Thoughts On Pokemon Card Set Symbols
Good info. This helped me narrow down that a misprint card I have is fake. But it worries me that all my cards have always come from booster packs. So a lot of my cards could be fake. Damn shady comic book stores.
If the cards came from real booster packs then the cards should be genuine unless it was a fake pack of Pokemon cards Ive never seen that before. Ive just seen reprints of high dollar cards sold online . All the cards Ive collected have come from booster packs I dont buy individual cards because Im not that serious about collecting/playing specific cards. I make due with what I get from the packs.
Matthew Its hard for me to say without seeing the symbol. Cards from 1999 can be valuable especially if its a Pikachu Trainer No. 1, 2, or 3 these were given out at the winners of the Pokemon World Championships they fetch 10s of thousands of dollars! But those cards have a Poke Ball symbol and that doesnt sound like the media symbol you describe. It could be a Snap Pikachu Trainer card, that set has a camera symbol, its in Japanese so not sure if thats it. The Snap cards are from 1999 release of the Snap 64 Nintendo game. Players could take snapshots in the game and compete to get their snapshot printed on real Pokemon card with credit to the player that snapped it. Id have to see a picture of the card to tell you more.
Secret Rare Pokemon Cards
Another aspect to be on the look out for are secret rare cards.
One of the most well-known is Dark Raichu from the Team Rocket set, as this was the first ever secret rare released.
Its one of my favourite artworks of all time, and truly an iconic card!
But there are also highly valuable secret rares from Neo Revelation, Neo Destiny, Aquapolis and Skyridge.
If you own any of these, again, theyre highly sought after and pretty darn rare
A List of Highly Desired Secret Rares from the WOTC Era
- Dark Raichu Team Rocket
How To Research Pokmon Card Prices
If youre looking to maximize your return on selling your Pokémon cards, you will need to do your research. Blindly selling individual cards without doing the legwork on Pokémon card value could end up selling yourself short and giving a collector a great deal.
The best way to research Pokémon card prices is to look at real life selling history. After all, Pokémon cards are only worth what someone is willing to pay. Check out these three resources to see what your Pokémon cards are worth:
- eBay has the largest collection of Pokémon cards for sale online
- com is regularly updated with eBay and Amazon card selling data to reflect the average price of specific cards
- TCGPlayer is an online store for buying and selling trading cards, with card prices that reflect the average sale price of said cards within the TCGPlayer store
If you have a lot of Pokémon cards but dont want to go through the hassle of selling individual items, there are places where you can sell Pokémon cards in bulk. Just know that youll be leaving money on the table if you choose to go this route.
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Pattern And Texture Of Special Cards
In addition to poor color reproduction and otherwise bad print jobs, fake cards also tend to do a very poor job of mimicking the special holo and texture of the chase cards from the various sets in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The worst fakes will print the texture that the card should have instead of reproducing it in the card-making process. And although it sounds odd to hear, fake Pokémon cardsespecially chase cards from relatively recent setsXY onwardtend to have a very simple almost flat holo to them. In short, they just dont shine correctly. Sometimes, these fake chase cards will also have a brownish, yellowish, or orangish hue to them.
On the Solgaleo-GX , you can see the holo is there, but the texture in the cards background is clearly not actually present on the card. Its not affecting the holos reflection like it should because the pattern has been printed onto the card instead of being actually added to it.
The fake Tapu Lele-GX has no texture whatsoeverbut a real copy of Tapu Lele-GX would have a detailed texture pattern all throughout its holo.
Pricing Or Selling Your Collection
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Card Condition Is Important
The condition of your Pokémon cards is a vital part of whether they have any value. Collectors arent interested in ripped, stained, or otherwise defaced cards, and such wear can severely tank a cards value even if it is a rare one.
Youve probably heard of mint condition cards before. If youre wondering whether or not a card qualifies as mint, youll need to get it graded by a PSA representative. Your card could be worth more if you have its condition officially graded. However, it costs money to get your card graded by a professional, so you should only do so if you are sure that your card is worth at least the money it will take to be professionally graded.
What Is The Pokmon Trading Card Game
The Pokémon Trading Card Game emerged in 1996, and its still going strong decades later. This collectible card game is based on the Pokémon universe created by Satoshi Tjiri and artistically designed by Ken Sugimori, which features dozens of fictional creatures all with their own unique strengths, skills, and abilities.
Human Pokémon Trainers try to catch em all, as the saying goes. Trainers catch Pokémon and are able to give them commands and to send them into combat against other Pokémon.
This is the basic concept behind the TCG. Each player acts as a Pokémon trainer, in control of various Pokémon which they can deploy against each other. Pokémon are represented on cards, so your card deck will contain a number of different Pokémon. Remember that each individual Pokémon has its own distinctive abilities.
Once a Pokémon has suffered sufficient damage in battle, it is knocked out, and the opposing player gets a Prize card. Your goal is basically to knock out your opponents Pokémon and draw Prize cards.
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Where To Buy Vintage Pokmon Cards
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If youre looking for a hidden gem that isnt Amazon, Im sorry to disappoint! Its the go-to place for beginner collectors.
That isnt to say that once you get involved in the online Pokémon community, you wont find private sellers who have access to some wonderfully rare cards. You absolutely will.
But you can start with Amazon, especially if youre just dipping your toes in the water.
My favorite Pokémon card sellers on Amazon are:
How To Identify Fakes
If youre just getting into Pokémon card collecting or investing, its absolutely crucial that you have the tools for identifying fake cards. Not only are fake cards completely valueless, but selling a fake Pokémon card can land you in hot water with your online marketplace or trade show venue, and its technically illegal.
Check out these three methods for spotting fake Pokémon cards so you can protect yourself on your mission to catch them all.
Look at the edge of the card to find the black ink layer, present in every Pokémon card. Image by Jess Searcy.
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Unlimited Cards Are Well Less Limited
Just like its name, 1st Edition came first, then Shadowless, then Unlimited. Unlimited cards all come with the shiny holographic features from Pokémons first run, but without 1st Edition stamps, thus without the inherent value of 1st Edition status. Plus, they are more common than Shadowless cards, making Shadowless versions more valuable than their shadowed brethren. Remember, rarity and desirability often go hand in hand in the hobby. Unlimited cards were, and still are, more widely available, easily attainable, and sadly, less valuable.
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.
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Any Other Pokmon Sets A Beginner Should Consider Collecting
Wizards of the Coast, who produced the early Pokémon card sets, had a collection of promotional cards called the Wizards Black Star Promos. These would be used at special events, films, tournaments, etc.
In total there are 53 cards, containing a nice mixture of card designs and illustrations. Again, its quite a fun set for a beginner to collect, and may even bring back memories of your first Pokémon movie!
After Fossil and before Team Rocket, we also saw the introduction of 130 card Base Set 2.
It wasnt particularly popular at the time though, and was probably a bit too similar to the original Base Set, considering it was only released a year later.
With that being said, some collectors like to go for the full sweep of vintage Pokémon cards. Ill leave that up to you though!
At this stage, I also want to mention some other popular vintage sets like Gym Heroes, Neo Genesis, Legendary Collection and the e-Card Series. All of which are great options as your collection builds.
However, as a starting point, I think the four sets mentioned above are perfect for beginners.
Theres also one last set Id like to mention Evolutions from the XY Series. This is the 20th anniversary set released in 2016.
If you want a nostalgic throwback, without the price tag, this is the set for you.
It only contains the first generation of Pokémon, but mixes in some modern full-art card designs, a reverse holographic in each booster, and even five secret rares!
Fake Pokemon Cards That Arent Fake
Before you start tearing up all those fake Pokemon cards. There are a few things that you should be aware of. You should keep the following in mind before making a final decision about the authenticity of a Pokemon card.
- The tips and tests in this guide are for the English version Pokemon cards. Japanese Pokemon cards are different. The Japanese Ninetails Pokemon card
- Promo cards are different from normal Pokemon cards. Theyre not fake but theyre not tournament legal. Always keep that in mind. Pikachu Poke Card Creator promo for Warner Bros.
- Printing errors do happen and it doesnt always mean that a card is fake. A good example of this is the shadowless Pokemon cards from the early set. Shadowless and normal Pokemon cards
- You can check if a specific card was misprinted with a quick Google search. You dont need to guess, as you can easily verify.
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How To Spot Fake Pokmon Cards
Some fake TCG sets are easy to spot, but others are almost real and will require an expert’s eye to discover them. Fake Charizard cards are the most likely to be bought because of their popularity. Here is how to tell if Pokémon cards are fake and the respective real vs. fake Pokémon cards’ pictures.
Check The Pokemon Cards Material
Pokemon cards that wont pass step 1 are low-quality fakes. Once youve verified the cards information, its time to examine the cards material. Layered paper is whats used for making most trading cards, including Pokemon cards.
In the case of Pokemon cards, theyre made by pressing 2 layers of paper -the front and the back- onto a thin layer of plastic. This production method results in distinct physical features.
This video will help you understand the anatomy of Pokemon cards, so the following tests will make more sense.
You can test the physical properties of a Pokemon card to tell if its fake or genuine by doing the following:
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Chapter 1 Of Learning Pokemonhow To Play And Teach The Pokemon Trading Card Game
Learning Pokemon TCG is a series of blogs and videos that teaches you everything you need to know to start playing! This series is updated regularly to ensure all information is accurate.
The Pokemon TCG is an incredibly easy game to learn, and its worth doing no matter your age or experience because its incredibly fun. The Pokemon YouTube channel created a series of quick, helpful videos to teach you everything you need to know about the basic rules of the game. Those videos are below, along with our text-based summaries that contain a bit more detail so you can reference them later without rewatching an entire video.
The starting version of a Pokemon is known as a basic Pokemon, like this Pikachu.
There are several important elements along the top of each card:
To the left of each attack is the energy cost. This indicates the number and kind of energy cards that need to be attached to a Pokemon in order for it to use that attack. You can play one energy per turn from your hand by attaching it to one of your Pokemon. Below are the various energy types found in the game.
Below is an example of a pretty standard starting setup.
Fake Vs Real Pokemon Trading Card Game Front Side Colours
For the second step of the guide on how to identify fake Pokemon Trading Card Game items, we are now going to look at the real vs fake Pokemon TCG cards for their colours on the front side.
The front side is the same on most of the popular Pokemon TCG items, and so, we are going to look at those that have the pokeball on them, with the blue background at the orange POKEMON TM text.
So, first things first, lets have a look at the real vs fake Pokemon TCG image from below, and after that, we will explain the flaw on the fake card.
In the image with the authentic vs replica Pokemon Trading Card Game image above, we have pointed out how the fake card has its colours improperly defined.
Looking at the replica Pokemon TCG card, you can see how its blue colour is too blurry and too little split around into more shades of blue.
In fact, the replica Pokemon Trading Card Game card has its blue shade pretty constant throughout the card, as there are only two shades of blue, which are too light.
On the other hand, the authentic Pokemon TCG card has its blue shades darker, and on top of that, they split around the card more than the fake cards colours.
Also, if you look at the white side of the fake cards pokeball, you can see how it shines too much, while the authentic Pokemon TCG card has its pokeball less shiny.
One other flaw that weve spotted on the fake Pokemon TCG card is that its POKEMON inscriptions are yellow instead of being orange, like the genuine cards text.
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