How much is a 1st edition shadowless charizard worth

  ❘   Published: 2022-03-22T17:52:23

  ❘   Updated: 2022-03-22T17:52:23

A 1st Edition Charizard Pokemon card has become the second most expensive TCG item in the world after selling for an eye-popping $420,000. The rare collectible was from the original Base Set released in 1999.

The Pokemon TCG was a cultural phenomenon when it launched in 1999. Children around the world were obsessed with collecting rare holographics of their favorite ‘mon. At the very top of the hobby, though, was the highly coveted Charizard.

Decades later, the Kanto starter is still the crown jewel and collectors are willing to shell out big money for the card. A Shadowless 1st Edition Charizard from the Base Set just set the bar even higher after selling for a record-breaking $420k at auction.

Game Freak / The Pokemon Company

A 1st Edition Charizard from the Base Set broke records at a March 2022 auction.

Charizard Pokemon Card sells for $420k

While the Nintendo hobby has seen a resurgence in popularity for years now, Pokemon cards have had an explosion in value in 2020. Leading the market boom was the Base Set Charizard which has continued to skyrocket in prices.

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The popular Pokemon shattered all previous records on March 19 when a 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard sold for $420k at a PWCC auction. The rare collectible was rated a PSA 10 and was in pristine condition.

According to the auction house, only 122 Charizards in the whole world have scored a Gem Mint slab by the grading company. Making the item even rarer is the fact that it was from the set’s first edition run and had Shadowless artwork.

PWCC Auctions

The rare Charizard broke records after selling for $420k in the March auction.

The popular Pokemon card has had an interesting sales history as it has seen incredible growth in value year after year. For instance in 2020, Grammy-winning rapper Logic paid $226k for the same 1st Edition Shadowless variant. In 2021, the collectible jumped even higher and auctioned off for $369k before being surpassed at $420k just a year later.

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Incredibly, the Base Set Charizard is still not the most expensive card ever sold. That honor still goes to the rare Pikachu Illustrator CoroCoro Comics Promo which went for a mind-blowing $900,000 in February auction. The Japanese card is more scarce due to being a prize in an art contest in 1995.

Charizard is the game's most valuable card.

The Pokémon Company/Wizards of the Coast

One of the Pokémon: Trading Card Games' most valuable cards has just sold on Ebay for over $300,000.

The card, a first edition shadowless Base Set Charizard, was sold out of Portland, Oregon to an unknown bidder for a whopping $311,800. As a rare PSA 10-graded card, it is essentially in pristine condition, with many cards even straight from a pack struggling to hit the grade. The owner of the card is unknown, but it was sold via PWCC Auctions, a service that appraises and manages auctions of high-value trading cards.

While the legitimacy of big Ebay bids is often called into question, this auction had special rules that required bidders in the last 24 hours to be approved in advance. It doesn't guarantee the winning bid was real, but it certainly does raise the chances of it.

The reason a shadowless Charizard is worth so much is that it signifies the card was one of the first printed, as later print runs added a drop shadow to the art frame. Any base set shadowless card is valuable, but Charizard (and, to a lesser extent, Blastoise) in particular semi-regularly grab thousands in auctions. Charizard is regularly cited as one of the franchise's most popular Pokémon, and so a combination of nostalgia, popularity, and the feedback loop of a card selling for a large amount prompting others to also sell theirs for a lot are to blame for the massive value.

Shadowless Base Set Charizard has been in the news multiple times in the past year, with the most noteworthy appearance coming after rapper Logic purchased one for around $220,000. That was, at the time, the highest the card had ever sold for. However, the current record is $369,000, sold by Goldin Auctions.

While it's unlikely you have a PSA 10 Base Set Shadowless Charizard in your collection, there are other valuable cards you might own!

Source: NintendoLife

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What is the price on a first edition shadowless Charizard?

Charizard #4 Pokemon Base Set.

How many 1st edition shadowless Charizards are there?

The first edition set was released in limited quantity with 102 cards total, 16 of them being the rarer, coveted holographic cards. The holographic Charizard card became the most popular for a variety of cultural reasons at the time.

Is 1st Edition or shadowless rarer?

More common than the true 1st edition, Shadowless cards are still quite rare compared to Unlimited edition. A Charizard from this printing could have a retail value of up to $2000 in near mint condition.

How much is a first gen Charizard worth?

2002 English Neo Destiny 1st Edition Shining Charizard #107 $3,049 - $14,700.