Turning Your Pokémon Obsession into a Side Hustle
How to assess your card’s rarity and value the McDonald’s-Pokémon boom.
On February 27 (coincidentally only a day after my own birthday), Pokémon will celebrate 25 years since its initial Japanese release of the video games, which introduced 150 different catchable, tradeable, and battle-worthy Pocket Monsters (as they were originally known as in Japan) with which the world soon fell in love.
Although the list of Pokédex entries now far exceeds the original 150 with a roster of almost 900 different species that makes it almost impossible to remember them all at this point, it’s certainly been a special kind of joy seeing the 8-bit world of Pokémon develop into the full blown, 3D-rendered landscapes and character models that they are today — something only my wildest imagination and childhood desires could hope for. Technology sure is amazing! (Real ones know this reference.)
Funnily enough, the thing that’s driving the Pokémon craze in 2021 isn’t 3D at all. In fact, it’s conspicuously 2D. Pokémon may be celebrating its 25th anniversary with a surprise Katy Perry collab, virtual concert by Post Malone, and various new product announcements, but the Pokémon related news that’s probably making the most buzz this month is the promotion with McDonald’s.
You may have heard that starting earlier this month, McDonald’s began offering Pokémon cards along with the purchase of a Happy Meal. You may have also heard about scalpers buying out entire supplies of these “toys’’ from McDonald’s stores and reselling them for hiked prices. In the past few months, the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) has reached a fever pitch approaching the original craze in the ’90s. News of sealed products from its very first print runs selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars and a single Charizard card (arguably the most popular Pokémon to this day alongside the franchise’s mascot, Pikachu) recently selling for over $350,000 has people scrambling to find their childhood cards screaming, “Hey! I had one of those, how do I cash in?!”
If you were a kid like me that loved to play with and handle your cards on a regular basis, odds are they’re not likely worth much at all outside of sentimental value. There are a number of factors that determine their ultimate worth. Playability within the TCG is one of them, but as rules and mechanics change over time, they are not great indicators for long-term appreciation. So, what’s so special about the Charizard that sold for over a quarter million dollars? Without overcomplicating things, it’s one of the most iconic cards in the entire hobby, emblematic of the franchise as a whole, and widely considered the holy grail of Pokémon cards. However, there are some key elements that make this one stand out above the others. Here are the main distinctions to note when valuing a Pokemon card.
1. Holographic Foil
Not all cards are created equal. In fact, they have very specific markers in the bottom corner of the cards that indicate that particular card’s probability of showing up in one of your packs, that is to say, its rarity.
Common cards will have a circle, uncommon cards are denoted by a diamond, and rare cards are embellished with a star. However, there is one more step above rare: the “holo” rares.
Although nowadays modern sets have introduced cards that have been deemed as “Ultra Rare” or “Secret Rare,” back then holo cards were the cream of the crop. These are cards that have been printed on special holographic foil that gives the card artwork an even more luxurious and exclusive appearance. A booster pack will always grant you a handful of common or uncommon cards, and you’re even guaranteed one “rare” card, but not all rare cards are foil cards. You had to be lucky to pull one of those.
As a kid I didn’t really know about this system, but I can speak from experience that even back then a holographic Charizard was the card everyone wanted, and if you had one, you were automatically the coolest kid on the block.
2. PSA 10 — “Gem Mint” Condition
For many cards, particularly of the “vintage” variety, the condition of the card will influence its long-term value in a major way. The most coveted of these cards come encased in protective slabs and given an official stamp of approval from organizations like Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and Beckett Grading Services (BGS).
These organizations take your collectible piece of cardboard and scour every inch of its surface for things such as centering, scratches, and wear in order to give it a grade on a scale of 1–10. The Charizard that’s going for $350K has been awarded a PSA 10, the highest possible grade a trading card can receive from PSA. Over 2,500 of these same cards have been graded and yet despite this, only 121 have been awarded a PSA 10.
Even more interestingly, PSA was already in business when Pokémon TCG first started being printed, so people can, and most likely did, submit these cards “pack fresh” for grading. In theory, you could even miraculously pull a Charizard straight from a sealed vintage booster pack today (which people have in recent months) and you would still not be guaranteed a high grade. Your card could come miscut from the factory so that the borders are off-center or have printlines on the surface of the holofoil. It’s quite literally luck of the draw.
3. 1st Edition
Of course, depending on the care a particular item receives, it becomes harder to maintain their condition with age. In the worlds of vintage and collectibles, things tend to appreciate in value quite nicely with age as well (so long as the condition is deemed to be good). You can’t get much older than the very first editions of something to ever be released. For the collector market, a lot of value is placed on things that came first as well.
In the case of Pokémon TCG, cards that were printed during the Wizards of the Coast era tend to be the most valuable. Wizards, or WotC for short, is the American games publisher best known for popularizing the collectible card game genre with Magic: The Gathering. They were the initial publishers of the Pokémon TCG from 1998 until Nintendo transferred the rights to The Pokémon Company International in 2003.
During that era, the first print runs of every expansion were marked with the “1st Edition” stamp on every card. The same sets were later reprinted without that stamp. For collectors, these 1st Edition cards are the originals and are all the more valuable. The $350K Charizard is a 1st Edition from “Base Set,” the very first set of Pokémon TCG cards ever made. It does go a bit deeper than that, but for the sake of simplification I’ll leave it there. (If you’re curious, look up “Shadowless” and “Thick Stamp.”)
4. Iconic Artwork by Mitsuhiro Arita
It’s important to recognize that these are not just any old pieces of cardboard; they are literal works of art. This is true to the point that they not only attract people who are interested in playing the game, but also people who have never played the game and simply want to collect these cards because they feature some of their favorite Pokémon. While there is a great deal of excitement to be had from pulling an Ultra Rare card, especially one of notable value, I derive just as much pleasure from appreciating the variety of unique artwork from many different illustrators on each and every card.
Lately, I’ve been collecting cards that feature the work of Yuka Morii because I find her clay model style to be so unique compared to any of the other artwork in the TCG. Most of these cards are merely common or uncommon, but I’m looking forward to the day I have a complete set of all her cards.
This is to say that the artwork can be a significant driving force as to why collectors want a particular card, and that is definitely the case with the mentioned Charizard. The iconic and instantly recognizable artwork on the 1st Edition, Base Set Charizard was drawn by Mitsuhiro Arita, one of the most prolific artists in the TCG with over 650 cards featuring his illustrations. In all of TCG’s history, there are over 40 different Charizard cards by various artists. Only six of those feature artwork by Mitsuhiro Arita. Out of those six, four of those cards are essentially reprints of this one. The $350K Charizard is the original.
Although you can’t pull a Charizard from one of those McDonald’s packs (only his unevolved form, Charmander), there are some unique qualities that may make these cards desirable for collectors in both the short and long term.
The holo cards in this set are printed with a holofoil pattern that is exclusive to McDonald’s (which can be seen on McDonald’s cards from promotions in previous years) and are all stamped with a 25th anniversary logo that will forever give them a unique time marker. As I’m writing this, the Pikachu holographic card is the most valuable, going for around 40–60 bucks on the market. However, only time will tell if or how these will appreciate, but if you do happen to be lucky enough to pull one, that’s a pretty decent profit margin if you wanted to make a quick buck. Frankly, what’s more important in my opinion is that this promotion is a fun and unique way to introduce kids to the hobby and I am personally not a fan of scalpers wiping out entire supplies for the sole purpose of making money.
I could go on and on about the significance of the phenomenon that is the Pokémon TCG. I could dive deeper into the ethical issues that are born in a scalper market where there is a lot of demand and not enough supply or into the entrepreneurial intricacies and investment implications of sealed vs. opened products, but in all honesty there are more seasoned collector investors than me speaking on it. I’m just a fan who learns more and more every day and it’s pretty exciting!
If your interest has been piqued by any of this, I’d love to introduce you to some resources that talk more in-depth about the hobby as a whole. So if you want to learn more about the history of the cards and the economy of Pokémon, I highly recommend checking these channels out. There are many more and growing every day, but these should give you a jump-start:
Playlist Features: Pokénomics with Jake & Raffi smpratte Deep Pocket Monster PokemonRadar PokéNav The Analytic Gengar TwicebakedJake Top 10 Pokemon
