As Pokemon garners the attention of venture capitalists, social media stars, scalpers and even underworld figures, industry experts say now’s the time to dig up and dust off your own collection of cards to learn exactly what value they hold.
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.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: The real reason fans line up for the beloved trading cards
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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.
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.
“That’s driving growth at two ends. On one side are people who want to understand what they’ve actually got. On the other are collectors who know exactly what they have and want it insured, particularly with the rise in theft,” Marin told 7NEWS.com.au.
How much are my Pokemon cards worth?
Influencer Logan Paul set a Guinness world record when he offloaded his Pikachu Illustrator card for $23.3 million earlier this year.
He had paid $7.46 million for it in 2021.
While that sort of return on investment will not be enjoyed by all, Marin said people continue to “underestimate what they own”.
“I’ve sat in storage warehouses going through boxes with people and had to tell them, ‘this is worth $100,000, this is worth $200,000. What’s it doing in a storage shed?’,” he said.
Marin, who himself has been collecting since he was eight, said every valuation comes down to three things: “Authenticity, condition and market value.”
- Authentication: “We check the fundamentals — 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’s been printed the right way. We also check whether it’s 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.”
- Condition: “We look at four areas — surface, corners, centring and edges. We’re 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 — “what the card is worth as it is, and an estimate of what it could be worth if it were graded.”
What separates the average Pokemon card from something special?
Marin said “rarity” is a key factor particularly in English-speaking markets where pull rates of Pokemon’s “chase” cards — the most sought-after and valuable cards from a specific set — are not printed.
“Here, collectors only know these cards are hard to find, and that scarcity drives demand,” he said.
“The same principle applies to vintage. Older cards, holographic cards, popular Pokemon and unusual sets all tend to carry more value, although old doesn’t automatically mean valuable.
“The second factor is population, which means how many copies have achieved each grade. A perfect grade can be dramatically rarer than everything below it.
“The Pikachu from the 2021 25th Anniversary set is a great example. Up to a 9.5, it’s worth around $70 to $80. In a 10, it jumps to around $1700. The print quality of that set wasn’t great, so perfect copies are genuinely scarce.”
Marin said too that “hype” can shift a card’s value.
“Pokemon is an unregulated market, so influencers and opinions can move prices in ways they can’t with shares,” he said.
“Logan Paul was one of the big reasons Pokemon exploded during COVID, along with people rediscovering the hobby in lockdown.
“The 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.”
Hidden treasures
Marin has seen it all, from a Japanese “No Rarity” Charizard worth over $200,000, to collections worth close to $2.5 million.
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.
“The flip side is that we’ve had to tell proud collectors that a quarter, sometimes three-quarters, of their collection is fake,” Marin told 7NEWS.com.au.
“Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece and sports cards have all been heavily counterfeited over the years.”
For people diving into storage boxes hoping to strike gold, Marin’s advice is to slip any found cards into penny sleeves before working out exactly what they are worth.
“Taking a photo and running it through a Google image search is a good place to start,” he said.
“Do some research. Look at what cards have actually sold for, not what people are asking for them.
“And if something looks valuable, that’s when it’s worth getting a professional valuation.”
