Two Charmander cards from Legendary Collection, the 2002 set: same number, same artwork, same attacks. One costs $2.05. The other costs $662.25, more than 300 times as much on 31 October. The only difference is where the card shines.
Most Pokémon cards come in more than one version, and the version can matter more than the Pokémon on it. Of the 22,612 cards in our catalog, 13,688 have a TCGplayer price for two versions or more. Here is what each version is, where the gap is widest, and how it has changed from one era to the next.
Prices and gaps as of 31 October 2026. They change daily, and rarely traded cards can swing on one sale. Do your own research before you buy or sell.
The short answer
- Check the version before you price a card. The same card number can be a dollar or several hundred dollars, depending on where the foil is and whether it carries a 1st Edition stamp.
- Old reverse holos are where the gaps are. On 31 October, the typical Legendary Collection reverse holo cost 86 times its regular card, and the typical EX-era one (2003–2007) 14 times.
- For new cards, the version barely moves the price. A typical Scarlet & Violet reverse holo cost 1.8 times its regular card, a difference of $0.11.
The versions, explained
- Regular (TCGplayer calls it “Normal”): no foil.
- Holo: the artwork shines; the rest of the card does not.
- Reverse holo: the opposite. The whole card shines except the artwork.
- 1st Edition and Unlimited: in early sets such as Fossil and Jungle, the first print run carries a small 1st Edition stamp just below the artwork, on the left. Later prints of the same card, the Unlimited ones, do not.
A card can be more than one of these at once: a 1st Edition holo is a different card, for pricing, from an Unlimited holo with the same number.
The widest gaps: Legendary Collection reverse holos
We took every card with at least two priced versions, set its dearest version against its cheapest, and counted only cards whose cheapest version costs at least 50 cents. The twelve widest gaps in the whole catalog are all the same story: a Legendary Collection regular card that costs a couple of dollars at most, and its reverse holo, which costs more than a hundred.
| Legendary Collection card | Regular | Reverse holo | Gap, 31 October |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slowpoke #93 | $1.65 | $1,000.00 | 606× |
| Geodude #77 | $1.04 | $444.00 | 427× |
| Rattata #89 | $0.54 | $229.98 | 426× |
| Onix #84 | $0.57 | $197.09 | 346× |
| Gastly #76 | $1.45 | $483.00 | 333× |
| Charmander #70 | $2.05 | $662.25 | 317× |
| Dratini #72 | $1.17 | $366.66 | 313× |
| Machop #79 | $0.69 | $210.00 | 304× |
| Mysterious Fossil #109 | $0.76 | $225.00 | 296× |
| Nidoran ♀ #82 | $0.58 | $152.00 | 262× |
| Energy Retrieval #107 | $0.51 | $129.98 | 255× |
| Spearow #94 | $0.60 | $149.99 | 250× |
The most expensive reverse holo in the set is the Pikachu, at $1,574.99, against $6.55 for its regular card. Read these prices with care: few of these reverse holos change hands, so one sale moves the market price a long way. The Energy Retrieval reverse holo was as low as $47.57 in our records since 20 September, and was $129.98 on 31 October.
Era by era
Reverse holo against the regular card, for every card TCGplayer prices in both versions. “Typical” is the median, on 31 October: half the cards in that era sit above it and half below.
| Era | Cards | Typical gap | 10× or more | Typical difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legendary Collection 2002 | 84 | 85.6× | 95% | $144.55 |
| E-Card 2002–2003 | 397 | 3.8× | 9% | $40.34 |
| EX 2003–2007 | 1,305 | 14.5× | 64% | $25.93 |
| Diamond & Pearl 2007–2008 | 692 | 5.1× | 20% | $4.16 |
| Platinum 2009 | 400 | 5.4× | 23% | $4.85 |
| HeartGold & SoulSilver 2010–2011 | 376 | 7.2× | 35% | $7.68 |
| Black & White 2011–2013 | 974 | 3.7× | 15% | $1.36 |
| XY 2014–2016 | 1,170 | 2.6× | 4% | $0.45 |
| Sun & Moon 2017–2019 | 1,641 | 2.1× | 3% | $0.27 |
| Sword & Shield 2020–2023 | 1,773 | 2.1× | 1% | $0.16 |
| Scarlet & Violet 2023–2025 | 1,876 | 1.8× | 1% | $0.11 |
| Mega Evolution 2025–2026 | 425 | 1.7× | 0% | $0.10 |
Two things stand out. The EX era, 2003 to 2007, is the one to know after Legendary Collection: in 64% of its cards the reverse holo costs ten times the regular card or more. And from Black & White on, the gap has shrunk era after era: since Scarlet & Violet, the typical reverse holo costs less than twice its regular card, and not one of Mega Evolution’s 425 cards with both versions has a reverse holo at ten times the regular price.
1st Edition against Unlimited
For the 674 cards TCGplayer prices both ways, the typical 1st Edition cost 2.9 times its Unlimited print on 31 October. For holos the multiple is a little lower, 2.6 times across 153 cards. The dearest 1st Edition holos:
| Card | Unlimited holo | 1st Edition holo |
|---|---|---|
| Shining Celebi Neo Destiny · 2002 | $549.99 | $1,801.00 |
| Shining Kabutops Neo Destiny · 2002 | $382.44 | $1,399.95 |
| Lugia Neo Genesis · 2000 | $526.98 | $1,300.00 |
The stamp is not a guarantee, though: on 31 October, 9 of those 153 holos had an Unlimited copy priced above the 1st Edition. Small markets again: when only a few copies sell, a single sale can put the cheaper version on top.
How to check yours
Look where the card shines, and for the 1st Edition stamp on older cards. Then find it on our store: every Pokémon card page prices each version separately, side by side. Start from the Legendary Collection card list, or search any card from the bar at the top of the page.
Table prices are TCGplayer market prices, refreshed nightly; gaps, medians and shares are as of 31 October 2026. Our daily price records begin on 20 September. Prices refreshed 2 November 2026.