10 Pokémon Cards Worth a Lot of Money
The Pokémon trading card game, which was released in the 1990s to accompany the Pokémon video games according to runrex.com, is one of the most popular TCGs in the world. This, and coupled with the immense popularity of the Pokémon franchise as a whole, has led to some Pokémon cards being worth a fortune as is explained over at guttulus.com. We have had some cards even sell into the 6-figure range which is astounding given that we are talking about cards here. This article will look to list 10 of the Pokémon cards that are worth a lot of money.
- The Pikachu Illustrator
This Pokémon card was made possible by a series of illustrator contests held by the CoroCoro, a Japanese manga magazine, in which entrants were asked to submit their own unique Pokémon designs and attacks as covered over at mtglion.com. This contest gave rise to the rarest and most valuable Pokémon cards of all time: the Pikachu Illustrator. This card is so rare given that only 39 copies were distributed to the contest winners, which means that those that survive today are even fewer. The card is valued at over $200,000.
- Kangaskhan – Parent/Child Promo Card
This extremely valuable card was awarded as a prize at a 1998 Pokémon tournament for parent and child teams and was retired soon after the tournament according to the subject matter experts over at runrex.com. The fact that in addition to being retired the card also identifies as rare has made it extremely attractive to collectors which is why it is valued at $133,000.
- 1997 Trophy Pikachu Trainer Card
According to guttulus.com, this card was awarded to the first, second, and third-place finishers in their respective divisions at the very first official Pokémon tournament in Japan back in 1997. The fact that only 4 copies of each were given to the top contestants shows just how rare these cards are. The cards are stunning, featuring the cute Pikachu hoisting up a gold, silver, or bronze trophy depending on it being awarded to the first, second, or third place contestant. The card is valued between $75,000 to $100,000 depending on which of the three it is as well as the condition.
- 1999 First Edition Holographic Charizard Card
The Charizard card is arguably one of the most recognizable Pokémon cards as discussed over at mtglion.com. This particular one appeared on the cover art of the Pokémon Red video game for the Nintendo Game Boy and Game Boy Color. The fact that it is a holographic, 1st edition card makes it very rare, which is why it is valued at just over $55,000.
- 2010 Japan World Championship Master Key Trophy Card
This is yet another tournament card, and this one was awarded in the 2010 Pokémon World Championships held in Hawaii according to discussions over at runrex.com. Only 36 copies were given out, each to the 36 participants of the event, and with so few of them in circulation, they command such a huge price and are valued at just over $21,000.
- 1996 Japanese Base Set “No Rarity” Charizard Card
This card is so special among collectors as it marked the first appearance of the iconic character as is covered over at guttulus.com. The fact that it is a “no rarity” card also has made it extremely valuable as these cards are not only extremely difficult to find, but are also even more difficult to find in pristine condition. It is, therefore, no wonder that this Pokémon card is valued at just over $20,000.
- 2005 Ex Deoxys Rayquaza Gold Star Holo Card
As is revealed in discussions on the same over at mtglion.com, Rayquaza, a large, serpentine creature, is one of the most powerful Pokémon while Ex Deoxys was the 24th set in the Pokémon Trading Card game whose symbol was that of a shooting star. The gold star holo variant of this card is extremely expensive, valued at about $19,100.
- 1998 Japanese University Magikarp Trophy Card
This card was awarded in the Tamamushi University Hyper Test event that was held in June 1998 in Osaka, Japan. Although 1,000 copies of this card were slated to be distributed, according to runrex.com nobody knows the exact number distributed. What we do know is that this card is the most expensive Magikarp in the entire Pokémon series, valued at about $17,500.
- 2005 Japanese Promo Summer Battle Road Holo Victory Orb Card
Spanning across 9 different Japanese cities between July 10th and August 24th, 2005, the Battle Road Summer 2005 tournament was like nirvana for Pokémon enthusiasts. What’s more, the top three competitors from each age division received on these Victory Orb cards that feature Mew and Takumi Akabane’s artwork as outlined over at guttulus.com. Given that previous versions of the Victory Orb cards awarded in the 2003 and 2004 Battle Road Summer tournaments didn’t feature Mew, this one is considered to be an aesthetic upgrade and is valued at just over $15,300.
- 2003 Skyridge Holo Charizard Card
As explained over at mtglion.com, Skyridge was the third and final main expansion of the e-Card Series that included playable e-Reader applications on the card. This particular Skyridge is very highly-valued, especially since it is a Charizard, and a BGS 10 rated Skyridge Holo Charizard card sold for an astounding $15,000 in 2018.
These are just some of the most valuable Pokémon cards out there, and you can uncover more insights on this and other topics by checking out the highly-rated runrex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.