If you’ve ever sold a Pokémon card or nearly any collectible before, you will undoubtably be asked what its condition is. And if you have near mint Pokémon cards, you’ll know why they are such a big deal.
With some collectibles its new, like new, used, slightly used, and otherwise. Sometimes its played, never played, heavily played. With Pokémon cards particularly though, it follows a slightly different lingo.
This article will cover the different terms regarding Pokémon card condition and ultimately explain why having near mint cards is such a big deal. And believe me, it is.
Let’s jump in!
Conditions of Pokémon Cards
There are a few main conditions of Pokémon cards. There are 5 main ones, but there are a few others that get sprinkled in that I’ll speak about as well.
Let’s jump in.
Damaged (DMG) Pokémon Cards
A “Damaged” Pokémon card takes many forms and can mean many things. And if you were wondering, yes all three of the cards above are considered damaged (though I’m sure you didn’t question the Ho-oh).
A damaged Pokémon card can be referred to as any card who’s general shape or surface has been altered in some way. Unfortunately, even really nice cards that have one small “alteration” would and should be considered damaged.
Also, the amount of damage on a Pokémon card does affect its value overall. So if I had the Ho-oh in the center then that same Ho-oh but with the damage on the right most card, the right one would be worth more.
Regardless though, damaged Pokémon cards are unfortunately not worth nearly as much as others. That being said, some collectors do love to pick them up because of that exact reason! Search to add some damaged cards to your collection here!
Let’s jump into a few sub-categories and thoughts on damaged Pokémon cards.
Heavily Damaged Pokémon Cards
While this isn’t used a lot, there are people who will classify cards as “heavily damaged” rather than just damaged. I did actually buy and sell the Ho-oh in the center and labeled it as exactly that.
While the condition may seem obvious, it’s important to call out the amount of damage that a card has. And some (like the Ho-oh above) is worth noting.
Bent, Creased, Dented, Indented Pokémon Cards
It’s unfortunate, but if any of the cards that you are looking at have or describe one of the above words, then that card is in fact damaged.
It doesn’t matter if the card is Near Mint or perfect otherwise. Once a card has one of the above imperfections, it will automatically grade as a max 6 for most grading companies.
While the price of a Pokémon card varies based on the amount of damage, any damage at all will significantly reduce the price of the card.
Heavily Played (HP) Pokémon Cards
Heavily played Pokémon cards describe cards that have a large amount of whitening and holo scratching, but do not include the damage listed above.
According to TCG Player, Heavily played allows for 24 points of damage (but who’s counting at that point). If we look at the three cards above, we can see that all three have a tremendous amount of scratching, blemishes, and imperfections.
The corners on the right most card are close to being considered damaged, but they would still fall in the Heavily Played category.
If you’d like to search for some heavily played cards to add to your collection, check out the link here!
Moderately Played (MP) Pokémon Cards
A moderately played Pokémon card, according to TCG Player, allows for 12 points of imperfection. Typically this means there is certainly holo scratching and whitening, but it does not cover the entire card.
While Heavily Played leans towards most of the card being “marked”, moderately played means there is a fair amount but the card is still in reasonable shape. The line can definitely get blurred between MP and the other two around it.
If you’d like to add some Moderately Played Pokémon cards of your own to your collection, check some out here!
Lightly Played (LP) Pokémon Cards
Lightly Played Pokémon cards are typically very slightly whitened on an edge or two and contain a very minimal amount of holo scratching. When looking for lightly played cards, the backs should look mostly crisp and sharp but can have a few white spots on the back.
On the front of the card, there should be a very small amount of holo scratching and there should be minimal edge wear as well. The TCG Player standard here is up to 6 points of imperfection on a card. This does not allow for any damage at all.
I would also argue that you will find more Pokémon cards in LP condition than any other. If you’d like to add some to your collection, look no further!
Very Lightly Played (VLP) Pokémon Cards
You won’t see Very Lightly Played as much as the others when searching Pokémon cards. But while it is not a standard, I am a big fan of the use of it.
VLP tells me that it’s an honest interpretation of a card that just barely missed the Near Mint standard. It should be an incredibly clean card with a very small number of imperfections, and not so few that it classifies as Near Mint.
If you’re still wondering why these descriptions are such a big deal, fear not. We will get there shortly.
Near Mint (NM) Pokémon Cards
A Near Mint Pokémon card is exactly what it sounds like. It is a card that is almost perfect.
Near Mint cards are the most sought after and will bring a much higher dollar value than any other (outside of just Mint). They are much harder to come by (in vintage much more so than modern) and are more rare than their played counterparts.
When looking at a Near Mint card, there should be 3 or less imperfections according to TCG Player. This means there are almost no blemishes, scratches, or whitening at all. This does not allow for anything outside of VERY minor imperfections.
Many collectors prefer Near Mint Pokémon cards because of their chance to grade well. Also the fact that they generally just look nicer may have something to do with it as well.
Get some of your own Near Mint Pokémon cards here!
Mint (M)
A card that is Mint means it is perfect. No scratches. No dings. Nothing.
When someone is looking for a mint card, the other typical ask they will have is on the centering of the card. Reason being is almost exclusively for people who want to grade their cards.
And if you’re still not sure why that’s such a big deal, read on!
Why Does the Condition of My Pokémon Cards Matter?
We’ve covered what the different conditions of cards means. We’ve also described and shown some examples of them above. Now let’s get to answer the real question.
Why does the condition of Pokémon cards matter?
Exclusivity, Grading, and Value
Exclusivity, Grading, and ultimately value are the reasons that Pokémon card conditions matter. While you will see some pricing variation between HP and LP, the pricing spread between LP and NM is exponentially larger.
Cards over time, especially vintage, got played with. So having nice cards became harder and harder to come by. These nice cards therefore became more exclusive than they played ones.
What that exclusivity feeds into is Pokémon card grading and ultimately value. Grading has become insanely popular among collectors as graded Pokémon cards continue to make the news because of the sold values of them. If you think about it or look, there isn’t news about highly sold Pokémon cards that are ungraded.
Graded Pokémon Card Example
One of my favorite websites to use for Pokémon card value is Pricecharting. It scrapes eBay for sold items and formats the value of any card in all different grades.
I’ll call out now that vintage cards will almost always have a much larger spread than modern cards. This is because Pokémon cards were played and traded much more when they came out. Nowadays, far more people collect and store them in a binder.
Back to the grading then. Let’s look at a Base Set Charizard on Pricecharting. It’s not terribly hard to come by but was and is still a very sought after card to have in a collection.
To give some perspective, a Near Mint card can fall ANYWHERE between a 7-10 grade. On average, ungraded Charizard’s sell for $220. If I have a Near Mint one though, it could get a grade that could put it anywhere from $220 up to $10,000! If that doesn’t convince you that condition matters, I don’t know what will.
Summary
Ultimately, it does matter what condition your Pokémon cards are in. While the value is nice, NM condition cards will sell faster, more easily, and for more money than their more played counterparts.
Thanks for reading!
Wondering if you should grade your cards? I’ve got you covered here!
Looking to sell your collection? Send me an email at [email protected] and check out my other article!
Wondering if Pokémon cards are a good investment? Look no further!