A DUMMIES GUIDE TO KNOWING IF A POKEMON CARD IS RARE & POTENTIALLY VALUABLE, OR NOT...YOUR NEWEST SYSTEM & STARTING POINT...EVEN IF YOU, QUITE LITERALLY, KNOW LITERALLY NOTHING AS A STARTING POINT.
A quick effortless way to identify trivial things on your card that indicate its potential value or conversely hint that you shouldn't retrying to store/keep...even if you know absolute
HOW TO KNOW / IDENTIFY VALUE OF YOUR POKEMON CARDS - A QUICK AND EASY WAY TO GET GOING:
If you want to sell your Pokémon cards, it's important that you value them first so you know you're getting a good deal. Fortunately, Pokémon cards are easy to value once you know what to look for and where to look.
Identifying Valuable Pokémon Cards. This isn't the only thing that determines value, but the most important. Check out the bottom right corner of the card to find the rarity symbol, next to the card number:
Circle means the card is common
Diamond marks uncommon cards. These are easy to find, and not usually worth much unless the card was printed in 1999 or 2000.
A star means the card is rare, while a star H or three stars are special, extra-rare cards. These rarities have the highest potential to be valuable, so separate them from the rest of your collection.
Other symbols typically mean the card was sold as part of a special product, not a booster pack. Try looking up the card as a "Promo", "Deck Kit", or "Boxtopper" version to check the price. These can range in price from a few cents to over $100, depending on the product.
Investigate early cards closely
Cards printed right after the game was released are especially valuable, and even commons and uncommons will be more valuable than you’d think. A card that says "Wizards of the Coast" at the bottom of the card is from 1999 or early 2000 — it is worth investigating closely for sure. If one or both of the following features are present, and the card is a rare, it could potentially a
Look for a first edition stamp below and to the left of the card artwork. This looks like a "1" inside a black circle, with lines radiating out above it.
If the art box has no "shadow" underneath it, it is referred to as "shadowless" by collectors.
3.) Check the collector number.
Check out the collector # at the bottom (right) corner. Additional ways to clue you in to some special, often valuable cards:
Secret rares have a collector number higher than the total # of cards (supposedly) printed in that set, for instance "65/64" or "110/105." Secret rares can range anywhere from a couple of dollars to hundreds of dollars.
If the collector number begins with "SH," the card is one type of "Shining Pokémon," with different art than the regular version. These are all also reverse holographic cards.
If there is no collector number, the card is probably an early printing, although Japanese cards continued to not display the number for a while longer.
4.) Look for holographic cards.
"Holo’s” are cool looking and include a shiny, foil-ish layer over the Pokemon art, while "Reverse Holo’s" are cards w/ shiny gloss everywhere. This doesn't automatically make it valuable, but a rare and/or reverse holographic is certainly worth setting aside and looking into further.
Some special cards have a holographic border around the whole card, but no other holographic portion.
Check for extra symbols or words after the name:
Cards/Pokemon released before “HeartGold SoulSilver” display the Pokémon level after the name in the top right, such as "Pikachu LV.12." Some Pokemon have special symbols in its stead — these tend to be worth more and again, are worth investigating. Look for card names followed by ex, ☆, LV.X, LEGEND, or BREAK. Other extra-rare cards called SP (Special Pokémon) have names followed by a stylized G, GL, 4, C, FB, or M. This last group is also easily identified by the SP logo at the bottom left corner. The Pokémon w/ those following SP symbols are from Pokémon Platinum: Rising Rivals set.
LEGEND Pokémon are printed across two cards, which need to be laid side by side to display the full nature of the art & mechanics.
Look for other signs of value.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that Pokémon has released many special, extra-rare, and promotional cards over the years. Most of these are identified by one of the features above, but a few cards are unusual, and sometimes valuable, for other reasons:
Full art cards have a picture that extends beyond the entirety of the card, w/ text printed and overlayed atop it. These are commonly referred to as "FA" cards by collectors.