Top 10 Most Expensive Charizard Pokemon Cards

$4500

To coincide with the release of the third generation Kanto remakes, the Pokemon TCG released a whole new line of EX cards. And you know what that means - more Charizards for wealthy collectors! Everyone’s favorite Kanto starter hit shelves again, and like every other time, immediately got snatched up for hundreds of dollars a piece. That’s just for low-grade copies, too. Given all the exclusivity around the EX variant, a mint-condition card can net you close to 5k. For that much, you could just pick up a copy of “Pokemon FireRed”… or ten. Although, to be fair, an in-game Charizard just isn’t the same.

$4700

Pokemon’s first generation was a simpler time. Even in the Training Card Game’s sixth expansion, people were still snatching up their favorite of the original 151 like there was no tomorrow. Chief among them, Blaine’s Charizard. Even though this was far the first card to feature the fire starter, the fact that this one was owned by the Cinnabar Gym Leader made it an elite find. Especially for those in search of a first edition print. Even if you do manage to track one down, well-conditioned copies go for as high as $4700 dollars. Talk about a hot-ticket item!

$8000

Look, it’s no secret that Charmander’s final form is the most in-demand Pokemon, maybe ever. In or out of the card game, it’s just that popular. But, when you slap a shiny coat on it and add the word “holofoil?” Well, you’re looking at an obscene amount of cash, and no, you can’t use Pokedollars. What’s more, this wasn’t even a normal card. It was released as part of the Expedition expansion for the E-reader corner of the TCG. But, if you think that dings its value any, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. If anything, the worth of this holofoil Charizard keeps going up.

$13,500


In 2016, the Pokemon brand celebrated twenty years by releasing a new pack of cards featuring, you guessed it, everyone’s favorite fire type. But, as if Charizard alone wasn’t enough to move sales, there was an even more elusive version of this classic card. Workers overseeing the release events were given hyper-exclusive foil Charizard’s with the word “staff” stamped on them. The 2016 card on its own is already worth a pretty penny. But, that little word adds an extra zero onto the original price tag, pushing the Evolution’s version well into the tens of thousands of dollars. That’s probably more than the staff made working the event!

$15,000

How much can a card reprint go for? Well, if your name is Charizard, it’s a lot. While reissuing the iconic base set Charizard seems profitable enough already, this collection introduced a new card treatment called reverse holofoil. It featured a glossy, lightshow-like texture on every square inch outside of the artwork. The fresh variant gave casual buyers and diehard collectors alike a whole new reason to pursue Charizard. They searched far and wide, but since everyone else was looking, too, the demand skyrocketed the card all the way to a hefty $15,000 market value.

$15,000

If your jaw is on the floor from that price tag, we only need two words to tell you why it goes for so much: Shiny Charizard. Do we really need to elaborate? It’s one of Pokemon’s heaviest hitters, with his ultra-rare alternate color, and in limited card form. Honestly, we’d be shocked if it didn’t cost a mortgage. It’s almost funny. In the art, Charizard is dimmed so much, it’s hard to tell it’s even him at first. But, clearly, that hasn’t stopped hardcore fans from jacking up the cost. Charizard aficionados really know no bounds… especially not monetary ones.

$15,000

Nothing ratchets up card value more than internal test markups! Before the Expedition set was formally released in America, distributor Wizards of the Coast made prototype versions of a handful of cards. One of them just so happened to be a Charizard. These test versions, identifiable by the words “For Position Only” printed on the front, became overnight novelty sensations. It’s not just that the art of Charizard was exclusive, it’s that there was a finite version of these tests made in the first place. In terms of collectors, that means one thing: kaching, kaching.

$18,000

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that Charizard cards sell. A lot. So, when the Skyridge set was released with awesome new Charizard art as a rare pull, people took notice. Then, when news broke that the expansion only had a very small print order, the popular find turned into a full-on urban legend. It’s so highly-sought that, if you’re lucky enough to find a Skyridge card in pristine condition - and, trust us, that’s a major if - you’d be holding around eighteen thousand dollars in your hand. Forget printing money - printing Skyridge Charizard is much faster.

$25,000

If there’s a checklist for rare qualities in a Pokemon card, this one ticks them all. Alternate type? You bet. Beloved starter? Obviously. Gold star denoting its status as a prize possession above all other prized possessions? Yep. EX Dragon Frontiers Charizard has all that, and somehow, wraps it into a single, gorgeously illustrated card. It’d be the crown atop any collection - that is, assuming anyone can afford it's ludicrous price tag. These things have sold for as high as twenty-five thousand dollars. So, which will it be? Dragon Frontiers Charizard, or a car? The choice is up to you.

$420,000


We know you were waiting for it. Well, here it is; The original Base Set Charizard, in all its glory. Forget its name, though, we could probably just call it the Charizard card, and you’d know what we were talking about. Allegedly, only 3,000 copies of the first edition exist, and of those, around 120 are considered in mint-condition. That’s not considering the rare “disco” test print editions, either. What does that scarcity add up to, you ask? A record-setting auction where the card sold for $420,000 dollars, that’s what. You heard that right. $420,000. For those keeping score, that’s more than every other card on this list, combined, and tripled. Charizard supremacy is unmatched.



Do you own any of these ultra-rare finds? Let us know in the comments below!