How to tell if a Pokémon card is fake: a comparison checklist
A comparison checklist for spotting counterfeit Pokémon cards — text, colour, edges, holo and light — plus the honest limits of any check done at home.
Pokémon card guides
Reference pages built from primary sources — the grader's own fee table, the marketplace's own condition standard, the rights holder's own card database — with the date we read each one printed on the page.
If you are here with a single card and one question, the fastest route is what is my Pokémon card worth, which links onward to whichever step you are missing. The calculators live on the tools page.
Identify the card
Which printing you own, decided by the marks along the bottom edge rather than by how the card looks.
First edition Pokémon cards: the stamp, shadowless, and print order
What the 1st Edition stamp means, where it sits on the card, how shadowless differs from first edition and unlimited, and which sets ever carried it.
How to read a Pokémon card number and set symbol
The bottom edge identifies the exact printing you own. How to read the collector number, set symbol, rarity mark and regulation letter on any card.
Pokémon card errors and misprints: collectible or just damaged?
Most misprints are priced as damage, not as collectibles. What separates a documented error from a defect, and what graders do with miscut and hand-cut cards.
Pokémon card rarity symbols, from circle to three gold stars
Circle, diamond and star are only the beginning. What one, two and three stars mean, why black, silver and gold differ, and how to read any English set.
Condition and value
The scale buyers price against, and what actually moves the number attached to a card.
How to store Pokémon cards so they keep their condition
What actually protects a card in storage: the enclosure stack, which plastics are safe, and the temperature, humidity and light limits conservation bodies publish.
Most expensive Pokémon cards: what is actually verified
The record is $16,492,000 and it is certified. Most other figures on the usual lists are private sales and hearsay — here is what can actually be verified.
Pokémon card condition guide: NM, LP, MP, HP and Damaged
What Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played and Damaged mean, quoted from the marketplace standard that sets the prices you look up.
Where to sell Pokémon cards, and what you actually keep
Marketplace, card shop or consignment — what each one takes. The published fee stack, the trap that costs half the value of a cheap card, and which band sells where.
Grading decisions
What the graders charge, how long they take, and when submitting a card loses money.
Card grading cost comparison: PSA, BGS, CGC and SGC, priced today
What the four major graders charge per card, read off their own fee tables on 21 August 2026 — including the two whose cheapest tiers you cannot book today.
How to get Pokémon cards graded, step by step
Account, tier, declared value, packing and the wait — what each grader requires and when the turnaround clock actually starts, from their own submission pages.
Is it worth grading Pokémon cards? Run the break-even first
Grading pays only when the graded price beats the raw price by more than every fee combined. The formula, the numbers people get wrong, and when to skip it.
PSA vs BGS vs CGC: what a 10 means at each company
What a 10 means at each grading company, who gives half grades and subgrades, how each treats altered cards, and which company fits which card.
TCG Valuer is an independent site and app. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, PSA, Beckett, CGC or SGC. Product names are used descriptively to identify the cards and services being discussed.