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:
No 1 Trainer Super Secret Battle
- Release Date: 1999
- Grading: PSA Gem Mint 10
- Pokemon card value at auction: $90,000
In 1999, The Pokemon Company hosted regional contests in Japan. Winners received a No. 1 Trainer Pokemon card which granted them access to the final that took place in a secret location.
Named Super Secret Battle, the special TCG tournament had a lot of mystique surrounding it. The rare Pokemon card features a silhouette of Mewtwo which has made it all the more desirable to fans.
In July 2020, the Japanese promo sold for an astonishing $90,000 making it one of the most valuable Pokemon cards to ever exist.
Holographic First Edition Machamp: $6000
The Kanto starters and legendaries aren’t the only original Pokemon to boast high-value shadowless holographic cards. Nearly any holographic first edition rare card from the original set can grow immensely in price compared to other rare Pokemon cards, but since they arent as actively hunted, their prices can vary far more wildly based on their quality.
Machamp is one of these. According to PSA Cards range of auction prices based on the cards quality classification, perfect mint condition Machamps of this kind can land between $800 and $6000, while dropping just one rating down will result in prices around $200 and $900. This card in particular truly proves how important it is to keep your trading cards safe through the years, as you never know just what will become valuable twenty years later.
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How Much Is A Complete Set Of Pokemon Cards Worth
If youre holding a complete set of Pokemon cards , then you definitely have an asset collectors will be interested in.
For some, gotta catch em all literally means owning every card, from every set ever produced!
Now the actual value of your complete set will be determined by its age, condition and set popularity.
But whats interesting is that even newer full sets can be worth quite a lot of money. Sometimes as much as the older ones!
This is because, the regular introduction of reverse holographic cards, and secret rares, means full/master sets can contain over 300 cards.
The cost of pulling all of these cards naturally could cost £1000s in booster boxes. So for some, buying a full set outright simply works out cheaper.
Ultimately though, whether your complete set is old or new, is absolutely has value, and most likely, a market of interested buyers.
Most Expensive Pokemon Cards In 2021
It should be noted that top lists are almost always up for debate. A cards value can be determined by the highest its ever sold at auction, or what it sells for on average.
A Pokemon cards value can also wildly fluctuate with the market and are largely dependent on the items grading and condition. Our list is based on what the collectible has sold for in the latest auctions, and its position will be updated if it sells for less or more.
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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.
What Are Pokmon Cards
First thing’s first: what are Pokémon cards? Featuring many of the 800+ species of Pokémon from the games and the TV series, these cards are designed to be used to play the Pokémon trading card game . However, many people collect, and sometimes trade, these cards without playing the game. Even if you have no interest in playing the TCG, you still might appreciate Pokémon cards as collectibles.
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Are Your Pokmon Cards Centered
Usually, the artwork of the Pokémon on your card is centered right inside the borders of the card.
Pokémon cards pulled straight from a booster pack will look like they have their artwork perfectly centered, but its actually not that uncommon for the art of a Pokémon card to be slightly misaligned.
Sometimes these cards are classified as Misprints and there are Pokémon card collectors that are willing to pay for cards with printing errors from the factory.
However, if you are looking to get your Pokémon cards professionally graded and valued, then artwork being off-centered will deduct points from the final evaluation score of your cards decreasing its general market value.
Off-centered printings can also occur on the back art of a card as well as the front. The Poke Ball art and logo that are present on the back of the card can also sometimes sit too far left or right of the cards center.
So its best to double-check these factors if you do happen to find a card that you might think is worth some cash!
How To Identify First Edition Pokmon Cards
The quickest way to tell if you are looking at a first edition Pokémon card is to look for the first edition symbol.
And remember there are three types of cards you can have in your deck:
This is important because the first edition symbol will appear in different locations depending on the type of card.
On Pokémon cards, it will appear to the lower-left of the Pokémon image while on Energy and Trainer cards it appears in the upper-right and lower-left corners of the cards, respectively:
Pokémon
Trainer
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s go through the list.
The first 16 cards on this list are known as “holographic” cards as their images are shinier.
They’re also more rare as their prints runs were far more limited than the other cards in the 102-card checklist.
And because their more rare, that greatly increases their values as well…
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Umbreon Gold Star Holo
- Release Date: 2005
- Grading: BGS 9.5
- Pokemon card value at auction: $70,000
Eevee and its evolutions are some of the most popular characters in the Pokemon franchise. It makes sense then that a Gold Star Umbreon would quickly become one of the most coveted Pokemon cards in the TCG.
The story behind this Pokemon card also makes it unique as players had to accumulate over 70,000 XP points by the end of the Pokemon Players Clubs fourth season to obtain it. Trainers not only had to physically go to events, but they had to win a lot of matches.
Due to its low population, not a lot of these Pokemon cards have actually gone up for sale. All of that changed in June 2021 when the Gold Star Umbreon sold for $70,000 at auction. Its BGS grade of 9.5 makes it all the rarer, as only two in the whole world have received a grade this high.
Which Pokmon Cards Are Worth Money
In general, Pokémon cards from the original 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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How Do We Get Our Card Value Estimates
Our unique search algorithm produces an estimated value for each card based on the prices of cards that have been sold on eBay UK in the last 90 days. We only use prices of cards that did actually sell in our calculations and each card is updated roughly every 10 days! We individually search for NM/M, PSA 8, PSA 9 and PSA10 conditions for every single card in our database. All other values for each condition of every card worked out in relation to the NM/M value. We exclude the cost of shipping, so you just get the value for the card alone. We do this using the following guideline:
-If shipping is less than 90p, we record the price + shipping – 90p. This is because the seller has worked some or all of the shipping cost into the price, so must be taken off. -If shipping is 91p or more, we record just the price of the card.
*Note: 90p is our current estimate for shipping which roughly includes the cost of a stamp, bubble envelope, toploader and sleeve .
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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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.
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.
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First Edition Holographic Gyarados
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $1,800
This serpentine creature is an extremely temperamental and destructive Pokémon that relies on both its water and flying abilities to unleash its wrath.
Its tough scales are practically impenetrable while its sharp fangs are capable of crushing rocks.
Because it lives in both fresh and saltwater, it’s best to stay clear of water in general if you want to avoid Gyarados.
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.
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Buying Guide For Best Pokmon Cards
You’ve played all the games on Game Boy and Nintendo DS and can name every Pokémon from Abra to Zubat. What’s left for you to do? We have two words for you: Pokémon cards.
Whether you’re a huge Pokémon fan who needs something new to feed your addiction or a parent who’s trying to pick out a gift for a Pokémon-loving child, entering the world of Pokémon cards can be confusing.
You’ve got different “generations” of Pokémon cards, as well as your standard Pokémon cards, energy cards, and trainer cards. Add all that to trying to decipher the rules of the game, and it’s enough to make you want to walk away and never utter the words “Pokémon card” again.
BestReviews is here to help you figure out what you need. Read our full Pokémon card shopping guide and prepare to catch ’em all.
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.
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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.
First Edition Holographic Mewtwo
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $2,000
A member of the exclusive and powerful Legendary Pokémon group, Mewtwo is considered to be one of the best Pokémon of all-time.
Instantly recognizable, the psychic-type Mewtwo was created when a scientist altered its original DNA via gene-splicing techniques that transformed the creature into one of the most vicious and savage of all Pokémon.
Harnessing its psychic energy, Mewtwo unleashes physical damage on its enemies via its signature more, Psystrike.
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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.