Charizard is the winning ticket when it comes to Pokemon cards. The winning prices have fetched easily into the six-figures for prime examples graded Gem Mint by one of the top 3 grading agencies. The big question after some of the price corrections seen in sports collectibles is how Pokemon and non-sport cards will hold their values.

Some of the determinations for value within collectibles are scarcity, eye appeal, popularity, and transparency over values and grades. Other factors play a role as well, but Charizard has so far managed to hold on to the pole position within Pokemon cards.

The prized Charizard-Holo First Edition (#4) card in the 1999 Pokemon set has a total of 3,162 cards graded by PSA without notations for plus grades and qualifiers. Of those, only 122 are in the PSA 10 Gem Mint grade and 676 are in the PSA 9 grades. SGC has just 6 examples of of the Charizard-Holo First Edition set, with one graded at 10 PRI and 2 graded at 10.

An auction on December 12, 2020 was held by Goldin Auctions and this set the known record sale after an SGC grading gold label Charizard sold for the sum of $369,000.00. To be specific, this was the 1999 Charizard card is a first edition and graded a full 10 on the grading scale. Golding then went on to sell a PSA 10 Gem Mint example for $399,750.00 on March 7, 2021.

The prior Goldin Auctions record was a precedence for Pokemon trading cards. In the Auction house announcement of the sale the company SGC, and the graded card was used to advertise a demand for Pokeman card consignments. One catch to this popularity was a request by the company to only grade first edition cards.

First edition cards have a numeral one within a black circle and the word ‘edition’ above it to signify the card was printed in the first run printing of a set. The most value to be found will be certified cards that are sealed in a case and by one of the top grading authorities.

More eye-opening sales prices have been seen through PWCC in recent months. One sale was shown through the PWCC Vault for $349,995.00 listed as Shadowless in PSA 10 condition on April 27, 2021. Another sale took place in a PWCC auction on March 28, 2021 for a 1999 Pokemon Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizard #4 PSA 10 example for $311,800.00 after 124 bids.

Elsewhere, a PSA 10 example of the prized Charizard-Holo First Edition from 1999 sold fractionally via a share offering through the Rally Rd. app to 2,127 investors

Auction giant eBay has the good the bad and the ugly concerning card conditions. Charizard is the most recognizable name within Pokemon. A PSA 9 grade 1st edition card has a buy it now option of $70,000.00 and 20 views per hour highlighted in red.

Many other collectors and investors who want a larger selection of cards without having to remortgage a house may opt for the PSA 9 rather than paying up for the pristine Gem Mint PSA 10 examples. Here are some of the more recent prices which were represented by the PSA open website in the PSA 9 graded cards (date, price, grade, seller):

• 05/10/2021 $32,400.00 Heritage Auctions
• 04/27/2021 $30,200.00 eBay (pwcc_auctions)
• 04/27/2021 $31,700.00 eBay (pwcc_auctions)
• 04/22/2021 $35,000.00 eBay (squeaks_game_world)
• 04/20/2021 $31,200.00 Heritage Auctions
• 04/19/2021 $24,800.00 eBay (howiedoisoneb)
• 04/06/2021 $34,440.00 Goldin Auctions

Collectors can also look at the Charizard Holo that is not the first edition, although the price differentials between the first edition cards and the non-first edition cards should easily speak for themselves. These prices are measured solely in the PSA 10 sales and only listed by date:

• 05/29/2021 $12,601.00
• 05/29/2021 $10,300.00
• 04/27/2021 $14,100.00
• 04/20/2021 $12,000.00
• 04/06/2021 $15,990.00
• 03/29/2021 $15,101.00
• 03/21/2021 $18,100.00
• 03/15/2021 $28,048.94
• 02/28/2021 $19,500.00
• 02/14/2021 $15,100.00
• 01/31/2021 $18,450.00
• 01/28/2021 $17,600.00
• 01/14/2021 $11,000.00
• 01/10/2021 $13,100.00
• 01/10/2021 $11,000.00
• 01/04/2021 $10,000.00
• 12/29/2020 $13,590.00
• 12/23/2020 $10,000.00
• 12/13/2020 $12,955.00
• 12/13/2020 $14,100.00
• 12/05/2020 $12,321.00

In another look at Pokemon cards, the next best thing behind Charizard is the Blastoise card. One of those sold for $360,000 in a online auction via CGC Trading Cards in January of 2021. This card was the “presentation” holographic Blastoise card, which was commissioned by Wizards of the Coast in 1998 as part of a test pack that would be shown at card shops “to demonstrate what an English Pokemon card would look like.” That is another story entirely.