result, its price tends to vary massively. For example, its price on Troll and Toad is precisely $4,500, which could also be more or less.

Its rarity and excellent standard are precisely what make it invaluable amongst the original Gen 3 cards. The best part is, it is amongst the first shiny cards to hit a record-setting price.

St Edition Shadowless Blastoise

It might not be quite as popular as Charizard, but Blastoise comfortably beats out the likes of Venasaur and Chansey for the second spot when it comes to valuable base set cards. A mint condition copy of the card was sold for a little over $45,000 just last November, once again through a PWCC eBay auction.

It’s one of 100 copies of the card to have been given the GEM-MT 10 rating by the PSA making it one of the more common base set holographic cards in perfect condition. As with Charizard though, the relatively high population doesn’t seem to have impacted its value all too much most probably because so many of them are already in the hands of collectors.

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Pokemon Korean First Edition Charizard

Sold in March, 2021 for $40,000

Unlike some of the other first edition Pokemon cards distributed in different regions and languages in 1999, the Korean version did not debut until a year later in 2000.

Still, they can fetch colossal price tags on the open market just like the other first edition sets.

Not surprisingly, the Charizard is the most desirable of the Korean first edition series.

Magicians Force Dark Magician Girl #000

An iconic Yu-Gi-Oh! monster that ranks as among its most popular and valuable cards

Sold for $9,100 in November 2020

Image: Konami

One of Yugis most treasured cards, the Dark Magician Girl is adored by fans worldwide and equally highly valued. The level 6 card, which boasts a solid 2000 attack and 1700 defence points, significantly aided Yugi during her anime debut in episode 62 the conclusion of a high-stakes three-episode duel which saw Yugi face off against a malevolent magician named Arkana.

The Dark Magician Girl was first released in the TCG as part of the North American-only set Magicians Force in October 2003, a 108-card set that focused on providing support to Spellcasters. The rest of the TCG world would have to wait until October 2005 to attempt to pull the rare Dark Magician Girl, where Magicians Force was one of the booster packs in the compilation set Master Collection Volume 2.

The Dark Magician Girl is also notable for the censoring she had while making her move to the West from Japan, with many content edits in both the TCG and anime. This has resulted in several variants of the card artwork, but it is the original one that sells for the most, with a PSA Gem Mint 10 first-edition 2003 MFC Dark Magician Girl #000 selling for $9,100 in November 2020.

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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.

How Do You Tell If A Pokemon Card Is Rare

This is represented by a symbol located in the bottom right corner of every card. There should be a shape that indicates what rarity the card is. Common cards are marked with a black circle, uncommon cards have a black diamond, and rare cards always have a black star. This is the basic way to tell the rarity of a card.

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Are 2021 Pokmon Cards Worth

Some of those Pokemon cards are extremely valuable, with the most expensive Pokemon card in the world selling for $375,000 at the PWCC Marketplace in 2021 $15,000 more than the previous record holder. Thats right. Some people are willing to pay for a cardboard Pikachu or Charizard rather than an entire house.

What Makes Pokemon Cards Valuable

Over the past year, online personalities such as Logan Paul have propelled Pokemon card collecting back into popularity. With some cards being valued at over $100,000, its understandable why theres so much excitement around the hobby.

But what makes Pokemon cards valuable? It all comes down to the rarity of the card and what condition the item is in. These two factors determine how much collectors are willing to pay and why some cards go for mind-boggling amounts of money.

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Tamamushi University Magikarp: $50000

The Tamamushi University Magikarp card is so rare that despite the fact that it depicts a frankly awful Pokemon, it’s worth ridiculous sums of money. Why the high price? Well, the University Magikarp was a promotional card that saw very limited distribution at a Japanese tournament in the late 1990s.

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In total, 1000 of the cards were produced but far fewer were actually awarded and many were just stowed away forever. Barely any of these rare Magikarp cards are still in circulation today, and its incredibly rare to see new ones show up. At the moment, PSA Cards Price Guide chart lists perfectly-preserved cards to have sold for around $50,000, while copies with NM-MT 8 ratings still sell for amazing heights of $12,000.

Pokmon Neo Revelation 1st Edition Holo Houndoom #8

Neo Revelation is a 66-card expansion that was released back in 2001.

Weve mentioned that dark Pokémon were overpowered at the time, but they were also unique enough to stand out from the crowd compared to normal types that had been seen before.

Houndoom is one such example, with the card wrapped in a distinctive black background.

Youll be able to see advancements in terms of the illustration compared to the base 1999 set, as Houndoom howls at the moon in the image. Rather than a full holo background, only the stars glitter in the light.

Another expensive option, its limited to only 28 PSA 10 copies. Thats low enough to allow it to mix with the rarest original Pokémon cards.

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System For Ranking Pokmon Trading Cards

The Pokémon trading cards quickly became coveted collectors items, especially for diehard fans. The cards are marked with one of three symbols in the bottom-right corner:

• Common cards have a black circle
• Uncommon cards have a black diamond
• Rare cards have a black star

But the ranking system doesnt stop there. There are also unique card designs.

Ishihara Gx Black Star Promo

Over the years, a lot of strange things have ended up as art on Pokemon cards.

However, nothing has ever truly topped the bizarre sight of longtime Pokemon company CEO, Tsunekazu Ishihara, throwing a Pokeball at fans in this extremely rare promotional card.

The GX card had a print run of between 30 200 copies and was only obtainable at a party held for Ishiharas 60th birthday.

Put all that together with the fact that those who already have the card are highly unlikely to part with it due to sentimental value, and you have one of the rarest Pokemon cards.

I was able to confirm that this card has been sold at $22,000, but there are reports that this card has now sold for over $50,000.

Regardless, if it wasnt obvious by this cards extreme originality, expect this card to have a permanent place on all of Pokemons most valuable card lists going forward.

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Why Is 1st Edition Charizard So Expensive

Charizard is the games most valuable card. One of the Pokémon: Trading Card Games most valuable cards has just sold on Ebay for over $300,000. The reason a shadowless Charizard is worth so much is that it signifies the card was one of the first printed, as later print runs added a drop shadow to the art frame.

Shiny Secret Rare Charizard V: $500

If you want to get into Pokemon pack opening, but dont want to shell out for the older packs, there are tons of new cards with similar record-setting prices that have come out in just the past two years. One of the recent premium TCG sets in the game was Champions Path, and certain cards in it were especially rare since you could only get packs through special products like Elite Trainer Boxes and Pin Collector packs.

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The absolute highest value cards in this set are both Charizards, one being a rainbow foil V-Max card and the other being a shiny Charizard V with black scales. Both quickly reached prices around $500, and sites like TCGPlayer still remain at the same $500 price tag.

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Japanese Promo Card Holo Illustrator Pikachu Psa 7 Nrmt

Sold: in Feb, 2021 Price: $375,000

Another Promo card appears in this most expensive pokemon card list, which can make many people surprised. As you probably noticed, many of the high-priced cards online arent traditional Pokémon cards. PWCC reports that only 40 of these cards were ever created and released. Only people participating in 3 art contests in Japan have a chance to receive this card. The winners card would be printed with their artwork. The most outstanding card is created by Atsuko Nishida, the original creator of Pikachus character design. Thus, whenever this card is offered for sale, its price is always the highest.

1998 Japanese Promo Card HOLO Illustrator Pikachu PSA 7 NRMT

Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holographic Lugia

Sold: in May, 2021 Price: $144,300

The card is estimated to be one of the most perfect examples of the super popular card, a first-edition Lugia. Pokémon: Silver features this Pokémon, a legendary Pokémon from Gen II due to its appearance on the cover. Because Lugia was given love from players, many people have this kind of card. But according to Beckett Grading Services, a highly-rated trading card, and collectible grading company, almost all Lugia cards are not rated Pristine 10. In the future, they even predict that these cards can be sold for more.

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Th Anniversary 24k Gold Ginza Tanaka Japanese Pikachu Card

Sold in November, 2020 for $28,100

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the storied franchise, the Pokemon Company partnered with Japanese jeweler Ginza Tanaka to produce this stunning card made from 11g of 24k gold.

Technically not a playing card, the imagery features none other than one of the most lovable Pokémon of them all: Pikachu.

Available for order for just twenty days, the cards were housed in impressive acrylic stands and shipped in beautiful boxes.

Given that 11g of 24k gold is worth around $600 or so by today’s standards, there’s no risk of anyone buying one of these to try and turn around and melt it.

Base Set Pokmon Booster Pack With Black Triangle Error

This one is not actually an individual card, but rather an entire pack. Wizards of the Coast accidentally printed some Base Set packs with the first edition logo on the front, so to avoid wasting these packs, the logo was covered with a black triangle.

The cards inside these booster packs are far less rare than the packaging, so collectors recommend leaving them sealed to maintain value. The packs can be found inside standard Base Set booster boxes, but there is no way of knowing if you have a rare pack without opening the box.

A PSA 10 condition booster pack with the black triangle error goes for around $2,500 on eBay.

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Charizard Gold Star Holo Dragon Frontiers

• Release Date: 2006
• Grading: PSA Gem Mint 10
• Pokemon card value at auction: $25,405

Prepare to see more Gold Stars in the list, as the specially marked Pokemon cards will continue to make their appearance throughout the top 20. Next up is Charizard from 2004s Dragon Frontiers.

It should come as no surprise that the marked item would be a massive hit with fans, considering it features artwork depicting a Shiny Charizard. The rare variant of the Kanto mon looks stunning with its artwork depicting it scorching fire all around it.

According to PWCC, one of these scarce collectibles went up for bidding in a February 2021 auction. When all was said and done, the unique item fetched an eye-popping $25,405 which is makes it one of the rarest Pokemon cards of that generation.

Pokemon Japanese Topsun Holofoil Charizard

Sold in October, 2020 for $37,600

The Charizard is the most desirable Topsun prism holofoil card.

Youll notice it features the same imagery used for the cover art of the Pokemon Red videogame released on the Nintendo Game Boy in Japan in 1996.

As mentioned earlier regarding the Topsun prism holofoil Blastoise, these cards feature a 1995 trademark date.

Still, most believe Top-Seika didnt distribute them until 1997, after the official Pokemon Trading Card Game launched in 1996.

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St Edition Neo Genesis Lugia

It’s rare for a card released in the West to sell for crazy money unless they happen to be part of the base set. For that reason, the original owner of this 1st edition Lugia card was probably a little surprised when it was sold by PWCC Auctions for nearly $130,000 in November of 2020. Six months later, and the price rose higher still when a copy of the card sold for $144,300.

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There are 41 copies of the card to have received the PSA’s GEM-MT 10 rating, although the current record holder was actually graded by Beckett and received a 10 Pristine rating. Whether or not this sale will lead to other Neo Genesis cards skyrocketing in value remains to be seen, but – prior to the recent movement – the average sale price of a 1st Edition Neo Genesis Lugia had been just $70,000.

Lugia 1st Edition Neo Genesis

• Release Date: 2000
• Grading: BGS Pristine 10
• Pokemon card value at auction: $144,300

Similar to Mewtwo, Lugia was an iconic Legendary for many children who grew up with the series in the 00s. So it should come as no surprise that its debut as a Pokemon card was a major hit.

While a 1st Edition Lugia broke records by selling for a mind-blowing $129,000 in 2020, a Beckett graded 10 version of the item sold for $144,300 at a PWCC auction in May 2021. BGS grades a lot harder than PSA, making this pristine Pokemon card one of only three in the entire world.

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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.

Ex Dragon Frontiers Charizard Gold Star

Sold in November, 2020 for $30,300

Released in November 2006, the EX Dragon Frontiers set marked the fifteenth main expansion of the EX Series.

Of the 101 cards in the set checklist, there are two rare Gold Star cards: Charizard and Mew .

With the odds of pulling a Charizard thought to be roughly 1 in 144 packs, many collectors never had the fortune of pulling this card from a pack, giving it a reputation as one of the toughest Charizard pulls of any set.

Featuring a stunning image penned by the gifted hands of Masakazu Fukuda, the eye-appeal of this card is also tough to match as the powerful creature breathes fire onto the edge of the card.

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Japanese Promo Card Holo Illustrator Pikachu

Card sale date: February 2021

Card selling price: $375,000

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 Illustrator Pikachu 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 as near mint condition grade seven, which is coded as PSA 7 NRMT.