Except for the SNAP Gyarados that I will leave out of question for obvious reasons, what’s the highest end Gyarados available out there? And what other good candidates do you know? Here are some that comes to my mind:
N°1- PSA 10 Base Shadowless 1st ed (with stamp variations)
N°2- Raw German 1st ed Shining Gyarados
N°3- PSA 10 Shining Gyarados (english 1st ed or japanese)
I honestly don’t know much about delta species so any opinion is well received, thanks!
PSA 10 Gold Star Gyarados (English) is a very pricey card, although I personally prefer the artwork on the Shining Gyarados more.
I feel some of those cards are only expensive cos of low pop but not for achieving the price for themselves.
No rarity psa 10?
I agree but prices are insane for no reason cos demand is not there. 7k on ebay it’s like triple price of a PSA 10 Base 1st ed copy, and that makes no sense. I agree No Rarity PSA 10 should be on the list, but I feel it’s a low pop because in the past no one cared to grade it. Maybe in the future we will see an increase in the psa 10 pop report (I may be wrong, it’s just a feeling). So I love No Rarity cards but idk what a PSA 10 copy would go for (like real price)
Low pop + high demand = high prices.
I don’t think there’s anything artificial about it’s high price. There is all of one for sale on eBay, and it’s a super weak copy with a lot of edge whitening along the back bottom.
Never said artificial, just I feel Im only paying a grade. But thinking about that, you can state the same with every gyarados on my list, so you have a valid point there. Any idea how “scarce” are those goldstars compared to let’s say neo revelation 1st ed shining gyarados?
I love the gold star gyarados being the red shiny form. The pop is low as well, a great card.
There are a few different ways to look at this, if you are talking about the most valuable Gyarados behind the snap I would say it would be a close battle between no rarity PSA 10 and 1st Ed thick stamp PSA 10. Having said that there a couple wild cards that might take the spot; grey stamp PSA 10 (if one exists), Korean Unlimited PSA 10.
IMO of cards that currently exist the no rarity PSA 10 is the second most valuable if I had to replace mine it would cost me more than 1st Ed thick.
On the other hand you could look at which Gyarados cards are the most difficult to obtain. I would give that prize to Korean Unlimited Base Set followed by 1st Ed grey stamp. Again there are a few wild cards, the L1 Soulsilver Gyarados holo and reverse if they exist in unlimited would take the no 1 spot.
Does this count? 
Hahahaha as amazing this is I would leave signed cards apart and focus on the card itself. Would love to have a Base set signed by Arita with the gyara face on it.
Before opening this thread there was a tie in my head between No Rarity PSA 10 and 1st ed Base PSA 10. I think I would prefer the base 1st because of the weight and role 1st ed base set has in the hobby, but I’m also a sucker for the first card ever released, plus the low pop adds up to the myth. Unlimited korean looks too nitch to me to consider candidate worth of beating the other 2. Same to the last ones you mentioned. So I guess it’s a battle between No Rarity and 1st ed Base set. I guess No Rarity will lose this battle for what I stated earlier but also because there’s still an open debate as if it’s really the first card ever released (or produced) and I don’t think it’s will see an end near soon.
@papafrankgod, no rarity is indisputably the first Pokemon set cards released so the no rarity is the first Gyarados card. However they are relatively easy to pick up in played condition, the high value is the combination of the importance of the card plus the almost non existence of finding them in mint or better condition.
My no rarity Gyarados would sell for more than my 1st Ed thick stamp so it is more valuable in monetary terms but each person values each card they collect differently. For example I value my grey stamp Gyarados higher than my NR and 1st Ed. Just because of the struggle and history behind me obtaining that card.
@swolepoke, blue > red 
It’s possible that an unlimited Gyarados is part of the Japanese SoulSilver set. I don’t know about “high-end” - it’d be a niche card - but that’d certainly be a lot rarer than the three cards you’ve listed.
Agreed with everything pretty much already stated here. In time, however, we might see a few cards climb past 1st Edition Thick and No Rarity. English Goldstar and Staff Evolutions are big modern contenders. Doubtful as it may be, No Rarity itself is pretty stable price wise as far as raw goes. Then again, I only really pay attention to raw cards so take all of this with a grain of salt.
I think that when PSA 10 STAFF gyarados reaches the 2k mark, PSA 10 1st ed Base would be even higher
What about the PSA 9 option, are they same price too? (1st ed and no rarity)
@papafrankgod, 1st Ed usually goes for more
I have a difficult choice to make, this may be my only high end gyarados, I was thinking PSA 10 1st ed Thick stamp for it to really shine, but I’m getting low on cash so I considered maybe a PSA 9 version. But I didnt decide it yet. Maybe PSA 9 1st ed + no rarity, idk.