1st Edition Pokémon cards seem to be a thing of legend. Modern Pokémon sets don’t have 1st Edition cards at all and English Pokémon sets ended 1st edition back with the Neo series in 2002.
Despite 1st Edition Pokémon cards not being around for 20+ years, the awe around them and the price of some in particular are certainly something to be impressed by. And even younger and modern collectors certainly know about some of the most sought after 1st Edition cards.
Whether you know about 1st edition cards or not, this article may interest you, be it for the amount of money they can cost, or just the interest around the cards themselves. If you happen to be strangely curious about the cheapest 1st Edition Pokémon cards, I’ve got an article on those too.
Onto the matter at hand then. This article will cover the 10 most expensive 1st Edition Pokémon cards. The pricing will be sorted by average raw values, but definitely keep an eye out for the impressive PSA 10 numbers too. Brownie points to you also if you can guess the sets that most of these will come from.
*Please note that this article was updated on 11/9/2024 and prices may have changed since then. Click the link in the pictures to get the most recent pricing update!*
Let’s get to it!
#10 – 1st Edition Shadowless Alakazam
Raw ~$425 | PSA 10 ~$10,670
At #10 is none other than the 1st Edition Shadowless Alakazam. This was the #1 card for the 1st English Pokémon card set ever released. The 1st Edition Shadowless version is certainly the most expensive, but even the Shadowless and Unlimited versions are still highly sought after.
And if you happen to get this in a PSA 10? You are sitting on a $10k card! Spoiler alert that this may not be the only 1st Edition Shadowless card that makes the list.
#9 – 1st Edition Shining Tyranitar
Raw ~$450 | PSA 10 ~$3,700
Coming in at #9 is the 1st Edition Shining Tyranitar from the Neo Destiny set. This highly sought after set was not heavily printed and therefore created a huge bubble on the value of these cards.
The Neo Destiny set (and another Neo set that is not yet to be named) flipped the holo so that the Pokémon itself is shining rather than the background around it, which became an unbelievably popular effect on these cards.
Add in Tyranitar, one of the most popular 2nd Generation Pokémon there is, and you’ve got the #9 most valuable 1st edition Pokémon card.
#8 – 1st Edition Umbreon #13
Raw ~$450 | PSA 10 ~$6,700
At #8, we have the 1st Edition Umbreon from the Neo Discovery set. While this set did not flip the holo like the previous card, this Neo set still remains one of the most valuable Pokémon card sets ever created.
It’s worth noting that the 1st Edition Umbreon from the Neo Discovery set is also the first Umbreon Pokémon card ever released. If that’s not a good reason to try and pick this card up, I don’t know what is.
Add in the fact that Umbreon has remained a hugely popular Pokémon with an exceptional number of expensive cards, and the Neo Discovery Umbreon makes a lot of sense to sit at #8 on this list.
#7 – 1st Edition Lugia #9
Raw ~$544 | PSA 10 ~$50,000
In it’s raw form, the 1st Edition Lugia falls at #7 on this list. However, in a PSA 10 form, this would drop all the way down to the #2 most expensive 1st Edition card at an incredible $50k+! At its peak, one sold at auction for $129,000!
The reason the PSA 10 1st Edition Lugia is so expensive is that this sets printing standards were pretty poor compared to what they are today. Even straight out of the pack, these cards had poor centering, print lines, ink smudges, and otherwise.
And while that was true for a lot of the original sets, the coloring and holo pattern on the Lugia particularly showed scratching and edge wear incredibly quickly. So as of this moment, there are only 44 PSA 10 1st Edition Lugia’s in existence.
If you’re curious about the most expensive Lugia’s ever, look no further.
#6 – 1st Edition Shining Mewtwo
Raw ~$670 | PSA 10 ~$3,200
In case you are keeping track, the 1st Edition Shining Mewtwo is the second Neo Destiny card to make this list. Like the other “Shining” card above, the Shining Mewtwo has a holographic pattern on Mewtwo itself rather than on the background.
If you’d like to see a real 1st Edition Shining Mewtwo, check out the video here. If you are trying to pick one of these up, beware that there are fake versions floating around in the market. Be sure to know how to spot fakes if you’re ever looking to purchase any expensive cards like this one.
#5 – 1st Edition Shadowless Blastoise #2
Raw ~$680 | PSA 10 ~$20,000
Coming in at #5 is the 1st Edition Shadowless Blastoise, one of the original Big 3 Starter Pokémon and the second card from the original 1st Edition Base Set card set.
If we were measuring purely off PSA 10 numbers, this card would rise to #3 on the list! Once again, due to the printing quality of these original sets, there are only 102 PSA 10 1st Edition Shadowless Blastoise cards in existence! Even if it’s not in the best condition, this card in a 1st Edition Shadowless form can bring a pretty penny!
#4 – 1st Edition Shining Gyarados #65
Raw ~$705 | PSA 10 ~$7,500
Once again, we have another “Shining” card on the list, this time however from the Neo Revelation set. This particular Gyarados is a favorite among collectors due to the ferocity of the Gyarados paired with the “shiny” nature of this set of cards.
It’s ferocity can maybe only be compared to the Skyridge Gyarados but still stands alone with a dark backdrop background with a lone boater out on the water. If you want to appreciate a slightly different version of the card, the sparkles in the Japanese Shining Gyarados are absolutely worth admiring as well.
Congrats if you happen to have a copy of this one. It is an amazing one.
#3 – 1st Edition Shadowless Venusaur #15
Raw ~$740 | PSA 10 ~$12,500
We saw Blastoise on the list earlier, did you expect to not see Venusaur as well? While the 1st Edition Shadowless Venusaur doesn’t have as high of a PSA 10 value as Blastoise, it’s raw value is currently higher on average than the Blastoise. You can add that to the ongoing “which starter is best” argument (which is absolutely Bulbusaur BTW).
I only wonder what else may be on this list…
#2 – 1st Edition Shining Charizard #107
Raw ~$1225 | PSA 10 ~$11,000
Sick of seeing “Shining” Pokémon cards on this list yet? Neither am I. And what’s a better way to cap off than with the 1st Edition Shining Charizard.
With an impressive $11k+ PSA 10 sales price, the Shining Charizard is an absolutely iconic card and without question the most sought after and collectible card from all of the Neo sets.
Because of its price and collectability, there are most certainly fake versions of this card in the market, so buyer beware.
#1 – 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard #4
Raw ~$3700 | PSA 10 ~$220,000
This one is likely not a surprise for a lot of you. After all, it is one of the most expensive Pokémon cards ever and a PSA 10 has sold for as much as $420,000 at auction in 2022.
While the price of the 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard card has settled down slightly from then, it is still arguably the most iconic Pokémon card of all time, despite not holding the record for the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold.
Please take note that there are a TON of fake versions of this card, so be careful if you are trying to pick one up. If you’d like to try to pull one yourself from some free online packs, check out my other article on how to do just that.
If the 1st Edition Charizard is out of reach, you can still pick up the Shadowless or Unlimited version for much less and still get some serious nostalgia.
Summary
There you have it, some of the most expensive 1st Edition Pokémon cards of today. In case you were keeping count, the list included:
- 4 1st Edition Shadowless cards
- 3 1st Edition Neo Destiny cards
- 2 Charizards
Hopefully this satisfied your 1st Edition Pokémon itch! If you’d like to see any other lists like this, let me know at [email protected]!
Curious about the most expensive Pikachu Cards? Look no further.
Need some Charizard in your life? I’ve got you covered there also.
What about some cheap Charizard Pokémon cards? Just click here.
Thanks for reading!