{"id":1656,"date":"2019-10-04T01:37:18","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T16:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2020-06-08T15:28:17","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T06:28:17","slug":"top-15-rarest-and-most-expensive-pokemon-cards-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/anime\/top-15-rarest-and-most-expensive-pokemon-cards-of-all-time.html","title":{"rendered":"Top 15 Rarest and Most Expensive Pokemon Cards Of All Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This article was updated in October 2019. Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the beginning, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fromjapan.co.jp\/item\/search\/?word=%E3%83%9D%E3%82%B1%E3%83%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E3%80%80%E3%83%AC%E3%82%A2&amp;category=All&amp;auction=1&amp;shopping=1&amp;auction_site=yahoo&amp;shopping_site=yahoo%2Crakuten%2Camazon&amp;sort_order=rating_asc&amp;disp_num=20&amp;new_used=all&amp;logkey=link_search&amp;utm_source=BlogEn&amp;utm_medium=BlogEn_link&amp;utm_term=pokemoncards_top10&amp;utm_campaign=BlogEn_link_pokemoncards_top10\"><strong>Pok\u00e9mon trading cards<\/strong> <\/a>were made by Wizards of the Coast in the U.S. in 1999 but as the cards began to gain popularity, Pok\u00e9mon Company decided to publish the cards themselves. The following year, the Game Boy trading card game was launched and took the trading game to a whole new dimension and global success. This eventually led to trading card collectibles and the top 15 rarest Pok\u00e9mon cards.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"15\"><strong>#15 Gold Star Espeon<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This God Star Espeon card was originally part of the POP Series 5 promotional set of Pokemon cards. Members of the official Japanese \u201cDaisuki Pokemon Fan Club\u201d could exchange 50,000 fan club points for this special Espeon, making the Japanese print of this card extremely rare.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1658\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Espeon16POPSeries5.jpg\" alt=\"Gold Star Espeon\" width=\"300\" height=\"745\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"14\"><strong>#14 Pokemon Full Art EX Cards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Not all Full Art EX Cards are worth a lot of money or hard to find but there are a few like the Mew EX and the Lugia EX cards that are now being sold for as much $26 and the Diox (Deoxys) EX card that has sold for over $37.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1658\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pokemon-fullart-ex-card-755x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon fullart ex card\" width=\"300\" height=\"745\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"13\"><strong>#13 Pokemon Gold Star Cards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The first of many shiny Pok\u00e9mon trading cards that sells today anywhere from $30 to $80. However, graded Gold Stars can be sold for as much as $150.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1657\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/latios-gold-star-card-708x1024.jpg\" alt=\"latios gold star card\" width=\"300\" height=\"795\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"12\"><strong>#12 Pok\u00e9mon Shining Cards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Released with the Gen 2 and after the Gold and Silver sets, the Shining Cards, first edition in mint condition will sell for over $150 each. They were once valued at $300 until the cards became more easily available in the US.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1663\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pokemon-shiny-card.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon shiny card\" width=\"300\" height=\"495\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"11\"><strong>#11 Southern Islands Card Set<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For this set to be valuable, it has to be an original with its collectible folder, not the promo cards. There were only 18 cards (2 sets of 9) printed which makes them hard to find and known as Rainbow and Tropical Island sets. They are being sold for minimum $150 and can go as high as $300 per card.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1660\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pokemon-tropical-island-card-757x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Southern Islands Card Set\" width=\"300\" height=\"743\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"10\"><strong>#10 Shining Charizard<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Shining Charizard card was part of the Neo Destiny expansion pack and was the first shiny Pokemon that was featured on a Pokemon card. First-edition versions of this card have been known to fetch around $1000 on the second hand market.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1662\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ShiningCharizardNeoDestiny107.jpg\" alt=\"Shining Charizard\" width=\"300\" height=\"824\" \/> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"9\"><strong>#9 Tropical Mega Battle Cards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Pokemon Tropical Mega Battle was a TCG tournament that took place every year between 1999 and 2001 in the Hawaiian city of Honolulu. As only 50 TCG players participated in the event each year, the promotional cards distributed at the tournament are some of the rarest out there! One Tropical Mega Battle Trainer Card depicting Psyduck was reportedly sold for $10,000.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1662\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/TropicalWindTropicalMegaBattle1999Promo.jpg\" alt=\"Tropical Mega Battle Cards\" width=\"300\" height=\"824\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"8\"><strong>#8 Charizard First Edition<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As long as it is first edition and graded 9 or higher, it will sell for over $300. It was a promo card in 1998 for the \u201cTrade Please\u201d campaign. A first edition in mint condition can sell for as high as $700.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1662\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Charizard-First-Edition-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Charizard First Edition\" width=\"300\" height=\"824\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"7\"><strong>#7 Master&#8217;s Key<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Master\u2019s Key card is a promotional card that was awarded to 36 lucky competitors that partook in the Japanese national TGC tournament in 2010. Due to its scarcity, this card has been known to be sell for up to $10,000.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1662\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/MasterKeyLPromo68.jpg\" alt=\"Master's Key\" width=\"300\" height=\"824\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"6\"><strong>#6 Snap Cards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Snap Cards came from the Pok\u00e9mon Snap 64 DD Nintendo game. It was released in 1999 and one of the promotions was to invite anyone to take snapshots where winners would have their work printed acknowledging them as the artist on the trading card. The highest-paid for a Snap Card was about 11,000 pounds although most sell for much less.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1665\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Squirtle-Snap-Card.jpg\" alt=\"Squirtle Snap Card\" width=\"300\" height=\"599\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"5\"><strong>#5 Kangaskhan Parent\/Child Tournament Promo<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>These special promotional cards of Kangaskhan were awarded to elite players in the Parent\/Child Mega Battle Tournament held in May 1998. Only ever distributed at this one-off Japanese event, this version of Kangaskhan is considered one of the original \u201cHoly Grail\u201d Pokemon TCG cards with copies of the card selling for up to $10,000!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1666\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/KangaskhanParentChildTournamentpromo.jpg\" alt=\"Kangaskhan Parent\/Child Tournament Promo\" width=\"300\" height=\"412\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"4\"><strong>#4 Shining Charizard<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Shining Charizard card was part of the Neo Destiny expansion pack and was the first shiny Pokemon that was featured on a Pokemon card. First-edition versions of this card have been known to fetch around $1000 on the second hand market.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1662\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ShiningCharizardNeoDestiny107.jpg\" alt=\"Shining Charizard\" width=\"300\" height=\"824\" \/> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"3\"><strong>#3 Pre-Release Raichu Cards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>One of the rarest Pokemon trading cards is the Pre-Release Raichu cards because only 10 to 15 cards are available worldwide. One card would be worth over $10,000.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1667\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Raichu-Prerelease-Card.jpg\" alt=\"Raichu Prerelease Card\" width=\"300\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"2\"><strong>#2 Numbers 1, 2, 3 Trainer Cards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>These cards were released for the World Finals TCG. There was one card released per year and the value increased with the age of the card. If you had this card, you were given entry to the following year\u2019s world championships.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1668\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pokemon-trainer-card.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-trainer card\" width=\"300\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pokemon-trainer-card.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pokemon-trainer-card-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"1\"><strong>#1 Pikachu Illustrator Cards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Made in 1998 and was recently being sold on eBay for $100,000. The reason for the high price is because only 4 exist in the world. They are Japan-released cards and described as the \u201cHoly Grail of Pok\u00e9mon.\u201d The card not in mint condition will still sell for a minimum of $50,000 while an ungraded original will sell for $20,000. At the moment only 5 cards exist with the 6th belonging to the Pok\u00e9mon TCG Blog which is not putting it in circulation.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1669\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Pikachu-Illustrator.jpg\" alt=\"Pikachu-Illustrator\" width=\"300\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Top 15 Rarest and Most Expensive Pokemon Cards Of All Time<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#1\">Pikachu Illustrator Cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#2\">Numbers 1, 2, 3 Trainer Cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#3\">Pre-Release Raichu Cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#4\">Shining Charizard<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#5\">Kangaskhan Parent\/Child Tournament Promo<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#6\">Snap Cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#7\">Master&#8217;s Key<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#8\">Charizard First Edition<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#9\">Tropical Mega Battle Cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#10\">Shining Charizard<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#11\">Southern Islands Card Set<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#12\">Pok\u00e9mon Shining Cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#13\">Pokemon Gold Star Cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#14\">Pokemon Full Art EX Cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#15\">Gold Star Espeon<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>There&#8217;s a whole lot more to know about Pokemon and we&#8217;ve got you covered. Check out our article <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/anime\/pokemon\/english-vs-japanese-pokemon-cards-what-should-you-collect.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>English vs. Japanese Pokemon<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Cards<\/strong><\/a> to find out which is best! If you&#8217;re also a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! then check out our top <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/anime\/top-10-rarest-and-most-expensive-yu-gi-oh-cards.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">10 rarest and most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh!<\/a> cards article!<\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/category\/comics-anime-goods-pok%C3%A9mon-cards-see-more\/BC13\/1004020307\/?utm_source=BlogEn&amp;utm_medium=BlogEn_link&amp;utm_term=rarepokemoncards&amp;utm_campaign=BlogEn_link_rarepokemoncards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img src=\"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/bn_pokemon.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article was updated in October 2019. Enjoy! In the beginning, Pok\u00e9mon trading cards were made by Wizards of the Coast in the U.S. in 1999 but as the cards began to gain popularity, Pok\u00e9mon Company decided to publish the cards themselves. The following year, the Game Boy trading card game was launched and took [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","omw_enable_modal_window":"enable","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[]},"categories":[2],"tags":[51,30],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1656"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17579,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions\/17579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fromjapan.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}