Let’s take it back a while to about 20 years or so when the Pokémon trading card game was at its full hype. At the time, nothing seemed better than that. Then, video games released and the cards eventually gathered dust and have since been forgotten. If you’ve ever won any tournaments and have since forgotten about that prize card you won, it might be worth dusting it off, because it might be worth a pretty penny. Or if you don’t know much about Pokémon trading cards, stick around and be amazed by the incredible worth of some of these cards.
Pokémon cards have shot up in worth in years past, especially for rare and misprinted cards. There are some cards that have some amazing details poured into them, with incredible artistic talent. Then there are some cards that simply have been kept in pristine condition.
The world of the Pokémon Trading Card Game has been around since 1996, and has taken many a kid’s allowance for that “one more Pokémon card pack, that could contain that oh-so-coveted Egyptian Mew card.” Everyone remembers unwrapping their pack and getting the Egyptian Mew or a holographic Venusaur card. However, if you kept your hands on some of those dusty old cards they might be worth more than you could have ever have imagined. Here are some of the rarest and most valuable Pokémon cards available in the trading card market today.
25 Shaymin EX ($20, For Now)
Starting it off at around $40, the Shaymin EX card is part of the Roaring Skies expansion in 2015. A rare modern card, its value is expected to gain as the years go on, despite it not having much value now.
It might be exciting getting your money’s worth from finding this card, but it’s also a very well-designed card. So, it might be worth your time, or your kids, to find a buyer in order to buy this card.
24 Pokémon Shining Cards ($80)
This is featured in the video games, but now in the card game as well. These cards are very rare to find in card packs. With a wide variety of value to these cards, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact price for these cards because there are tons of varieties of shiny Pokémon.
If you can find these cards they can be quite valuable; keep looking for the different colors of these cards. It’ll be worth it to collect these, not only for their value but their certain art styles as well.
23 Southern Island Card Set ($100+)
In release with the second Pokémon movie in 1999 in Japan and 2001 in the USA, the southern island card set features artwork from the two regions of the two southern islands: the tropical island and the rainbow island. This set is rare because it is one of the few card game sets were the art style had nothing changed about it after localization.
While the price of these cards isn’t that high, it’s still worth taking a look at your old cards. Even these cards have some solid value given to them.
22 Pokémon Vs Card Series ($200)
Due to its lack of common circulation in the United States, and to the doubled price of these cards, it is very uncommon to find these cards. If you do end up finding any of these cards, they can fetch around $200 to $300 asking price.
While these cards are not worth much in the card collecting world, the rarity of these cards is not lost to many collectors. If you want something modern and rare, keep an eye out for these cards.
21 Gold Star Cards ($400)
These cards have a wide range of worth, from the low price of $60 to around $3,500. It all depends on if it has other things added to it, such as holographic and shiny versions. There have been around only 2 known copies of the rarest card, gold star Espeon.
If any of your cards from the days of old have a gold star on it, it will be worth your time to try and find out what it’s worth, if you’re willing to part with it.
20 Mint Condition Crystal Cards ($400-$700)
These were some of the first secret cards introduced into the trading card game. These cards are special because they aren’t tied down to any energy, but use three types of energy for their moves. These cards are incredibly hard to find as they are rated as a star H rarity.
Priced anywhere from $400-$700, they can fetch a pretty penny if anyone has a copy they are willing to sell. While not as highly valued as some other cards, they aren’t easily found so they can be sold or kept for bragging rights.
19 Mewtwo Misprint ($800)
Released during 1999-2003 with the Wizards Black Star series, this Mewtwo card had a misprinted stamp on it. The misprinted stamp was a promotion of the first Pokémon Movie. Although the movie doesn’t sell for that much, the misprinted card sells for around $800.
Only about 30 of these cards have been found, but there might be more in the world. Might be worth taking a second look at your old cards, you could find something valuable.
18 Pokémon Fan Club Umbreon ($1,200)
A Daisuki Pokémon fan club exclusive card, given to those dedicated fans who have earned 70,000 points within the club. Making it an extremely rare card to obtain, which is a must-have for any collection. Eveelutions are worth a lot these days.
Seen anywhere from around $1,200 to $3000, it’s hard to nail down the price of these cards. That being said, a single card being worth more than $1,000 is an incredibly valuable card. Be sure to look at your old cards for this one.
17 Parent/Child Holographic Kangaskhan ($1,500)
Another one of the “holy grail” rare cards, it is considered a must-have for card collectors. This card was given to parent and child teams in the Parent/Child mega battle tournament who had won a certain number of games in the tournament.
Valued at around $1,500 but it has been known to sell for more. It is one of the few to feature the official trading card game logo as a set symbol. Only the rarest cards have this symbol featured on the cards.
16 Magikarp Tamamushi University Promo Card ($2,000-$4,000)
Released only in Japan as a promotional card for the Tamamushi University Hyper Test in 1998. The contestants were separated in Pokémon gyms, then they competed with each other and the winners went on to the next day. Then, if they won during the second day, they would receive the Magikarp card.
This card can be worth at anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000, and only around a 1,000 were ever made for distribution. It’s unknown if all 1,000 were distributed or if there are 1,000 left. So heads up if you have it.
15 Black Star Movie Promotional Cards With Inverse Stamp Error ($3,000)
Along with the misprinted Mewtwo card with the movie stamp printed upside down, there were several other misprinted promotional cards. They include several Pokémon who have the misprinted stamp on the bottom of the card as well.
Not many of these have been found, but there are still some out there that have been unrecorded. Break out the old box that’s been gathering dust and find your gold mine, or it might be nice to see some old favorites of yours.
14 Shiny Espeon Card ($3,500)
In order to obtain this card in Japan, you had to accumulate a total of 50,000 member points in the Daisuki Pokémon fan club in one year, from 2005-2006. These are considered to be extremely rare because of the difficulties in order to obtain this card.
Valued at around $3,500, this is a very valuable card. It also is apart of the EX, as well as being a shiny Pokemon. This is one of the harder to obtain cards, simply because there aren’t many ways to find this card besides buying it.
13 Shining Charizard Card ($3,500)
Considered to be the first shiny Pokémon found within the card game, it has a three-star H rating on the official rating list. Released in the Neo Destiny card set, this is an extremely rare card valued at up $3,500.
The difference between the shiny cards is that the Pokémon itself is holographic instead of the background. If your deck has an unusual glint to it or something looks off about that Charizard, then double check and your cards might be worth something.
12 Tropical Mega Battle Trainer Number 1 Card ($5,000)
There was a tournament that was held in Hawaii from 1999-2001, which was replaced by the world championships. These cards were given out at the first tournament, making them some of the rarer cards that you can find out there.
These cards are valued at anywhere around $5,000 but have been known to sell for more depending on the card. So if your Pokémon seems to be wearing a sunhat or a lei wreath, you just might have a valuable card.
11 Tropical Mega Battle Cards ($5,000)
The tropical mega battle cards were given out to the winners of the tropical mega battles from 1999-2001, and only three sets of cards from each championship were made for the winners. They’re valued from anywhere around $5,000 to $7,500.
These cards are extremely rare and you should keep an eye out for one if it happens to grace your collection. If you do decide on selling this card, it will always be five o’clock somewhere in the world for you.
10 Pokémon Snap Cards ($5,000-$8,000)
When Pokémon Snap came out in 1999, Nintendo ran a promotion where players could send in their best pictures and they could be turned into trading cards. No one knows how many Pokémon Snap cards have been made, but they are insanely rare.
Not to mention valuable. There have been sales of around $5,000 to $8,000. It’s insanely rare to find any of these cards out in circulation. Happy hunting if you want to find any of these rare cards.
9 Holographic Shadowless First Edition Venusaur ($6,500)
Every cool kid on the block had a Venusaur, but only the coolest kid had a holographic shadowless Venusaur. Considered to be extremely rare, even at the time of release, you might find a value of around $6,500 for this special card. That is if you have it, considering it was incredibly rare.
Of course, who would ever want to give up this amazing card? It has a certain quirk to it and makes a neat story. However, it would make an even better Holiday bonus.
8 Tropical Mega Battle Legendary Bird Card $7,500
These legendary bird cards are extremely rare within the tropical mega battle set, which can fetch a very high price anywhere between $7,500 and $10,000. These cards fetch a high price because not many have been distributed, being from an event that only a select few attended.
While your old cards might not have the same worth, you never know how far down the line these cards have gone. Keep looking for those diamonds in the rough.
7 Full Set Of First Edition Holo-Foils ($8,500)
Released along with the rest of the cards in 1999, the holo-foil cards are rare editions of the first cards. They have a certain look to the background of the card, that is what gives the card the holo-foil look.
Given the rarity of obtaining all of these cards, it is quite at the feat to get all of these cards together. But maybe you might win the lottery if you’ve liked the look of them as a child.
6 Master Key Prize Card ($9,000)
A prize card given out in the Japan world championships, given to the top three competitors in each age division, as well as the top four from each category. Only 34 cards were awarded to the winners, making it a very rare prize card.
This card has values up to $8,900, so if your glory days of being the very best like no one ever was, it might be worth your while to sell your prize. Or mount it in your trophy room as a prize trophy.
