PSA 10 Japanese Pokémon Cards: Prices, Returns & Investment Comparison

4 cards from Japanese editions graded PSA 10: 222 real sale prices, annualized returns and a comparison with Bitcoin, the S&P 500 and gold.

Pokémon cards as an investment, compared with Bitcoin, stocks and gold. The figures rest on 222 recorded sales of four cards from public auction archives.

For investors, not collectors. Only PSA 10, the highest grade, is covered. In this condition, trading cards compare most consistently as an asset class. Every dot in the chart is a price actually paid at auction, not an estimate or asking price.

Japanese Cards

The Pokémon trading card game launched in Japan in October 1996, more than two years before the English edition. The first printings carry no rarity symbol and are therefore called “No Rarity”; they count as the earliest cards of the game. Japanese cards from this period have a different back than the English ones.

The cards recorded here are graded PSA 10. Months often pass between two sales of the same card, which is why every sale appears as its own dot in the chart.

PSA 10 Pokémon Charizard #6 · Japanese Base Set (1996)

PSA 10 Pokémon Charizard #6 · Japanese Base Set (1996)

$40,800 last recorded sale · Sep 2026

33 recorded sales5 yearsPSA 10

Past 12 months: 6 sales · $11,100 to $40,800 · median $24,600

1 year +400.0%
3 years +469.4%+78.6% a year
since start +365.9%+46.9% a year

Last 10 Sales of 33 Recorded

Most recent recorded sales
MonthPrice
Sep 2026$40,800
Sep 2026$34,800
Jul 2026$23,400
Apr 2026$25,800
Feb 2026$17,400
Jan 2026$11,100
Oct 2025$8,700
Jul 2025$5,040
Jul 2025$5,280
Jun 2025$4,320
PSA 10 Pokémon Charizard #6 · Japanese CD Promo (1999)

PSA 10 Pokémon Charizard #6 · Japanese CD Promo (1999)

$3,240 last recorded sale · Nov 2026

86 recorded sales18 quartersPSA 10

Past 12 months: 30 sales · $1,380 to $7,800 · median $3,360

1 year +111.8%
3 years +369.6%+67.5% a year
since start +390.9%+42.4% a year

Last 10 Sales of 86 Recorded

Most recent recorded sales
MonthPrice
Nov 2026$3,240
Nov 2026$3,960
Nov 2026$3,000
Oct 2026$2,760
Oct 2026$3,240
Sep 2026$3,480
Sep 2026$3,000
Sep 2026$3,000
Sep 2026$3,600
Aug 2026$3,720
PSA 10 Pokémon Blaine's Charizard #6 · Japanese Gym 2 (1999)

PSA 10 Pokémon Blaine's Charizard #6 · Japanese Gym 2 (1999)

$3,120 last recorded sale · Oct 2026

42 recorded sales5 yearsPSA 10

Past 12 months: 7 sales · $930 to $4,560 · median $3,240

1 year +225.7%
3 years +670.3%+97.5% a year
since start +630.8%+64.4% a year

Last 10 Sales of 42 Recorded

Most recent recorded sales
MonthPrice
Oct 2026$3,120
Aug 2026$3,240
Aug 2026$3,600
Jul 2026$3,240
Jun 2026$4,560
Jun 2026$4,560
Dec 2025$930
Oct 2025$1,050
Oct 2025$1,050
Sep 2025$1,260
PSA 10 Pokémon Sabrina's Gengar #94 · Japanese Gym 2 (1999)

PSA 10 Pokémon Sabrina's Gengar #94 · Japanese Gym 2 (1999)

$7,800 last recorded sale · Nov 2026

61 recorded sales16 quartersPSA 10

Past 12 months: 20 sales · $6,600 to $11,700 · median $8,100

1 year +209.5%
3 years +1,485.4%+151.2% a year
since start +1,313.0%+80.1% a year

Last 10 Sales of 61 Recorded

Most recent recorded sales
MonthPrice
Nov 2026$7,800
Nov 2026$7,800
Oct 2026$7,800
Oct 2026$7,800
Oct 2026$7,800
Sep 2026$8,100
Sep 2026$6,600
Sep 2026$7,200
Aug 2026$7,200
Aug 2026$7,500

Data note 1

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