As Benjamin Franklin once famously said, “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” The increasing value of Pokemon trading cards would likely be added to that statement were he alive today, as a particular fire-type card is currently going for a huge amount.
Beginning in its native Japan in 1996, the Pokemon TCG came to the United States three years later in 1999. The “Pokemania” craze the franchise created stateside over 20 years ago doesn’t appear to have subsided, as a first-edition booster box recently sold for $300,000. Although that is lofty price, the fire-type card in question may quite literally give it a run for its money.
That card just so happens to be one of the most coveted cards by 90s kids and Pokemon fans – then and now – a first-edition holographic Charizard. The final stage of evolution from Charmander, Charizard first became famous in the Pokemon animated series. Charizard’s apathy towards his trainer Ash Ketchum until an emergency became a humorous and reoccurring dynamic on the show. At the time of writing, the first edition card’s highest bid is sitting at $105,000. While this may seem like a huge amount of money for a single card, it’s actually a fairly normal price. Just last October, rapper Logic bought a holographic Charizard of his own, spending over $200,000 at auction.
Before gamers go running to dig up their old Pokemon card collections, it’s important (if not obvious) to note the condition grade of a card severely impacts its value. This particular holographic Charizard is classified as a PSA GEM MT 10. For those who don’t know, a GEM MT 10 stands for Gem Mint. This basically means the card is in perfect condition, with no signs of wear anywhere. Heritage Auctions, the site where the online auction is being held, states that while the PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) has certified well over 2,000 of the same card, only 120 have earned the GEM MT grade. The description also states how sought-after the card is, with an identical card selling in November for a whopping $350,100.
The ever-increasing value of Pokemon cards continues to be a boon for collectors, and for various reasons. Last week, one college student sold his collection for $80,000 in order to pay for med school. The most interesting bit, however, is the fact that the student had bought the collection in 2016 for only $4,000. This translates to an incredible 20x increase in value over the course of just a few years, and again reinforces the notion that some Pokemon cards are worth their weight in gold.
While Pokemon has dominated Japanese trading cards for over 20 years, it’ll soon have some competition from a longtime rival. In just a few weeks, Digimon is launching its own trading card game, complete with three starter decks. Only time will tell if they one day become as valuable as a first-edition Charizard.
Source: Heritage Auctions
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