I guarantee theres already been a thread on this, and mods can feel free to move this discussion there, but I was just curious on the rarest cards. Now, I know the exact distribution of certain cards is disputed, but from the collective knowledge of the community, what are the rarest cards in the hobby? Obviously, the trophy cards are going to take the majority of the spotlight, but as far as my knowledge goes, the MATCHPRINT set is the rarest, with many of the cards only being two in the world. However, do these really count as part of the TCG? The same can be said for the TMB phone cards and such, so i just want to hear people’s opinions.
Now, I dont count the personalized trophy cards, as one could argue any of the personalized cards, like the _____'s Pikachu birthday card, could then be unique and one-of-a-kind. My definition goes on unique artwork, which includes stamp variants. This includes cards like the Battle Stadium Deoxys, or the Battle Festival variants of trophy cards. I know the trophies like the '97,'98, etc. are different years and have slightly different texts, but they still feel like they are grouped together, just like the other recycled arts for trophy cards on their respective years. Thats just my opinion, so I would love to hear what other people have to say and think about the subject!
Id also like to see what people think are the most difficult cards to acquire, regardless of distribution numbers, like the SNAP cards and such.
There are so many different interpretations of “rare” that it’s hard to come up with an answer. For example, lots of cards have low print numbers but SNAP Poliwag is way more accessible than other cards with the same number. Art academy cards have a higher print run, but some winners simply will not sell no matter what. If they never do then is something like the Art Academy Mew rarer than the SNAP Poliwag?
Additionally how much of a part does money play? I’m sure I could get a large number of trophy cards if I just offered way above market value. I know who the owners are, I know how to contact them. They have very low circulation numbers but they aren’t hard to locate.
PSA 10 1ED Base Zard is $20k but there are 110 (ish) of them and they come up fairly frequently compared to stuff like trophy cards, most of which are less expensive. I’m sure that one could be easily located by offering a bit above market value.
The sweet spot of “rarity” would be a very expensive card with low print numbers that is also incredibly difficult to locate. Something like the Illustrator comes to mind for that, and we see that reflected in its price.
The 3 daisuke pokemon scramble promos (#17 eevee, #18 pachirisu and #19 croagunk) I would argue are some of the most rare non trophy cards out there. I’ve never seen a copy of any of them other than bulbapedia scans. Supposedly only 100 sets printed.
This reminds me of how there is a Yu-Gi-Oh! card that only has one copy.
For anyone who doesn’t know, it was made in collaboration with the Make-A-Wish foundation for a kid named Tyler. Super awesome story behind it, and he’s doing well which is very comforting.
Glad to see another Yugioh fan haha! Actually, ive been told that there are actually three copies of that card. One given to Tyler, one to Konami, and one in the Foundation’s vault. The only Yugioh cards that are CONFIRMED one of a kind are the T3 Third National Conference prize cards. The BEUD, Kuriboh, Summoned Skull, Gemini Elf, and REBD.
see? Interesting and niche cards like this are always super cool to me. Like the Pokemon Game Show Keldeo and Rayquaza cards. Super niche, obscure and rare
yeah, i know theres not really a one of a kind card, but cards close to that rarity are really interesting. What is the rarest, then? Female trophy card? Lol
Thats exactly what im saying. When it comes to rarity, i guess its mainly distribution numbers. If you couple the difficulty aspect, like you said for the Art Academy cards, I believe one of the unreleased SNAP cards would be the biggest one. If the winner doesnt release them to the public, they beat out the Illustrator and Art Academies in my eyes, due to it also being very expensive hypothetically speaking and having a lower distribution number than either of them. That Rayquaza Game Show card is up there, as well. By the way, which of the SNAPs has never been sold? Articuno? I cant remember
Snap Contest cards
University Magikarp
Kamex Mega Battle Computer Error
Parent/Child Kangaskhan Trophy
TMB Bilingual Exeggutor
Hawaii Lucky Stadium
1999 Tropical Wind
Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres Phone Cards
Pikachu Illustrator
TMB VS set
Worlds Top XX Stamped Cards
Daisuke Master’s Scroll
Pokedude
Stadium Challenge Deoxys and Metang(?)
There ya go. Those are the big Japanese ones excluding true trophies (Although a couple of these are technically trophies). All of these had actual releases.
i believe at least 6 of those were made? Still insanely rare, but i feel like those are more of an error, not a proper release. And the MATCHPRINT cards technically have that one beat, but god knows the PreRelease is far more expensive and what not lol
