Holo, reverse holo and 1st Edition: the Pokémon card variants that change the price
Vishwen Labs
One Pokémon card can exist as several products with different prices: a non-holo, a holo with foil on the illustration, a reverse holo with foil everywhere except the illustration, and, on cards from 1999 to 2003, a 1st Edition copy with a stamp under the illustration. The very first Base Set print run is shadowless, with no drop shadow on the right of the illustration box, and is priced above the later shadowed run. Marketplaces and the price data behind the app key these apart: TCGplayer's figures come per variant, normal, holofoil, reverse holofoil and 1st Edition, and Cardmarket publishes separate reverse holo figures. Spotting the variant is the second step after identifying the print.
Holo and reverse holo
A holo (holofoil) card has the foil layer on the illustration; in most eras that is the rare holo tier, with its own collector number and its own price. A reverse holo has the foil on the card frame, the text box and the borders, with the illustration left plain, and TCGplayer's rarity guide notes it “does not change its rarity or collector card number.” Since every booster pack contains one reverse holo, they “are not usually much more valuable than their regular versions,” though particular cards, and sets with unusual reverse patterns, break the rule. Cardmarket prices reverse holos separately, with their own trend, average and low; the app shows both sets when they exist.
1st Edition and Unlimited
English cards printed by Wizards of the Coast from 1999 to 2003 came in a first print run carrying a 1st Edition stamp, a small circled “1” with EDITION beside it, printed to the left under the illustration box on Pokémon cards. Later runs of the same set, called Unlimited, lack it. The stamp is the single most expensive difference in the hobby: a 1st Edition Base Set holo sells for many times its Unlimited twin, and grading companies note it on the label. The stamp can be faked, which is why valuable 1st Edition cards are usually sold graded.
Shadowless Base Set
The earliest Base Set run, including the 1st Edition cards, was printed without the drop shadow on the right edge of the illustration box and with thinner HP text; the later Unlimited run added the shadow. A shadowless Unlimited card sits between shadowed Unlimited and 1st Edition in price. Tell them apart by the illustration box's right edge, the HP font weight and the 1st Edition stamp: shadowless with a stamp is 1st Edition; shadowless without is the rarer Unlimited run; shadowed is the common one.
Promo stamps, prerelease and other marks
A black star with PROMO across it marks a promotional card, distributed with products, at events or in magazines, and promos are priced as their own products. Prerelease stamps, league stamps, Pokémon Center stamps and staff stamps each mark a distinct copy, often scarcer than the set version. Error cards and misprints are a collecting niche of their own with prices set by the few people who chase them; they are identified by comparison with a normal copy and sold with photographs.
Language, and what the app shows
Japanese prints are separate products with separate prices; TCGplayer lists Japanese Pokémon as its own product line, and Cardmarket likewise. The app's database is the English-language card list, so a Japanese, German or French card is recognised and matched to its English print, and the prices shown are for that print. Within English cards, the app's price data carries the variants the marketplaces carry, normal, holofoil, reverse holofoil and 1st Edition, and the card page shows the ones that exist for that print. Choose the variant you actually hold when you add the card, or the collection's value will be wrong in exactly the places it matters most.
TCG Card Scanner is an unofficial, independent app from Vishwen Labs. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or associated with The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, Creatures Inc. or GAME FREAK. Pokémon and all related names, marks and card artwork are trademarks and copyrights of their owners. Card data and prices come from the public sources named on these pages, and nothing here is advice to buy, sell or grade a card.
Questions people also ask
How can I tell if my Pokémon card is 1st Edition?
Look for the 1st Edition stamp, a small circled 1 with EDITION beside it, to the left under the illustration box on English cards printed from 1999 to 2003. No stamp means an Unlimited print. On Base Set, also check for the shadowless illustration box.
Is a reverse holo worth more than a regular card?
Usually a little, sometimes not at all, and occasionally much more for specific cards or sets. Every booster pack contains a reverse holo, so they are common; Cardmarket and TCGplayer price them separately, and the app shows both figures.
