Look For Rare Pokemon Cards
Some cards could be worth more than others because they have unique features like holofoil or a special symbol. Other cards may not have many copies.
Heres how to identify rare Pokemon cards.
Rarity Symbols
To determine how common or uncommon a card is, you can look for rarity symbols.
Most Pokemon cards have one of three rarity symbols:
- Stars: Rare
- Diamonds: Semi-rare
- Circles: Common
Cards with a star icon on the back are the rarest and can be worth the most money. You will want to pay closer attention to these rare cards and look for additional special features that add value.
Holofoil
If you collected Pokemon cards as a kid, you likely got excited when a pack of cards contained a holofoil card. They just looked cooler than all the other cards.
Now theres another reason to be excited about holofoil cards. These cards are more valuable than a standard card thats ink-only. The entire Pokemon image may be holographic or only the reverse side.
Rare Letters
Certain card series have rare letters stamped on the front.
Some examples include these stamped letters:
- GX
- LEGEND
- LV.X
These letter stampings can be for recent releases with the United States version of the Sun & Moon set launching in 2016.
Secret Numbers
Some cards may have a secret number that is higher than the actual number. For example, you might have card number 123 of 100 printed cards.
It can be worth your time to have a professional card grader verify the authenticity and condition of rare cards.
First Edition Shadowless Holographic Charizard #4
A very valuable version of a classic fan-favourite
Sold for $369,000 in December 2020
Shiny Charizard has been one of the Pokémon card games most popular cards since it first released in 1999, so theres no surprise that 20-plus years later, it remains one of the most sought-after cards for collectors and fans alike.
While a number of first-edition cards from the Pokémon TCGs early days are worth some money – assuming theyre still in good nick – due to their limited availability and age, this specific version of the holographic Charizard absolutely stands out as one of the rarest and most valuable Pokémon cards ever released.
A PSA 10 Base Set 1st Edition Charizard just sold at auction with an ending bid of $183,812.00 via . Including the 20% buyer’s premium, the total transaction value exceeds $220k. As of now, this is the highest known sale of the card.
Chapter 2 Of Learning Pokemonthe Pokemon Tcg Buyers Guide Booster Packs Boxes And Decks
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.
Once you know how to play the Pokemon TCG, the next step is to buy what you need to do it! One of the best, and sometimes most overwhelming, elements of Pokemon is the massive amount of cards available.
If youre looking for a fast and easy way to try the Pokemon TCG, we recommend buying a couple of theme decks. These are pre-constructed, ready-to-play decks that allow anyone to start playing right away.
While theme decks are incredibly convenient, they are only the beginning of what is available to play the game. In this chapter, we cover everything you need to know to decide how you want to collect the Pokemon TCG!
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Organize Cards By Set
Pokemon has been around for over 20 years. In the United States, there are more than 70 sets from the 1990s until now.
Its best to organize your cards by set and then numerical order. This organization lets potential buyers quickly inspect cards and can help you earn more money since the store doesnt spend time cataloging the cards.
You can find a complete setlist on sites like Pokellector. Creating a free account lets you build a checklist to quickly see which cards you have and the ones youre missing.
There are other apps and websites you can use as well. The best catalogs display the current sales price, letting you estimate how much money you can make by selling the full collection.
Pokemon 25 Card Value Pack
SKN:956643
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Pokmon Japanese Promo Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind
An ultra-rare promo card – one of only a dozen ever made
Sold for $65,100 in October 2020
Only 12 Tropical Wind cards were produced as promo cards for the 1999 Tropical Mega Battle, a precursor to the Pokémon World Championships, making it one of the most valuable Pokémon sets around.
The Tropical Mega Battle saw 50 players from around the globe take part in a tournament for the trading card game in Honolulu, Hawaii. The only way to participate was to win a battle in your local region and earn an invite, making it an exclusive event for the best Pokémon trainers in the world – and the cards offered as prizes some of the rarest Pokémon cards in existence.
This particular Tropical Mega Battle promo card, the 1999 Japanese-language copy of Tropical Wind, has sold at auction for as much as $65,100 in PSA Gem Mint 10 condition, with the most recent record-breaking sale taking place in October 2020. PSA estimates its value to be as high as $148,482, making the ultra-rare card a contender for one of the most expensive Pokémon cards ever made.
Pokmon Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9
A legendary Pokémon on a legendarily rare Pokémon card
Sold for $144,300 in May 2021
Lugia is one of the most iconic and popular Pokémon in the entire series, having starred on the front of early Game Boy game Pokémon Silver and its Nintendo DS remake SoulSilver. A legendary bird Pokémon from Gen II, Lugia is one of the most powerful and hard-to-find Pokémon that players can catch in the video games – so its only fitting that its Pokémon card is also extremely rare.
The Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9 Pokémon card is described by auction house PWCC as one of the most difficult Pokémon cards to grade, as the result of a number of errors and misprints that were included in the early runs of the Neo Genesis set for the Pokémon TCG. Later print runs were corrected, but many of the cards from the expansion remain more common in their earlier uncorrected forms.
As of May 2021, PWCC claims that only 41 Gem Mint 10 condition Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9 cards have ever been graded by PSA, with just three earning the maximum BGS 10 Pristine rating from grading company Beckett Grading Services. The Lugias rarity means that it ranks almost as highly as the legendary first-edition Charizard when it comes to the most valuable Pokémon cards.
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Super Secret Battle No 1 Trainer
The answer to “What’s 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 Tournament’s 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 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.
Pokmon World Championships No 1 Trainer
Every copy of this rare and valuable promo card is one-of-a-kind
Sold for $31,200 in April 2021
The first of two rare and valuable Pokémon cards called No. 1 Trainer on this list, this particular card was awarded to winners of the regional Battle Road Spring tournaments held in Japan during early 2002.
The regional tournaments were held as qualifiers for the Pokémon World Championships, with the small number of No. 1 Trainer cards produced for the few winners making them some of the rarest Pokémon cards in existence.
Adding to the card’s rarity is the fact that each No. 1 Trainer card was customised with the name of the tournament winner printed onto the card, making each card one-of-a-kind. According to auction house Heritage Auctions, the personalised aspect of the cards also mean that they rarely appear at auction, making them an even rarer sight in the world of Pokémon cards.
The 2002 No. 1 Trainer card was illustrated by Ken Sugimori, best known as being one of the original artists and designers for Pokémon’s first generation of 151 Pokémon. The text on it reads: “The Pokémon Card Game Official Tournament Battle Road Spring 2002 champion is recognised here, and his honour is praised.” Sugimori’s No. 1 Trainer artwork – featuring fan-favourite Pokémon such as Pikachu, Chansey and Marrill – is exclusive to the card, making it especially unique.
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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.
An Unopened First Edition Set Of Pokmon Cards Deemed The Pinnacle Of Pokmon Collecting Just Fetched $408000 At Auction
It turns out playing with your Pokémon cards was a big mistake.
Sarah Cascone, January 22, 2021
Did your mother make you throw out your old Pokémon cards? Now you have an opportunity to show her that they really could have been worth a lot of money one day. An unopened first edition set of Pokémon cards just fetched a world record $408,000 at the Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction sale at Heritage Auctions in Dallas.
Released in 1999 by game publisher Wizards of the Coast, the original run of US Pokémon cards featured 102 cards, including the coveted Charizard, the powerful dragon-like final form of the fire Pokémon Charmander. The record-setting auction lot is a sealed box of first edition cards featuring 36 booster packs of 11 cards each, or 396 cards total, all of which are in gem mint condition , according to the auction house.
Due to their low print run, these box sets have become extremely scarce, especially those still in the original sealed state, wrote Heritage. It is considered the pinnacle of Pokémon box collecting.
The auction featured 16 lots of Pokémon collectibles, collectively accounting for more than $1.3 million in sales.
This Pokémon First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box set a world record with a $408,000 sale at Heritage Auctions, Dallas. Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
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Collecting The Pokemon Tcg
Even though there is a seemingly endless number of cards you can collect, you can learn the game and have hours of fun by picking up a few theme decks. Again if you are new to the Pokemon TCG and want to give it a try, we recommend grabbing a few of the newest theme decks, like these below.
Given the number of previously released cards, we also do not recommend trying to catch up by buying booster boxes from older sets. If there are older cards that catch your eye , you can buy individual cards from websites like TCGPlayer.com.
If you play the game and love it, the best way to expand your collection is by keeping up with future sets. Some players only buy a handful of packs when a new set releases and buy the rest of the cards they want as singles. Most, however, buy anywhere between one and three boosters boxes every time a new set is released. How many boxes you buy really depends on your budget and the experience you want to have.
Buying one booster box is enough to give you a variety of cards from a set. This will let you get a feel for the new cards and inform your decision to purchase more packs or buy specific singles. This is a great way to go, particularly if you only plan to play across the kitchen table or are really just looking to enjoy the game with friends and family.
From here, you have a number of options to fill in your collection with specific cards you want.
With The Uk’s Best Selection Of Pokemon Cards For Sale From Sealed Boxes To Single Cards
At Total Cards we can help you to transform your collection. We have something guaranteed to suit all collector’s, players and budgets. From Pokemon Cards and Booster Boxes to Pokemon Tins and Blister Packs. Youll find everything you need right here from first time products through to your regular top-ups! All at competitive prices and great availability.
Back in 2012 we started Total Cards with 1 simple goal and that was to be the UKs top supplier of Pokemon cards as the market was lacking a true leader in Pokemon supplies. Years later and were now one of the UKs largest Pokemon stores online, shipping thousands of Pokemon items worldwide every month. Were now the only 1 stop shop for all your Pokemon card supplies.
If you’re new to Pokemon and don’t know where to start youll find everything here to kick start your collection or if you have years of experience in the TCG to call yourself a Pokemon master, simply create an account and start earning points while you shop at the UKs fastest growing Pokemon store online
Not only do we sell sealed boosters, decks and tins but we also stock thousands of Pokemon card accessories including the very popular portfolios and Pokemon sleeves, giving you full personalisation of your deck.
We offer reward points with all purchases and they can be redeemed on future purchases giving you great discounts on all your favourite Pokemon cards and accessories.
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This Pokemon Card Deal Gets You Three Packs For The Price Of Two
ByBenjamin Abbottpublished 11 January 22
This Pokemon card deal allows you to get a set for free when you buy two packs
You can currently get three packs for the price of two with this Pokemon card deal. The offer – which is on the ‘First Partner’ sets – is $19.99 at Best Buy, saving you almost $10 overall. Various options are available, but the reduction ends later today .
If you’ve ever been shopping for Pokemon card deals, you’ll know that they’re few and far between. Discounts are rare at the best of times and usually knock less than a dollar or two off the price, so getting an entire pack for free isn’t an everyday occurrence – especially because these First Partner sets were made in honor of Pokemon’s 25th anniversary, an event celebrating the long-running game.
Each pack contains two normal booster sets to go with three oversized cards, and these feature the three starter Pokemon for different regions ranging from the original, Kanto, to more recent locales. That makes it a good fit for collectors and players that are new to one of the best card games out there.
Want to get into Pokemon cards for the first time or as a lapsed fan? It’s worth taking a look at Pokemon Battle Academy, as that’s designed as a starter set to show you the ropes.
Pokmon Blastoise #009/165r Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram
A two-of-a-kind card that suddenly became one of the most valuable Pokémon cards of all time
Sold for $360,000 in January 2021
One of only two such Pokémon cards in existence – making it extremely rare – this Blastoise suddenly became one of the most valuable Pokémon cards of all time after it sold at auction in January 2021 for a whopping $360,000 .
The ultra-rare Pokémon card was created in 1998 as a presentation piece by Magic: The Gathering maker Wizards of the Coast to convince Nintendo of Japan executives to allow it to handle the TCGs English-language release. The game would eventually make its international debut one year later in 1999.
While two Blastoise Presentation cards were produced, this is the only one that has been seen publicly. Even more impressively, it has been graded at a NM/Mint+ 8.5 level by certification website CGC, meaning that the 20-plus-year-old card is in near-perfect condition. The location and state of the other Presentation card remains unknown – meaning that this may well be the only such card of its type left.
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