The 5 Most Expensive Pokémon Cards Worth Checking Yr Dusty Old Binder For

The most expensive pokemon cards ever sold
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Back when I was a wee spawn of Satan, I was obsessed with collecting all things Pokémon. I used to hoard all of the games, the Pokédex handbooks and the trading cards that I used to build that shrine in my room dedicated to the Yellow Spark Rat™. While the video game franchise has always been alive and kickin’, Pokémon trading cards tend to find a way into mainstream media from time to time, usually when one sells for an absurd amount of money.

It turns out that, much like collecting coins or influencer bathwater, holding onto certain Pokémon cards can make you some bank in the future.

There are a few specifics that you need to look out for if you’re hoping to make a quick buck while rummaging around in your childhood closet. For starters, your cards need to be in tip top condition. No ratty edges, no peeling corners and no scritchy-scratches.

Most Pokémon cards are graded in accordance with Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), which is scaled from a 1 for poor and a 10 for Gem Mint. A 10 is the highest possible grading a card can achieve and it has to be looking mighty fresh if you’re hoping to score that high. So keep that in mind the next time you decide to rip open your pack of cards like an infernal Rattata.

Your Pokémon cards also need to have some degree of rarity on them. Most rare cards are marked by a black star-shaped symbol in the bottom corner, which is a good place to start. But you’ll also find that holographics, or cards with unique numbering or even printing errors are classified as rarer and will fetch a higher price than your basic set. Anything from one of the OG 1996 decks are also sure to turnover a fat wad.

Alright, alright, I’ve waffled on long enough – here are the five most valuable Pokémon cards that have ever been sold.

The most expensive and rarest Pokémon trading cards in the world

5. Kangaskhan Family Event Trophy Holo – $236,400

#5: Most expensive Pokémon trading cards - Kangaskhan-Holo Family Event Trophy Card

In a wholesome twist, Kangaskhan is actually one of the most valuable Pokémon cards and for a sickly sweet reason.

This elusive card was only awarded to family teams in the 1998 Parent/Child Mega Battle trading card tournament held in Japan. Kangaskhan, who is literally known as the “parent Pokémon”, makes total sense as a trophy card promoting this adorable activity.

So far, this type of card has only ever been up for public auction three times, while the most expensive (sitting pretty with a PSA 10) was last sold in 2020 for a solid $236.4K. Overall, only 46 copies of this card have ever been graded.

4. Black Star Ishihara GX Promo Card (Signed) – $398,300

Most expensive pokemon trading cards #4

Have you ever tried to skip your boss’ birthday? Next time, maybe don’t – especially if your manager happens to be one of the highest ranking execs at The Pokémon Company. They might one day gift you with a rare Pokémon trading card to commemorate their birthday that you could sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That’s what company president Tsunekazu Ishihara did on his 60th annual day of womb exitation back in 2017. One clever employee even got their card signed by Mr Ishihara, so it sold for a whopping $398.3K in 2021. And hey, that one wasn’t even classified as mint!

3. Backless Blastoise – $567,000

The third-most expensive trading card in the wild, wild west is this Backless Blastoise card, which has a pretty interesting reason behind its rarity.

While some might assume that this Blastoise card is coveted because it’s the best gen one starter (fight me, gamerz), it’s actually because the back of this trading card is completely blank.

Yup. While it wasn’t even a mistake or a misprint, it certainly wasn’t intended to be sold this way. This Blastoise card is one of two that were used as “presentation cards” when the Pokémon trading card game was initially pitched to Nintendo. That’s a certified piece of Pokémon history, folks.

Obviously, it was super effective since the TCG has since sold gazillions of units around the world for decades now.

2. 1st Edition Holographic Charizard – $661,500

#2: Most expensive Pokémon trading cards

Even the Pokémon trading card community have got hard ons for Charizard and it shows.

The 1999 first edition holographic shadowless Charizard card is one of the rarest and most expensive Pokémon cards in the world, having recently sold for $661.5k earlier this year. So why’s it so spenny? Well, it happens to be one of the first print runs for the Base Set.

You see, a lot of the original cards that were printed feature Pokémon characters without shadows, hence the term “shadowless” and a 1st edition stamp. The 2nd print was also shadowless but had no stamp, while the 3rd print run (called “Unlimited”) had a drop shadow but no stamp. Any existing cards from the first print run are worth big money (if they’re still in good condition, of course).

Oh, and guess who owns one of the second most valuable Pokémon cards in existence? YouTuber and sometimes-boxer Logan Paul. He notoriously wore this ultra-rare and Gem Mint condition Charizard to one of his MMA fights. Weird flex, but okay dude. Obviously, he pissed off a lot of collectors and had Pokémon fans quaking at their keyboards.

1. Pikachu Holo Illustrator – $9,450,000 million

#1: Most expensive Pokémon trading cards

Of course, this little shit is number one. Look at Pokémon’s gloriously thicc and yellow mascot – he’s holding a fkn pen.

The world’s most expensive Pokémon card was last purchased from Dubai in February 2021 for a whopping $9.45m (that’s a lotta houses, if you ask moi).

And you know who bought it? Logan Paul. Make of that what you will. He also wore the extremely rare and expensive Pokémon card as jewellery to his WWE debut. Is it iconic or… cringe?

So what’s muy importanté about this Pokémon card? Well, back when it was first produced in 1997, the only way to obtain one was by participating in either CoroCoro or Manga Magazine’s Pokémon card drawing contests. Everyone that took part was awarded one of these fancy cards, which means that a grand total of 39 were distributed.

To this day, it’s unknown how many are actually left. But we do know that the one Logan Paul owns is the only one that’s ever been graded a PSA 10 (Gem Mint condition).

Please note: All prices have been converted to AUD from USD. 

How to get started with Pokémon trading cards

Collecting valuable Pokémon trading cards is a fun and rewarding hobby. Whether you intend to hoard as many of them in the hopes that they’ll be worth something someday, or you just think they’re neat like good ol’ Marge Simpson, that’s on you.

But if you’re keen to get your collection going or just suss out how much your old cards are worth now, then stop on by eBay Australia’s trading card hub.

For a limited time, you’ll be able to save up to $100 on Pokémon trading cards by using the promo code CRTCG at checkout (T&Cs apply).

We reckon you should start by grabbing anything from the very popular Evolving Skies set or wait for the upcoming The Silver Tempest set coming November 18.

Happy trading!

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