If You Bought $1,000 Worth of Rare Pokémon Cards in 1999, Here’s How Much You’d Have Now
Written by
John Csiszar
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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Like most collectibles, Pokémon cards are hard to explain to people who are not familiar with the ecosystem, but some are worth a lot of money.
But just like baseball trading cards or any host of other memorabilia, some Pokémon cards are fairly run-of-the-mill while others are exceedingly valuable. First edition cards that were issued in the United States in 1999, for example, can command six-digit prices, particularly if they are in good condition.
Here’s a look at how much $1,000 invested in some of these cards would be worth today, along with key factors influencing their value.
Charizard (1999) Base Set First Edition Holo
This Pokémon card is the most valuable in the world. Some have gone so far as to call it the “holy grail” of Pokémon. As there are so many Pokémon cards available, it’s important to be able to identify the valuable ones.
When Pokémon cards came to the United States in 1999, the first set of cards, known as the Base Set, included a “First Edition” symbol on every card.
These cards are exceedingly rare in top condition because most owners in 1999, especially children, simply played with them in packs rather than preserving them. A Base Set first edition Charizard sold on Fanatics Collect in March 2022 for an astounding $420,000, according to CGC Cards.
If you had bought this card when it first came out, you could have paid about $2.47 for a set at Walmart, according to YouTuber PokeRev. That means your original $1,000 investment could have secured about 404 sets. If they all had an original issue Charizard, that $1,000 would have risen to roughly $170 million in March 2022. Even if the Charizard card was in only half the sets, that would still amount to $84 million. And even just one Charizard card from a $1,000 investment would’ve yielded an astonishing return.
However, it appears that was the market peak for rare Pokémon cards, at least for the time being. According to Atlan Insights, a more recent sale for this card, in February 2024, was for a relatively paltry $168,000. Still, if you had 404 sets of that card, it would be worth almost $68 million.
No-Rarity Base Set Charizard
The second-most-valuable Pokémon card is a rarity indeed — not even released in the United States. It’s from a Pokémon pack issued in Japan, and it’s graded and signed by the artist who created Charizard. In a Fanatics Collect sale in April 2022, this card sold for $324,000, per CGC Cards.
Per the auction site, this signed edition is a one-of-a-kind item, so it’s unlikely you would’ve been able to purchase it back in 1999. But even unsigned no-rarity Base Set cards can go for staggering prices. As reported by CGC cards, a no-rarity Japanese Base Set Charizard was auctioned for $300,000 in December 2023.
The original price of these sets in Japan is hard to track down, but let’s say you could have bought a set for the same price as the U.S. set in 1999. If so, you could’ve seen some hefty returns. If you had purchased $1,000 worth of sets and got just two no-rarity Charizard cards out of all 404 packs, your investment would be worth over $600,000 based on the December 2023 auction price.
Why Are Some Pokémon Cards So Valuable?
Whether it’s Pokémon cards, vintage automobiles, fine wine or old coins, the factors that give a collectible value are essentially the same. Collectors value items that are rare, unique, hard-to-find and in top condition. It also helps if there’s a story or something historic or nostalgic that gives them extra value, such as the signed and graded version of the no-rarity Charizard listed above.
Usually, this means collectors look to first editions or other specimens that are extremely rare or have some type of special status. There are plenty of other Pokémon cards that have value, but they won’t fetch as much as the cards listed here. But rare cards can still sell for tens of thousands of dollars, and maybe someday in the future, more cards will break six figures.
As often happens in the collectibles world, it seems as if the market for rare Pokémon cards appears to have softened significantly over the past few years. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t surge to new highs again in the future. Believers will tell you that it’s time to “buy on the dip,” while cynics will say the cards shouldn’t have been valued so highly in the first place. But that’s what makes a market, whether it’s for stocks or Pokémon cards.
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