Even if you were never part of the Pokémon frenzy , chances are you acknowledge the name . Pokémon , forgetful for " air hole monster , " first impinge on the Nipponese market as anelectronic gameseries , " Pokémon Red " and " Pokémon Green " in February 1996 . Two class subsequently , the U.S. edition , do it as Pokémon Red and Blue , debuted .
The video game were soon joined by a show , a trading circuit board secret plan ( aka , TCG ) and toys . In other words , the franchise was officially a selling department ’s dream . pile up card was an instant craze , thanks to devoted Pokémon fans .
Then , just like with every craze ever , people begin to lose interest . But those who held on to their wit were glad they did because interest explode again between 2019 and 2020 . Enthusiastic YouTube influencers are credited with the replication .
There is a lot to know about Pokémon cards ; here ’s a quick shallow " dip of a toe " in the sea of Pokémon .
There are three differenttypes of notice : character visiting card , energy cards and flight simulator cards . The Pokémon are creatures that live in the wild or with their possessor ( like you or your nestling ) , who ’s refer to as their " trainer . " The trainer ’s finish is to " catch them all , " meaning all 800 - asset of them . The more cards a role player has , the stronger their deck , and the better hazard of beating other trainers . Of naturally , there is much , much more to TCG .
The oddity of a board is indicated with one of three symbolisation on the bottom - right field corner :
As with all collectibles , a carte must be inpristine condition and rare — preferably a first variant , a limited edition or special in some style , to fetch the highest price at auction . In general , cards with mistakes or mistake corrections , are big moneymakers , as are first editions of cards that were only usable at specific events , like tournament . But do n’t start scavenging yet , the majority of cards out there are deserving less than a clam .
Serious collectors often have their good identity card order ( $ 15-$30 per card ) byProfessional Sports Authenticator(PSA ) , the great and most reputable grader of collector cards . A good rating will significantly increase a card ’s value . Cards are graded on condition , which includes original burnish and sharpness of borderline , corner , etc . , The better the precondition , the higher the score , which is a score between 1 and 10 . It gets more complicated , but that ’s a unlike story .
The grocery is always changing , but here are some of the eminent single - calling card sales of Pokémon cards to day of the month . As you could see , this is no longer just a piddling nipper add-in swop .
10. Ex Dragon Frontiers Gold Star Halo Charizard #100
Many of the most worthful Pokémon calling card are promos from specific tournaments or special events . This card was given to competitors from around the world at the invite - only Tropical Mega Battle in Hawaii ( 1999 ) . After some formula changes , in 2001 the annual result was renamed , Japanese World Championship . A mint condition poster from that event sold formore than $ 60,000 in October 2020 .
9. Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind Promo Card
This card is also from the 1999 Tropical Mega Battle event . It ’s a canonic trainer card , but still very uncommon . Few of these tropic cards are for cut-rate sale , and almost none are as pristine as the one sell in October 2020 that was PSA - value MINT 10 formore than $ 65,000 .
8. 1998 Japanese Promo Card Tamamushi University Magikarp Trophy
The Magikarp is a promo scorecard that only winner of at least one battle during a two - day tourney in Osaka , Japan , received . To even enter the tourney , you had to be one of the 1,000 highest scorers on the " Tamamushi University Hyper Test " tournament that was briefly published in select magazines . gratuitous to say , this is an epic card if you could find it . A PSA - rat GEM 10 carte sell in February 2021for $ 66,100 .
7. Pokémon Super Secret Battle “No. 1 Trainer” Promo Holographic Card
Some say this is one of the most sought - after Pokémon cards . It ’s another promo card but this one was given to an approximate seven players in a countrywide tournament in Japan . The final exam of the tourney were a secret ( seems to be a " affair " with them ) . To participate , you had to pull ahead one of these card in one of seven regional tournaments . Those with the card were given the localization of the tourney . PSA has attest only seven copies of this card to date , one of those , a MINT 10,sold in July 2020 for $ 90,000 !
6. 2000 Neo Genesis First Edition Holographic Lugia
Now we ’re getting into the big money cards . We ’re talking about a mint stipulation , first edition , Lugia card from the second edition of the PokémonGame Boy . Lugia is a fan ducky , so this is not a rare card , but in mint condition it is — to engagement there are only 41 PSA 10 good example , so if you could find one , it ’s worth big money . The last one sell in May 2021 formore than $ 144,000 !
5. Japanese Promo Card-Family Event Trophy-Holo Kangaskhan
This is one of the rarefied Pokémon cards out there . It was given to select victor of the Parent / Child Mega Battle Tournament in Japan in 1998 . Only 46 have been evaluated by the PSA . One card that was rated a gross 10 by the PSA — the first sentence ever for this particular card — sold at an October 2020 auction for$150,000 . Its PSA evaluation is much of the reason for its high Leontyne Price tag .
4. Black Star Ishihara Signed GX Promo Card
What makes the identity card rare is it boast Pokémon party founder and president Tsunekazu Ishihara and was a talent to society staff in honor of Ishihara ’s sixtieth natal day in 2017 . But one calling card sold at auction in 2021 for awhopping $ 247,230because it was in near - mint condition and was sign by Ishihara himself .
3. “Backless Blastoise” Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram
Not just any Blastoise card , thiscard is specialbecause there is no printing on the back side . This add-in was made in 1998 by Wizards or the Coast , the original manufacturer of Pokémon cards , as a test run . And it ’s one of just two written matter produced … period . This was before the debut and monumental popularity of the series in the U.S. This card sold in January 2021 for$360,000 .
2. First Edition Charizard, Holographic-SGC Gold Label Pristine 10
The Charizard card has two characteristics that make a card worthful . It ’s ashadowlessholographic , first edition . The earliest cards did n’t have drop dark behind the watchword or text , which reach them rare and therefore , expensive . It ’s also a Charizard , the dear dragon . You might have seen Youtuber Logan Paulwearing one around his neckwhen he entered the ring for his expo fight against Floyd Mayweather in June . Logan claims his add-in could now be deserving $ 1 million . But another first edition , PSA - rated 10 GEM menu did sell in March 2021 for$369,000 , so who knows !
1. 1998 Japanese Promo Card Holo Illustrator Pikachu
If you recognise any Pokémon character , it ’s got to be Pikachu . This is one of the earliest cards to come out of the Pokémon dealership . It ’s also another Nipponese promotional card from a competition shop by CoroCoro Comic magazine in 1998 . achiever got custom cards with their original artwork , plus this rarified Pikachu card . It ’s sold multiple times for six figures ; the latest sales agreement was inFebruary 2021 for $ 375,000 .
