How to Spot First Edition Pokémon Cards

Since it was released in 1999 in English, the Pokémon Trading Card Game has been getting increasingly popular. The game has seen many changes over the years and it is an awful lot different now compared to when it was released. During the early years, the first print run of each set was printed with the ‘1st Edition’ symbol and these are generally considered to be very rare and usually much more valuable than other print runs.

The printing of cards with the 1st Edition symbol did not last long. Out of the first 11 sets to be released, 10 of them had 1st Edition print runs. The only one that didn’t was Base Set 2, which was a reprint of the original Base Set. The final set in English to have the 1st Edition stamp was Neo Destiny, which was released in 2002. As you can see, 1st Edition printing stopped over 20 years ago, hence why these types of cards are very rare and very valuable.

How Do I Know If My Card Is 1st Edition?

There are several ways to identify if your card is 1st Edition. Firstly, it has to have been from one of those early sets. The sets which had a 1st Edition print run are Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, Gym Heroes, Gym Challenge, Neo Genesis, Neo Discovery, Neo Revelation and Neo Destiny. If your 1st Edition English card is from any other set than these, then it is a fake I’m afraid.

Ok, so you have a card from one of the sets above, the next thing to look out for is the 1st edition symbol on the card. The 1st Edition symbol is easily recognisable and is always printed in black ink. It is a circle with a ‘1’ in it and the word ‘EDITION’ curving around the top of the circle. When trying to spot them on a Pokémon card, it was always found at the bottom left corner of the artbox. On Trainer cards it will always be found in the very bottom left hand corner of the card and for Energy cards it will always be in the top right hand corner, next to the word Energy. You can also find the 1st Edition stamp on the outside of Booster Packs and Booster Boxes from this time, which helped you to know that the cards inside were going to be 1st Edition cards. As we said, this was usually limited to the first print run of a set and it was then replaced with ‘Unlimited’ print runs, which were far more common. Base Set 1st Edition cards are extremely rare because of the fact that they were almost all sold out before the Pokémon craze really took off in England, and so the majority of the general public never got to experience those cards in the first place.

Shadowless Vs Shadowed

Another slight nuance in the Base Set printing was the inclusion of Shadowless cards. These were due to Wizards Of The Coast experimenting with card design early in the game’s history and some subtle changes were made. They are referred to as ‘Shadowless’ as the card design does not include any shadowing around the artbox, it just has a flat colour all the way around. They also had much thinner HP and text, although this is sometimes more difficult to notice if you do not have an Unlimited print run card to compare to. There are Shadowless cards with the 1st Edition symbol and these are very rare. Shadowless cards were produced immediately after the 1st Edition print run, hence there is some slight crossover with a small number of 1st Edition Shadowless cards. Shadowless cards are sought after by collectors almost as much as 1st Edition cards, just due to their rarity and closeness to 1st Edition Base Set.

Notable First Edition Cards

We couldn’t discuss 1st Edition Pokémon cards without mentioning some of the most iconic and most sought after cards in the history of the game. The Base Set is one of the most collectable sets of all time, it is the first set ever released after all, and I’m sure you will recognise all of the cards from it. The original starter trio, Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise were available as holographic cards in the set. That was the maximum rarity at the time and so these cards are super valuable now. But if you manage to find one in 1st Edition or even Shadowless then you could be sitting on a gold mine! There are cards such as Snorlax 1st Edition from Jungle, as well as Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon from that same set. Collectors fight over these and the prices are forever creeping higher. All of the original gym leaders are available as 1st Edition cards in Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge, including Misty and Brock.

As we head into the Neo sets, and the release of generation 2 Pokémon, we get our first look at lots of the new characters from the Gold, Silver and Crystal games. There are many 1st Edition cards in the Neo sets that have become extremely valuable and highly collectable. The Lugia holo from Neo Genesis is a great example because it is so hard to find in good condition. A nicely graded PSA 9 card will likely set you back a couple of thousand pounds today. The Neo series also gave us our first ‘Shining’ cards, including Gyarados, Magikarp, Charizard, Mewtwo and Tyranitar. Any of these in a 1st Edition is likely to be worth a lot of money. These cards trigger a lot of nostalgia for a lot of people and they are willing to pay for that thrill of collecting these cards again.

Spotting Counterfeits And The Current Market

The market for these cards is huge and sadly, because of that, they are often faked. There are lots of great sellers out there though with genuine products, so make sure you do your research before you head out and spend your hard earned cash. Since these cards have been out of print for more than 20 years, even just finding them can be difficult and it is unlikely that many retailers will have them in stock. I would usually suggest buying from reputable, large sellers as you can guarantee a card or booster packs authenticity. In this case though, you will probably be forced onto the secondary market. Buying from notable auction houses (not ebay) and from reputable sellers is still the best thing to do for these types of cards. You are likely to be spending a lot of money, particularly for some of the cards we mentioned earlier and so it is worth doing a bit of research first and only using trusted sources, even if it may be a little more expensive in the first place. There are also grading and authentication companies which can help you if you are unsure about a card.

Keeping Your Cards Safe

These cards are likely to be highly valuable and so I would definitely recommend something more than just stuffing them in an empty tin! The minimum recommended to keep the cards in great condition is to sleeve them (perhaps even double sleeve the holo cards) and keep them in a good binder. The holo cards could be kept in toploaders and displayed or even kept in a toploader binder. Perhaps even consider grading some of the more top end cards. Lots of the holo 1st Edition Pokémon cards are worth a lot, even in poor condition, so it is definitely worth looking after them.

Final Thoughts

1st Edition Pokémon cards are like the holy grail for many collectors and are becoming more and more rare. If you can grab some for your collection then I would definitely recommend it. The early sets which appeared as 1st Edition cards were such fantastic quality, a far cry from today’s mass produced cards. Lots have stood the test of time, but an awful lot haven’t, meaning they are rare, they are quite valuable in some cases and should be looked after. If you already have some 1st Edition cards then I’m sure you already know what you have and how you need to look after it. These are a great piece of Pokémon history and we probably aren’t going to see anything like it ever again.