Pokemon TCG: 12 Most Valuable Sets of All Time
By Chris Guest
9. FireRed & LeafGreen
Average Price per Card: $18.26
The sixth set released in the massive EX series of expansions – which marked the debut of The Pokemon Company designing the TCG – checks in at an average price per card of over $18, and the presence, once again, of the original starters and their popular final evolutions likely helps increase this set’s value.
Charizard (in this case, Charizard ex), as always, is the most valuable card from this set (market price of $621.90) and clocks into the top 10 of the most valuable Charizard cards ever. However, beyond that, there’s other awesome cards, such as this a Gengar ex with terrific art from Mitsuhiro Arita (market price: $300.31) as well as a beautiful Moltres ex with lovely impressionistic artwork from Ryo Ueda (market price: $167.18).
8. Team Rocket Returns
Average Price per Card: $18.76
The Team Rocket Returns set followed up the FireRed & LeafGreen expansion upon its release and also increases its average price per card by 50 cents. This set made the genius design decision of adding both “Rocket’s” cards and “Dark” cards – both of which debuted during the Original series of cards.
When perusing TCGPlayer’s list of these cards, you will notice a truly staggering number of massively pricey cards led, surprisingly, by the Generation Three starters Torchic, Mudkip (one of the most valuable water-type cards ever) and Treecko in their “star” forms (aka shiny) and followed up by a bevy of Rocket’s and Dark variants of notable ‘mons, such as the legendary birds, Mewtwo and Snorlax.
7. Base Set
Average Price per Card: $19.84
Likely the most famous Pokemon TCG set ever made, the first-ever TCG set released still holds impressive cache among fans and collectors and gets tabbed with a nearly $20 average price per card.
Of course, the big money lies in the shadowless variants of these cards – aka the first two print runs – where the original Charizard alone has an average ungraded value of $541.84 per PriceCharting. This set featured a ton of strong cards that set the tone for the TCG, and collectors still quest after some of the rarer shadowless holofoils (as well as the 10 most valuable cards) from the TCG’s debut set.