People are diving into their old collections, searching for Pokémon Trading Card Game riches as the game’s popularity soars. COVID-19 pandemic’s equivalent of a gold rush is being sparked by rumors of cards being flipped for five or six digits online.
It’s unlikely you’ll stumble across any of these fabled bestsellers if you’re a casual fan rummaging through your old binders. Even though paying off your mortgage with just one credit card seems impossible, there are ways to turn a profit. With this in mind, here are the five most valuable Pokémon cards you may own.
To figure this out, I went through every Pokémon set in TCGPlayer’s price database and marked every card worth more than $100. This was followed by an inventory of all promotional cards, including those given to the game’s personnel as part of their incentives for participating in various events. Despite their high monetary value, it’s quite unlikely that someone is sleeping with these under their mattress and is blissfully unaware of their existence.
Market pricing for cards can change quickly. Therefore, newer sets like Shining Fates or Vivid Voltage may not keep their worth as effectively as a Base set card from the 1990s, for example. In addition, keep in mind that the TCGPlayer prices are average; your card’s quality will determine how much more or less you can get for yours.
The Lugia of Aquapolis
The Pokémon Trading Card game’s e-Card period, in which cards could be scanned into the Gameboy Advance’s e-Reader peripheral, was the inspiration for Aquapolis. Even though the e-Reader was never released in Europe, some cards from that time are still rather expensive. Due to its Crystal Type ability, Lugia (also known as “Crystal Lugia”) is Aquapolis’ most costly card, costing between $490 and $500.
Charizard’s Starter Kit (Holo)
As the most well-known Pokémon card in the world right now, you might be surprised to learn that Base Set Charizard is only the sixth card on this list. This is because a Shadowless Base Set Charizard differs from a Standard Base Set Charizard. Cards from the first printing of the TCG can be distinguished by their absence of a shadow surrounding the art frame. The value of those with shadows is much lower than those without.
The Charizard Star of Dragon Frontiers
The Delta Species was another unusual Pokémon that has since been retired. When scientists employed Delta radiation to search for Mew in the TCG-only Holon territory, it was part of an exclusive story set there. This Charizard is a Delta Species Pokémon, which means it has been given a Dark-type instead of its typical Fire-type. This is a Star Pokémon, which means you have a Shiny Black Charizard on a black card design for its Dark-type. It’s easy to see why this is so well-liked.