Are you are Pokemon card collector and wonder if your card is rare and valuable? From Colorless to Foil and Dragons, there are different types of Pokemon cards to perform special abilities that are helpful when building a custom deck.
All these collector cards are either commercial or printed in small amounts, which create rarity and increase value in the marketplace.
How do you tell if Pokemon cards are rare? In order to tell if Pokemon cards are rare or not, a player should learn specific details to look for. The symbol located at the bottom right corner of any card represents the rarity of the card.
Common cards are always marked with a black circle, uncommon cards have black diamonds, and rare cards are marked with a black star. Generally, this forms the basis of distinguishing rare cards.
When buying Pokemon cards, it is worth understanding how rare each card is in case you would like to sell or trade them in the future. Owning a valuable cards to trade is vital and identifying the fake Pokemon cards is a priority so you can get fair deal.
If you would like to know the rarity of your Pokemon cards, you will be learning how to tell specific details about Pokemon cards. Answered below are frequently asked questions to help you determine whether or not your Pokemon cards are rare, including the symbol chart to help understand your deck.
How do I know if my Pokémon cards are valuable?
In order to understand if your Pokemon cards are valuable or not, the following details are important for a player to check whether their Pokémon cards are worth value.
Card Rarity
Every Pokémon card has a unique rarity symbol that determines that corresponds with the other cards in the booster pack. It’s one of the best areas to look at to get an understanding of the cards value.
The card’s rarity is indicated at the bottom corner on the right side, represented in a symbol. Cards with a circle symbol represent common cards, whereas those with a diamond represent uncommon cards which aren’t worth that much unless the card was printed from the early 2000’s.
In general, cards with a star symbol indicate the card is a rare card, which gives it a higher potential of the most valuable card in the pack. In addition, if a card has three stars, it indicates that the card is special or extra rare, which give it an even higher value.
Other symbols indicate the card was sold as part of a special product, but not a booster pack.
Card Printed Year
Cards released after the game was launched are very valuable, with even common and uncommon cards worth more than five dollars. Any card that was printed between 1999 to 2000 is considered very valuable.
Collector Number
The collector number is indicated at the bottom of the card in the right corner. Valuable cards such as secret rare cards have larger collector numbers than the total cards, such as 65/64 or 110/105.
Cards with collector numbers starting with SH means they have different art than the regular version, which is very valuable. However, if the card has no collector number, it means the card was printed early, and it can be worth checking into.
Holographic Cards
Reverse holo cards are shinny, but not necessarily valuable. However, the rare holo are valuable and worth setting aside.
Special cards have a holographic border that surrounds the card, which shows they can be valuable.
Extra Symbols and Words
Pokémon cards with special symbols tend to be worth more. Always worth taking into a local shop and exploring the value.
Other Signs of Value
Some cards have pictures with full art that extends around the entire card attached with a text printed at the top, these are typically worth more because of the uniqueness.
Will Pokémon cards go up in value?
Yes, Pokemon cards will go up in value eventually. In fact, Pokémon cards definitely will increase their value with time as long as the game continues to stay relevant.
However, the rate at which Pokemon card increases in value entirely depends on the card’s condition, the rarity of the card, and the card’s age.
Most players prefer the initial editions of the Pokémon cards, even though to sell them at high values such as thousands of dollars, the cards are required to be graded as mint condition.
Typically, all Pokémon card prices increase no matter what, since trading cards sell out after printing.
As a result, it makes it harder to get hold of them commercially. When reprinted, the new run in the market has high demand, which raises their rating price.
In addition, most owners of the first edition cards might damage their cards or even lose them. Also, they may be apprehensive about holding them, but they refuse to resell, which has made Pokémon cards continue growing in rarity over the years, making them more valuable.
Which Pokémon cards are worth money?
Not all Pokemon cards have a high value. It truly depends on the printed year, condition, and rarity to determine the resale value, but some super special cards range from $10,000 to over $500,000.
To give you a clear idea, here is the list of most valuable cards in a Pokémon deck:
- Pikachu Illustrator: It’s one of the oldest cards that came out in 1998. The card is worth $250,000 rated in July 2020 by professional sports.
- Shadowless Holo Charizard: The card creature was introduced in the game in 1999, and the card is worth $507,000 on eBay sites.
- Master Key Prize Card: The card was introduced in the game in the 2010 championship in Japan. It’s scarce, which makes it worth about $22,000.
- Pre-release Raichu: The card was not meant for public distribution, therefore its value has been priced at $10,000.
- Tropical Wind Tropical Mega Battle: It was introduced in Tropical Mega Battle in 1999, today it’s worth $70,000.
- Espeon Gold Star: It was introduced in 2007, and now it is worth $22,100 on the eBay site.
- Blastoise: It was introduced in the Combat Turtle in 1999, and it goes for $20,000 on PSA.
- Shinning Gyarados: It was introduced in 2001 in Neo Revelations, and it is selling for $12,000 on the eBay site.
How to tell if Pokémon cards are worth money
Identifying if your Pokemon cards are worth money is quite important. It will help you determine the value when trading or selling to others to get the most out of it.
The more rare the card is, the higher value it holds. In general, if the year in which the Pokémon cards was made is between 1999 and 2000, as indicated at the bottom of the card, then chances are the card has significantly increased value.
To find out if the Pokemon cards are worth money or not is by simply looking at the bottom right corner of the card, the rarity symbol is next to the card number.
A black circle represents the card is common, while a diamond shape means the card is uncommon, and a black star symbol indicates that the card is rare.
As time passes by, the first edition of Pokemon cards are still extremely valuable in the present day. These cards will be marked with the same stamp that you will see near the bottom left corner of the card.
If there is no stamp there, double check the copyright dates because it may be rarer than you think.
Pokémon card rarity symbols chart
To easily help to understand your cards easily, the Pokemon rarity symbols chart is divided into collector card number and rarities.
The Collector Card Number is written in the format XXX/YYY, where XXX represent the card’s number and YYY represents the cards number in the set it belongs to.
Rarities have three rarity symbols that identify the rarity variation of either Ultra or Secret Rare cards. These three rarity symbols are; common, uncommon and Rare. However, some cards don’t have a rarity symbol that indicates they are from a promo set and not a booster pack.
The common rarity is represented by a circle symbol, the uncommon diamond symbol, and a star symbol represents a rare card. Some cards are even rarer than others, and to distinguish them, rarer cards are represented with up to three stars.
Rare Pokemon Cards: Conclusion
Rare Pokemon cards are classified into multiple categories such as standard rare plain, holo Rare, Reverse Holo, secret rare, rainbow rare and promo. However, not every booster pack or deck includes rare cards.
The cards printed for specific products do not possess the rarity symbol. However, those cards are colored at the silhouette of the main Pokémon associated with the product.
Quickly telling if the Pokemon cards are valuable is by rarity symbol, printed year, collector number, holographic cards, and extra addition symbols and text can determine the value of the cards.
Over the course of time, Pokemon cards go up in value due to the increased demand in the market that raises the price worldwide.
With this in mind, rare Pokemon cards range in value from $10,000 to $500,000. The most valuable Pokemon card is Shadowless Holo Charizard, which is listed on eBay for $507,000 and was shown first in 1999.
Simply look for rarity symbols marked on the bottom right hand corner next to the card number. For rare, the black star symbol is the one you are looking for. Black circle and black diamond shape means common and uncommon cards, which typically have minimal value.