When I was a kid, I swore to my parents that spending all my allowance on Pokemon cards wasn’t wasting my money. It was an investment. Someday, my complete collection would be worth loads of cash, and my Charizard alone might be able to play for my kid’s college tuition.
I wasn’t completely wrong. Turns out there are a number of Pokemon cards with sky-high values today. Unfortunately, they’re so rare, chances are they didn’t make it into my collection, or yours. But who knows?
Read on to find out:
8. Tropical Mega Battle Legendary Bird Phone Card- $1,199.99
As with many of these cards, only a select handful of these were ever made. They were given to tournament winners in Japan.
7. Pokemon World Championship, No. 2 Trainer- $3,042
A card that served as both a trophy for being in a tournament, and served as a pass to next year’s event, no questions asked.
6. Magikarp, Tamamushi University Prize- $3,749.99
He’s one of the weakest Pokemon, but one of the most valuable cards. Only 30-50 of these exist, and were given as prizes for a tournament.
5. Charizard, Base Set 1st Edition- $4,800
Here’s where my Charizard comes in. But in order to receive this high of a value, it has to be first edition and in perfect condition.
4. Super Secret Battle No. 2- $5999.99
This is the second place prize for a major tournament back in 1999. No one knows what happened to the other places.
3. Gyarados, CoroCoro Pokemon Snap Best Photo Contest- $8,500
The title is sort of self-explanatory, but this extremely rare card was given out for taking the best picture in Pokemon Snap, according to Nintendo.
2. Raichu, Jungle Set Prerelease error print- $11,500
Sometimes errors create valuable cards, and such is the case with this limited edition, holofil Raichu. It’s the PRERELEASE stamp that makes it so valuable, so if yours is missing that, you’re out of luck.
1. Pokemon Illustrator- $100,000
Only five of these cards exist in the world, given as prizes in a Pokemon card art contest. There’s a sixth one rumored to be floating around somewhere, but no one knows where it is, and it’s not for sale.
[Photos via Nintedo]
