{"id":931539,"date":"2026-10-17T14:32:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T14:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/931539\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T14:32:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T14:32:18","slug":"pokemon-card-values-key-factors-that-determine-what-your-collection-is-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/931539\/","title":{"rendered":"Pokemon card values: Key factors that determine what your collection is worth"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Pokemon garners the attention of venture capitalists<\/a>, social media stars, scalpers<\/a> and even underworld figures, industry experts say now\u2019s the time to dig up and dust off your own collection of cards to learn exactly what value they hold.<\/p>\n

The franchise inspired by bug collecting launched in the 1990s and exploded to become the highest-grossing media juggernaut in history, continually churning out new video games, TV shows, toys and sets of its famous pocket-sized cards adorned with colourful monsters.<\/p>\n

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: The real reason fans line up for the beloved trading cards<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

The pandemic, nostalgia, limited-edition sets, and interest from celebrities have been credited with driving a fresh wave of popularity that has taken the trading card hobby once dominated by kids well beyond the playground.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Marin, a certified trading card valuer who appraises them under his business TCG Valuations, said his team is seeing more and more collections pulled from storage as people shift to treating them as an investment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s driving growth at two ends. On one side are people who want to understand what they\u2019ve actually got. On the other are collectors who know exactly what they have and want it insured, particularly with the rise in theft<\/a>,\u201d Marin told 7NEWS.com.au.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe pandemic, nostalgia, limited-edition sets, and interest from celebrities have been credited with driving a fresh wave of popularity for Pokemon cards. Credit: Mario Tama\/Getty ImagesHow much are my Pokemon cards worth?<\/p>\n

Influencer Logan Paul set a Guinness world record when he offloaded his Pikachu Illustrator card for $23.3 million<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n

He had paid $7.46 million for it in 2021.<\/p>\n

Be the first to know: Add 7NEWS as your preferred news source on Google\"Google<\/p>\n

While that sort of return on investment will not be enjoyed by all, Marin said people continue to \u201cunderestimate what they own\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve sat in storage warehouses going through boxes with people and had to tell them, \u2018this is worth $100,000, this is worth $200,000. What\u2019s it doing in a storage shed?\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Marin, who himself has been collecting since he was eight, said every valuation comes down to three things: \u201cAuthenticity, condition and market value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authentication: \u201cWe check the fundamentals \u2014 colour, spelling, holographic pattern, texture, feel, brightness and saturation. Then we confirm the card matches its series, set and era, and examine it under magnification to make sure it\u2019s been printed the right way. We also check whether it\u2019s been tampered with. We see people colouring over white specks with markers, or trimming cards to get rid of whitening and dents. We use specialised equipment to pick up that kind of alteration.\u201dCondition: \u201cWe look at four areas \u2014 surface, corners, centring and edges. We\u2019re checking for everything from print lines to dents, warping, creases and whitening.Market value: Once all of that is assessed, valuers can give owners two figures \u2014 \u201cwhat the card is worth as it is, and an estimate of what it could be worth if it were graded.\u201dWhat separates the average Pokemon card from something special?<\/p>\n

Marin said \u201crarity\u201d is a key factor particularly in English-speaking markets where pull rates of Pokemon\u2019s \u201cchase\u201d cards \u2014 the most sought-after and valuable cards from a specific set \u2014 are not printed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, collectors only know these cards are hard to find, and that scarcity drives demand,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe same principle applies to vintage. Older cards, holographic cards, popular Pokemon and unusual sets all tend to carry more value, although old doesn\u2019t automatically mean valuable.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cThe second factor is population, which means how many copies have achieved each grade. A perfect grade can be dramatically rarer than everything below it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pikachu from the 2021 25th Anniversary set is a great example. Up to a 9.5, it\u2019s worth around $70 to $80. In a 10, it jumps to around $1700. The print quality of that set wasn\u2019t great, so perfect copies are genuinely scarce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marin said too that \u201chype\u201d can shift a card\u2019s value.<\/p>\n

\u201cPokemon is an unregulated market<\/a>, so influencers and opinions can move prices in ways they can\u2019t with shares,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLogan Paul was one of the big reasons Pokemon exploded during COVID, along with people rediscovering the hobby in lockdown.
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\n\u201cThe Illustrator card ticks every box. It was never sold in packs, only a handful were ever awarded, his copy is the only one graded a perfect 10, and it belonged to one of the best-known influencers in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hidden treasures<\/p>\n

Marin has seen it all, from a Japanese \u201cNo Rarity\u201d Charizard worth over $200,000, to collections worth close to $2.5 million.<\/p>\n

He said value could be hiding in binders and shoeboxes long forgotten, as one man found when he recovered a Gold Star Rayquaza card worth $17,000 while clearing out his childhood bedroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe flip side is that we\u2019ve had to tell proud collectors that a quarter, sometimes three-quarters, of their collection is fake,\u201d Marin told 7NEWS.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cPokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece and sports cards have all been heavily counterfeited over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JonathanJonathan Marin, a certified trading card valuer who appraises the collectables under TCG Valuations, is called on to spot fakes, like this Charizard card. Credit: Jonathan Marin<\/p>\n

For people diving into storage boxes hoping to strike gold, Marin\u2019s advice is to slip any found cards into penny sleeves before working out exactly what they are worth.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking a photo and running it through a Google image search is a good place to start,\u201d he said.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cDo some research. Look at what cards have actually sold for, not what people are asking for them.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cAnd if something looks valuable, that\u2019s when it\u2019s worth getting a professional valuation.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How Pokemon trading cards could become an actual currency<\/p>\n

5 min read<\/p>\n

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Pokemon \u2018plague\u2019: Retailers told to do more against threat to popular hobby<\/p>\n

3 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Pokemon garners the attention of venture capitalists, social media stars, scalpers and even underworld figures, industry experts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":931540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,1625,44,16217,105],"class_list":["post-931539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-lifestyle","tag-news","tag-real-life","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/931540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}