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Last Updated On: January 10th, 2024
- Pokémon Level: Beginner
- Best for: Investors, Collectors
Trying to understand why a Pokémon card is valuable can be incredibly confusing if you’re new to the hobby. Cards come in and out of focus all the time, and the competitive scene changes direction frequently, too.
I remember picking up my first sets back in the day and immediately assuming that every sparkly card I came across was valuable and extra cool. While the latter may be true (for me, at least) the former isn’t always, so taking some time to understand what adds value to a card is essential if you’re a budding card entrepreneur.
Luckily, there are a few easy steps that you can follow when picking up a new pack of cards to determine their rough value. Here you’ll learn how to tell if a Pokémon card is rare and worth some money, along with advice on what to look out for as an investor.
Table of Contents
Different Definitions of Value
Before we get started, it’s important to note that there are a few different definitions of value when it comes to Pokémon cards. These can be understood best by looking at the types of fans there are in the community.
A competitive player will deem a card valuable if it’s useful for deck-building, has strong/useful moves, and good synergy (aka works well) with their other cards.
A collector may deem a card valuable if it’s from an older set, if it contains nostalgic value for them, or if it’s increasing in monetary value over time. Collectors may also hold cards that are harder to obtain (like old movie promo cards) in high esteem, too.
An investor will refer to a card as being valuable if it’s performing well price-wise on the market. Put simply, if the card is selling for a high price and earning sellers a good return on their investments.
In this article, I’ll be referring to ‘valuable’ cards in the context of price, along with a little bit of nostalgic and emotional value, too. Typically they’re some of the most trending Pokemon cards on auction.
6 Steps to Know a Pokémon Card is Rare & Valuable
When it comes to understanding the potential value of a Pokémon card, you’ll need to break it down into chunks to fully understand it.
A Pokémon card is valuable based on several factors, including its age, eligibility, what set it was released in, the physical quality or condition of the card, the rarity and desirability, and the Pokémon/character/item that is featured on the card.
The following steps should help you evaluate each of your cards one by one.
Step 1 – Review Marks
First, take a look at the information displayed on the card by examining the regulation mark and other identifiers. These are usually found at the bottom of the card.
On a modern card, the important information is usually found in the bottom left-hand corner. On the other hand, older cards have less information and it is spread out across the entirety of the bottom section of the card, as shown above with the gold-colored Aerodactyl.
The information to review includes:
- Set symbol. On newer cards, a symbol showcasing what set the card is from can be found in the bottom left hand corner. In the example above, the diamond design on the Crobat card represents the Shining Fates expansion. Older cards have their set symbol higher up, with the example above showing a footprint to represent the Fossil set for Aerodactyl.
- Regulation mark. This can only be found on newer cards, from 2017 onwards specifically. Regulation marks are little letters which indicate whether a card is tournament eligible.
- Illustrator. This doesn’t affect the value too much, but the illustrator name (aka artist) for each card is usually visible on both old and new cards. Some illustrators, like Mitsuhiro Arita, are immensely popular with the community.
- Rarity symbol. Rarity symbols help us understand if a Pokémon card is Rare or Common, with the basic symbols being a circle for a Common card, a diamond for an Uncommon card, and a star for a Rare card.
- Date released and copyright. The date released and copyright name will always be at the bottom of the card. The date released can impact value, with the copyright having less of an impact in most cases.
There are exceptions to every rule, of course, and these elements will not always indicate a card’s exact value. The copyright name is usually unimportant — unless you’re looking at older cards released by Wizards of the Coast, as these are rare and highly cherished by collectors.
My advice: focus on recognizing set marks at first. Spend time looking through listings on sites like TCGplayer where you can filter by rarity, set, price, etc. and get a feel for the highest-value cards. Understanding which sets have which marks will naturally help with your understanding of dates and popular artists, too.
It’s also worth looking into the various rarity icons in more depth. Check out our graphic below for some of the most frequently seen rarity symbols.
It’s important to note that these are our representations of what the icons look like. The star you’ll see on a Pokémon card is a little more rounded, for example.
Rarity icons correlate to pull rates. If a card is harder to get hold of (due to pull rates or demand) then it’s likely to sell for more money. Typical English-language Booster Packs usually contain 4-5 Common cards, 2-3 Uncommon cards, and 1-2 Rare cards (which have their own sub-classifications of rareness as you can see). This does change from set to set, though, and other rarities are not guaranteed.
Step 2 – Review Set and Expansion
Next, figure out which set and expansion your chosen card comes from.
As mentioned above, the set will be indicated by a symbol on the card. If you’re unsure, though, you can search the Pokémon name and release date, along with any identifying features e.g. if the card is a VMAX card or a Rainbow Holo.
Some sets are in higher demand than others, so it’s good to understand which sets are the most popular. Factors that can affect desirability include card mechanics, set artwork, fan-favorite characters having full art cards, and the correlating video game’s quality.
If you’ve not heard of full art cards before, they’re gorgeous cards with artwork that covers the entirety of the card instead of within a particular border or designated box. More often than not, they’re rare and popular, and they are often Holos, too.
Reviewing online community opinions can be helpful as well — a popular one is the Pokémon TCG Subreddit to see whether people have posted about the card you’re inquiring about. You can also add ‘Reddit’ to the end of a card name in Google to pull up a specific card being talked about in forums, such as ‘Aerodactyl Fossil set 1999 Reddit.’
I’d also recommend jotting down a list of both card sets and card qualities to look for.
Sets like Shining Fates, Fossil, and Stormfront are exceptionally popular- and if you can find First Edition Base Set cards, you will immediately increase the value of your collection. Look for valuable qualities too, like interesting artwork and layouts, rare qualities (unique variants on Pokémon for example), and popular illustrators.
Step 3 – Review Card Type
Next, take a look at what type of Pokémon card it is that you’re dealing with.
Sure, it might be a Trainer card, but is it a full art card? Is it a Rare with Cosmos Holofoil? Is it an ACE SPEC card? There are heaps of card types which can be confusing at first, but it’s worth sinking some time into as the specific card type can have a real impact on how much your card can sell for (we’ll cover some of the most popular ones in a bit).
As an example, Supporter cards feature human characters from the Pokémon franchise. A full art version of a Supporter card is almost always more popular and valuable than a regular Supporter card, especially if it features a fan-favorite character like Cynthia or Iono.
My advice: isolate any cards with a full art design, no matter what card type they initially fall into. More often than not, they’re going to hold some value and they’re worth sleeving then reviewing further with the steps mentioned in this guide.
The term ‘full art’ doesn’t always mean a Pokémon-focused card. None of the cards shown below are particularly remarkable in terms of function or nostalgic value, but they all hold some value on the market right now.
You may be surprised which card is the most valuable out of the trio, though. Take a guess before scrolling and continuing.
The Glaceon VMAX may look like the most visually impressive, but it’s actually the least valuable of the lot at the time of writing. Brock’s Grit is selling for around $8-10USD right now while the other two are coming in at just a few dollars.
They’re all worth holding onto if you find them, though. The main takeaway here is that full art cards hold value, but some research and practice is required if you want to find the most valuable full art cards.
Step 4 – Verify Authenticity
When something becomes valuable, it draws increased attention and invariably leads to scammers scamming. In other words, fakes become more prevalent.
Verifying authenticity is an on-going practice as you build your collection — whether it’s through buying, or trading, for Pokémon cards. The good news is that most Pokémon cards will not be counterfeits, especially if they’re just worth 10’s of dollars.
And if you’re purchasing sealed products from major retailers, there is less likelihood of anything funky going on. In general, follow these essential tips when acquiring cards:
- Buy from reputable sources. Does the seller have a history of positive reviews? If it’s an online store, be sure to look over their reviews and overall feedback rating.
- Look for inconsistencies: Ensure the card looks proper, and whether everything makes sense, too (e.g. the set, card marks, etc.). It sounds silly, but look to see if the Pokémon card title is spelled correctly and if the colors are exactly right. You’d be surprised how sloppy some fakes can be.
- Make sure it’s not a custom or handmade piece. Unless you’re deliberately buying a custom-made card, ensure what you’re buying is not homemade by a community artist. Does it come from the right set, with the correct card # and details? Compare to other similar cards if you’re unsure (or a newbie). While custom-made cards are not very common, you’ll see them on eBay as there are some very talented artists out there! They’re not fakes, per se, and they’re very cool — but they’re not valuable.
Another great way to verify authenticity is by getting your Pokémon cards graded (especially if they’re more valuable to begin with). This can help would-be buyers of your card know it has been authenticated by a third party, and could increase its value depending on its overall grade or condition. We’ll discuss this some more in the next section.
Keep in mind there are lots of grading companies to choose from, so check to see which ones are local to you and what their shipping/handling process is like, along with pricing. I’d recommend grading TCG cards through CGC or PSA — there are cheaper options as well, but they’re not as reputable as those two.
There’s one more necessary step to take after determining your card’s authenticity if you want to make some money from it.
Step 5 – Verify Card Quality/Condition
Once you’ve identified the card you have and know it’s genuine, you’ll need to analyze the condition. After all, even a First Edition Base Set card will dip in value dramatically if it’s dinged or scuffed.
Scratches, dents, damaged corners, holo quality, and surface problems — these are all issues that can impact the true value of a card. Even the way a card is framed (aka centering) can impact its value.
In the example below, we clearly have an off-centered Pokémon card. As you can see, the gold border is completely out of alignment. It’s just one example of poor card quality — even if everything else was in great condition.
To verify condition and quality, find somewhere with bright lighting and examine the card thoroughly to see if there are any issues with it. Thoroughly examining cards holds true when buying Pokémon cards as well. Especially if the card is of higher value and not already graded by a third party as mentioned above.
The easiest things to check for are bends and dings on the card. Using your phone flashlight to scan over the card details can help you spot faint surface scratches or dings more easily.
With that, you’ve analyzed all of the key data — now let’s see how much the card is worth overall!
Step 6 – Estimate, Then Check Market Prices
It’s time to estimate how much you think your card is worth. This part isn’t essential (and is only relevant once you have a few confirmed evaluations), but it’s something I like to do to develop my evaluation skills.
Once you have an estimate in mind, find a reputable site or source to review the average selling prices. I’d recommend searching for the same card on TrollandToad (search bar is in the left rail) and TCGPlayer (search bar is at the top of the page) as a starting point given they are two great sites for buying Pokémon cards.
Be sure to review a few sites so that the final number is accurate. Apps like Collectr and CardLadder (the latter we use heavily) can also be very useful for understanding current sales prices from popular auction sites like eBay, and other marketplaces.
If possible, try getting out to a local card store to see whether they buy and sell singles, too. While the price you find at a local store may be heavily influenced by your local community (if you have an active competitive scene, this could impact which cards sell), it can still be a good metric to contrast online prices against.
Valuable Pokémon Cards to Look For
If you have a large amount of cards and you’re not sure where to start in evaluating them, there are some specific Pokémon and characters to look out for that are usually quite popular and valuable.
Pikachu and Charizard are exceptionally popular, as are the Eeveelutions (e.g. Sylveon, Umbreon, Espeon). These cards are normally sought-after, especially those featuring Charizard as The Pokémon Company seems to particularly favor this Pocket Monster.
Female gym leaders and champions often sell for a much higher price than other Trainer/Supporter cards.
Legendaries, Pseudo Legendaries, and Starters may seem like obvious picks, but if you encounter any of these, it’s absolutely worth examining them and following the steps listed above to see if they’re valuable cards.
Some cards will hold monetary value purely thanks to community memes, too, like Bidoof and Magikarp cards.
Of course, these rules are not set in stone. Some cards featuring Umbreon will be valuable and some won’t, for example. Always double check and research the current market prices, but use the above graphic/list as a guideline.
Wrap up: What to do Next
As noted at the top, this guide is best for beginners looking to understand whether a Pokémon card is rare and valuable.
If you really want to perfect your collecting and valuation skills, you’ll need to spend more time digging into the topic. I’d recommend reading the following in particular:
- Fan favorite Pokémon/historically popular Pokémon
- Cards that are hard to obtain e.g. country-specific cards or old promotional cards
- Efficient card handling and storage
- How to spot fake Pokémon cards
Investing in Pokémon cards is a skill like any other, and you’ll get better at it naturally over time as you practice and read more about it.