Base Set Charizard: The Story of Pokémon's Most Famous Card
By Mitchell Taljaard · · Updated
Base Set Charizard is the card most collectors picture when they think of old Pokémon cards. It's a fire-breathing holo from the very first English set, and it has set price records again and again since 2020.
We're Cuppas Cards, a PCG submission service for South African Pokémon collectors. We don't grade cards ourselves: PCG (Premier Card Grading) in the UK assigns every grade. All prices are as of 21 October 2026, converted at R16.41 per US$ (Trading Economics, 20 October 2026). None of this is investment advice.
What is Base Set Charizard?
Base Set Charizard is card number 4 of 102 in the original English Base Set. It's a Fire-type holo with 120 HP, illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita (Serebii).
Here's what's printed on the card, according to Serebii:
| Detail | What the card says |
|---|---|
| Card number | 4/102 |
| Type and HP | Fire, 120 HP |
| Pokémon Power | Energy Burn: turns all Energy attached to Charizard into Fire Energy |
| Attack | Fire Spin: 4 Fire Energy, 100 damage, discard 2 Energy |
| Weakness | Water |
| Resistance | Fighting, -30 |
| Retreat cost | 3 |
| Illustrator | Mitsuhiro Arita |
The card didn't start in English. Japan got it first in the Expansion Pack, released on 20 October 1996. Wizards of the Coast then released the English Base Set on 9 January 1999 (Bill's Archive). For the bigger picture, see 30 years of the Pokémon TCG.
Why did Base Set Charizard become so famous?
Our take is simple, and it's an opinion: it was the most powerful-looking card in the first English set. A 120 HP dragon with a 100 damage attack stood out in a binder.
The facts after that are about money and headlines. In October 2020, Logan Paul bought a 1st Edition PSA 10 for $150,000 (about R2.46 million today), and it made the news (ComicBook.com, October 2020).
Two months later, in December 2020, an SGC 10 sold for $369,000 at Goldin and a PSA 10 sold for $350,100 on eBay (Wikipedia). Since then, the card has kept showing up in record lists. We look at that wider rush in Pokémon card booms compared.
Perfect copies are also scarce. Heritage Auctions described its December 2025 copy as one of 125 PSA 10s (Intelligent Collector, December 2025).
How do you tell the Base Set Charizard versions apart?
There are several printings and reprints that look alike at a glance. The details below come from Bill's Archive unless another source is linked.
| Version | Year | How to spot it |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese Expansion Pack, first print | 1996 | Japanese text and no rarity symbol at the bottom right; later Japanese prints added one (Antiques and the Arts Weekly, September 2022) |
| 1st Edition | 1999 | Black "Edition 1" stamp on the left, just under the art box |
| Shadowless | 1999 | No stamp, no drop shadow on the right side of the art box, thinner HP and attack text |
| Unlimited | 1999 | Drop shadow present, bolder text, ©1999 (the later 4th print says ©1999-2000) |
| Base Set 2 | Reprint, year not listed | Card number 4/130 |
| Legendary Collection holo | 2002 | Legendary Collection reprint with a regular holo finish |
| Legendary Collection reverse holo | 2002 | Legendary Collection reprint (3/110) with a reverse holo finish |
| Celebrations Classic Collection | 2021 | 25th anniversary logo on the card |
| 30th Celebration | 2026 | Gold border, released 16 September 2026 |
Legendary Collection came out in May 2002 and was the set that introduced reverse holos (Bill's Archive). That reverse holo Charizard is one of the more valuable versions, as you'll see below.
The two anniversary reprints are easy to mix up by name. Celebrations is the 2021 25th anniversary set, and 30th Celebration is the 2026 set. We cover the newest one in our guide to whether the 30th Celebration Charizard is worth grading.
If you own the 1996 Japanese card, our post on grading Japanese vs English Pokémon cards compares the two.
What is each Base Set Charizard version worth?
Values swing hugely by version and grade. The table uses PriceCharting values, October 2026, as listed by Bill's Archive on 8 October 2026.
| Version | Ungraded | Grade 9 | PSA 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Edition | $9,556 (about R156,800) | $30,910 (about R507,200) | $334,752 (about R5.49 million) |
| Shadowless | $988 (about R16,200) | $9,387 (about R154,000) | $24,808 (about R407,100) |
| Unlimited | $446 (about R7,300) | $3,309 (about R54,300) | $24,078 (about R395,100) |
| Base Set 2 (4/130) | $254 (about R4,200) | $1,908 (about R31,300) | $9,855 (about R161,700) |
| Legendary Collection reverse holo (3/110) | $3,000 (about R49,200) | $15,880 (about R260,600) | $178,586 (about R2.93 million) |
| Legendary Collection holo | $319 (about R5,200) | $2,063 (about R33,900) | $8,474 (about R139,100) |
| Celebrations Classic Collection | $160 (about R2,600) | $170 (about R2,800) | $490 (about R8,000) |
| Japanese Expansion Pack (no rarity) | $13,457 (about R220,800) | Not listed | Not listed |
Treat these as rough guides. Tracker values are averages and can lag behind auctions. Every confirmed 1st Edition PSA 10 sale since December 2025 beat $334,752 by a wide margin (see the record table below). The ungraded figure covers cards in every condition, from heavily played to near perfect. Estimates also vary between price trackers, so check recent sales before you buy or sell.
A few things stand out. A 1st Edition is worth far more than a Shadowless or Unlimited copy in every column. The Legendary Collection reverse holo in PSA 10 also sits well above Shadowless and Unlimited PSA 10s.
What are the record Base Set Charizard sales?
Every sale in this table is a 1st Edition copy graded 10. Here's the timeline from the sources we could verify.
| Date | Grade | Price | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2020 | PSA 10 | $150,000 (about R2.46 million) | Bought by Logan Paul | ComicBook.com |
| 12 December 2020 | SGC 10 | $369,000 (about R6.06 million) | Goldin | Wikipedia |
| 12 December 2020 | PSA 10 | $350,100 (about R5.75 million) | eBay | Wikipedia |
| 14 January 2021 | PSA 10 | $300,000 (about R4.92 million) | Heritage | Wikipedia |
| 28 March 2021 | PSA 10 | $311,800 (about R5.12 million) | eBay | Wikipedia |
| 4 March 2022 | PSA 10 | $336,000 (about R5.51 million) | Heritage | Wikipedia |
| March 2022 | PSA 10 | $420,000 (about R6.89 million) | PWCC | Wikipedia |
| December 2025 | PSA 10 | $550,000 incl. buyer's premium (about R9.03 million) | Heritage | Intelligent Collector |
| February 2026 | PSA 10 | $954,800 (about R15.67 million) | Goldin | Auction Report |
| June 2026 | PSA 10 | $465,500 (about R7.64 million) | Heritage | ICv2 |
| October 2026 | PSA 10 | $1,385,274 reported, payment pending (about R22.7 million) | ALT | Gempire Cards |
Rand figures convert the US dollar price at today's rate. They aren't what the cards cost in rand at the time of each sale.
The 2026 records
The February 2026 copy sold for $954,800 at Goldin in an auction that ended on 15 February 2026. Two CGC 10 copies of the same card in that sale went for $105,400 (about R1.73 million) and $93,000 (about R1.53 million) (Auction Report, February 2026).
In October 2026, a sale of $1,385,274 on ALT was reported after 46 bids. At the time of the report, payment was still pending confirmation (Gempire Cards, October 2026). Until it's confirmed, treat it as a reported sale, not a settled record.
A record doesn't set the price of every copy
Look at June 2026. A 1st Edition PSA 10 sold for $465,500 at Heritage, about half the February record (ICv2, June 2026). Same card, same grade, very different result.
So a record tells you what one buyer paid on one day. It doesn't tell you what your copy will fetch.
Is your Base Set Charizard worth grading?
It depends on the version and the condition, and no one can promise a grade. A clean 1st Edition or Shadowless copy is a very different case from a heavily played Unlimited one.
These are general checks graders look at on cards like this one:
- Centering on the yellow borders. Compare the border widths left and right, then top and bottom. Uneven yellow borders are easy to spot.
- Holo scratches. Tilt the card under a light. Scratches across the holo art pull grades down.
- Back whitening. Check the blue edges and corners on the back for white chips or wear.
- Surface and corners. Look for dents, creases and soft corners on both sides.
Our step-by-step guide on how to check a card before grading walks through each check. To see what the numbers mean, read what card grades mean from 1 to 10.
On cost: from South Africa, PCG Standard grading through us is R593 per card plus 3% insurance (R495 service including PCG's £15 fee and DHL both ways, plus about R98 customs and VAT).
If you send in an old Charizard, pack it in a semi-rigid card holder. Before you try to clean it, read should you clean a card before grading?
FAQ
How do I know if my Base Set Charizard is 1st Edition?
Look on the left side of the card, just under the art box. A 1st Edition has a black "Edition 1" stamp there (Bill's Archive). No stamp means it's Shadowless, Unlimited or a reprint.
What's the difference between Shadowless and Unlimited?
Check the right side of the art box. Shadowless cards have no drop shadow there and thinner HP and attack text. Unlimited cards have the shadow and bolder text (Bill's Archive).
Are the Celebrations and 30th Celebration reprints worth much?
They're worth far less than the 1999 originals. PriceCharting values, October 2026, put an ungraded Celebrations Classic Collection Charizard at about $160, or about R2,600 (Bill's Archive). For the 2026 reprint, see our 30th Celebration Charizard guide.
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