Things To Value Your Pokemon Cards
Logan Paul just bought a PSA 10 first edition Charizard from the worlds biggest Charizard Card collector for $150,000 and now a lot of people are wondering how much their cards are worth. If youre wondering how much your Pokemon cards are worth youre in the right place.
How to value Pokemon cards? Pokemon card price values range from $0.05 to over $200,000 and the final price depends on factors such as rarity, condition, shape centring, proxies, type, set, year, print, edition, errors, language, and grading. In the end, a card is worth how much someone is willing to pay for it.
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In this article were going to cover 14 things that you need to look at if you want to estimate the value of your Pokemon cards, and at the end of this article you will find out how to know exactly how much your cards are selling for today.
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Pokmon Japanese Base Set No Rarity Symbol Holo Venusaur
A very rare Pokémon card made ever more valuable by its artists autograph
Sold for $55,000 in November 2021
Image: PWCC
Many of the rarest Pokémon cards date from the trading card games early days, with first edition cards released in the 1990s ranking as among the most valuable Pokémon cards today.
While the first edition stamp on cards is highly sought-after in the English edition of the Pokémon card game, the rarest Japanese Pokémon cards are instead identified by their lack of a stamp. Specifically, a missing black star in the bottom-right of a Japanese-language card is whats known as No Rarity – meaning that the card is missing the common symbol used to signify a Pokémon cards rarity.
No Rarity Pokémon cards are among the rarest Pokémon cards in existence, and few come rarer than the Venusaur Pokémon card from the games first print run in 1996. Just five copies of the Bulbasaur evolution – famous for appearing on the original video game Pokémon Green – have been graded at a perfect Gem-Mint 10 by PSA, making a flawless copy of the card extremely rare.
While a No Rarity Venusaur card commands a high price by itself, a copy sold in November 2021 set a new record for the rare Pokémon card by fetching $55,000 at auction. Helping the record sum was the signature of the cards illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita – the legendary artist behind many Pokémon cards from the last 20-plus years – on the cards case, making the already rare Pokémon card truly one-of-a-kind.
Pokmon Neo Destiny 1st Edition Shining Charizard #107
It didnt take long for a Charizard to make it onto the list.
Rather than the Shadowless first edition version found in the base collection, were looking at the 2002 Shining Charizard that came with the Neo Destiny set.
The first offering to highlight Light Pokémon, which counterbalanced the more aggressive Dark Pokémon in gameplay, it was also the first issue to feature Shining cards with a design that presented only the Pokémon in foil material in the artwork.
The Charizard is one such example, finished in a muted silver foil that contrasts well with the rest of the card.
There are 222 PSA 10 copies according to the registry, but that hasnt stopped values from rising due to the popularity of the fire-breathing lizard.
Shining cards were originally inserted at a 300:1 rate.
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Where Should I Sell My Pokemon Cards
In most countries, eBay is a good place to sell Pokemon cards for good money. Many Pokemon traders and collectors keep a close eye on the site, helping you get a good price for your Pokemon cards, especially if you have good pictures and a good listing description.
The issue with trying to sell your cards to a trading card retailer is the business needs to make a decent profit on whatever they buy from you. This means that youre unlikely to get the best price from them, although they might help you to sell your Pokemon cards quickly.
Poketcg Scanner Dragon Shield
The popular PokeTCG Scanner app was actually created by one of the best card sleeve brands in the industry, Dragon Shield.
PokeTCG Scanner is another popular Pokemon card pricing app. The reviews on this app are a very good with a 4/5 rating. This is a great app to keep track of card prices as well as keeping track of your card inventory. This app makes it easy to check for prices and to keep track of your own collection. You can build decks, translate foreign language cards, and find oracle text and rulings.
Some basic features this app includes:
Card Scanning:
This app is able to instantly scan cards in English as well as foreign languages. Card prices are checked daily from TCGplayer.com and CardMarket.
Inventory
With this app you are also able to organize your cards into folders with custom images. These folders can even have a price valuation as well as a win/loss ratio. Cards are also able to be exported to .csv or text document.
Winners, Losers and Trades
With the Winners and Losers feature its easy to see what cards went up or down in value. These can be filtered by date and format which makes seeing the top card winners and losers easy within your collection.
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Look At The Condition Of The Pokemon Card
Using the Pokemon card grading definitions we discussed above, try to gauge the condition of your card.
As long as the card has nothing more than some minor whiting around the edges in small areas when viewed from the back, then you should be safe to assume that the card is near mint or better.
This Shaymin card is in near mint condition, so we dont have to worry about the condition too much. Well discuss what to do if your card is damaged in step 5.
Are Your Old Pokemon Cards Worth Money
If you collected Pokemon cards in your youth, chances are you have an old shoe box storing your collection somewhere in moms basement. Rare Pokemon cards have been known to sell for hundreds if not thousands of dollars, but how can you tell if your cards are actually worth money? Heres how to determine if your Pokemon cards are valuable collectors items or just a pile of cardboard nostalgia.
Were going to cover the two main factors that go into determining Pokemon card value and then explain how to learn a cards worth and where you can exchange it for money.
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What Are My Pokemon 1st Edition Base Set Cards Worth
If you own any of the cards listed below, condition is the biggest factor in figuring out what your cards are worth. The prices below illustrate what these cards are worth after grading in mint condition as PSA 9’s & 10’s.
Important to note: It is very unlikely that your cards will grade this high if they have been played with. If you have these cards laying around in less than mint condition, it still may be worth getting them graded as long as they are in pretty good shape.
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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Valuable: Pikachu Vmax Rainbow
A more recent example, Pikachu VMAX Rainbow has ascended the ranks to stardom. This smirking, tubby wall of flesh is quite a strong card on its own, but its the shimmering secret quality thats got everyone going bananas.
The decided median for this special card is around $270.99. Since it is so new, it is likely going to fluctuate compared to the other cards on this list.
How Much Are Pokemon Shadowless Cards Worth
Are Shadowless Pokemon cards worth more? First, it is important to note that all first editions are more valuable than other shadowless cardboards. However, they are both more valuable than other runs.
To determine the Shadowless Pokemon cards value, check its type and rarity. Shadowless Pokemon cards worth a lot of money. Just like wine, their prices keep going up. In fact, by 2017, a complete set of the 1st edition fetched at least $100,000.
If you are looking for Shadowless Pokemon cards for sale, then eBay is most likely the best place to shop.
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Pokemon Neo Destiny 1st Edition Shining Charizard
Sold in January, 2021 for $20,250
The fourth main expansion of the Neo Series, Neo Destiny, is notable for featuring both light and dark Pokémon whose characteristics and destiny are reflective of how a Trainer trains them.
Light Pokémon are caring and bright-spirited, while dark Pokémon are the exact opposite.
Dark Pokémon have appeared in several different series, but the Neo Destiny set is the only one in which you will find the light Pokémon.
Charizard appears as neither light nor dark in Neo Destiny but instead as a special Shining Charizard that gets its name from the unique foil design that glimmers and shines in the light.
The Shining Pokémon in this series also feature a unique rarity symbol in the lower right in the form of three stars.
Shining Fates Set List
The Pokemon Shining Fates set is unique it contains 73 base set cards, plus a Shiny Vault subset containing 122 Shiny Pokemon.
The Shining Fates set was released on February 19, 2021. The fourth subset in the Sword & Shield Series is comprised of two part a base set containing 73 cards and a Shiny Vault set containing 122 cards. All the cards in the Shiny Vault subset are Shiny Pokemon.
Cards from this set are sold in booster packs. Packs will contain a reverse holofoil OR a Shiny Pokemon from the Shiny Vault subset. Youll also find scores of Pokemon V, VMAX, Amazing Rare, Shiny Rare, Shiny Rare V, and Shiny Rare VMAX these cards tend to be the most valuable cards in the Shining Fates set.
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Understand What Time Period Your Cards Are From
For the purpose of this article, I will largely focus on cards produced by Wizards of the Coast from 19982003. These are the classic “vintage” Pokémon cards that many of us in our mid-twenties to mid-thirties remember collecting as children, and they’re the ones adults commonly find when they go digging for their old binder of cards.
This is not to say that Pokémon cards produced after this time period don’t have comparable value, but I would need the length of a book to write a guide that would encompass the entire Pokémon trading card ecosystem.
Knowing what era of cards you have is an important first step. Below, you can find all of the set symbols from vintage-era Pokémon sets, which you can use to identify which sets your cards belong to.
All of the set symbols from vintage era Pokémon sets. You can find the set symbol, depending on the set, beside the right lower corner of the illustration frame, or at the bottom left corner of the card.
Identify The Card With The Name And Number In The Set
Finally, identify the card by looking up its name and card number on eBay.
The name will be located above the illustration of the card and the number is on the bottom right of the card. After checking all three of these steps, you should easily be able to identify every card, even if you dont know exactly what set it is in.
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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.
Psa 10 Holographic Shadowless First Edition Chansey: $1100
Despite not being one of the iconic starters or legendaries, Chansey is still one of the most valuable cards from Pokemon’s Base Set. Like every other base set card, the Shadowless version gets a much higher price at auction.
There are 48 PSA 10-graded holo, shadowless Chanseys verified by the PSA. Despite that, they don’t tend to fetch as high a price as their slightly more common expansion mates, like Charizard, probably because it is a less popular Pokemon. The last verified auction sale of a PSA 10 Chansey was in 2021, when PWCC Auctions sold one for $27,412.
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Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind Trainer Card
Sold in October, 2020 for $65,100
Just a bit ago, we saw how expensive the number two trainer card from the 1999 Pokemon Tropical Mega Battle could be even without a numerical PSA grade assigned to it.
And now we get a look at how expensive the trainer card given to all players who participated at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in 1999 can be if its graded to be in PSA 10 Gem Mint condition.
This card, featuring Psyduck and Jigglypuff laying sleepily in a hammock in a tropical setting, has become a hobby icon and one of the most sought-after trainer cards.
The TRAINER text across the top denotes the card type while the text below reads:
Flip a coin. If heads, remove 2 damage counters from each active Pokemon . If tails, each active Pokemon is now asleep.
Pokmon Neo Revelation 1st Edition Holo Blissey #2
Another card from the 2001 Neo Revelation set, Blissey is the evolved form of Chansey, which takes the fifth spot on our list.
Despite being released a couple of years after the base set, it still suffers from issues relating to the condition due to the white background and the yellow border.
In terms of design, theyve opted for a more realistic blob, but its still surrounded by silver holofoil which is damaged easily.
There are just 10 gem mint copies as of now, making for one of the rarest commercially available Pokémon cards ever produced.
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The Pokemon On The Card
The final factor that drives price comes down to Pokemon popularity. Its no secret that Charizard is king! But other well-liked Pokemon such as Pikachu, Blastoise and Venusaur also command a premium.
As you can imagine, there are cases where a brand new Charizard from a modern set can be worth more than a 20+ year old 1st Edition Base Set PSA 10 card.
These four factors drive Pokemon card values in different ways, but if they all come together beautifully, its the perfect recipe for an extremely valuable Pokemon card.
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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Torchic Gold Star Holo Team Rocket Returns
One of the rarest Gold Star cards to be released, this adorable birb was part of 2004s Team Rocket Returns expansion set. Not many were printed, making this card even more valuable.
A PSA 10 copy of this card sold for $25,400 in 2020. According to the PSA website, at least 17 mint condition versions of this card exist, with their value now estimated at $48,000.
Hmmperhaps this card actually has the coolest Charizard artwork.