Throughout 2020, we witnessed an en-masse resurgence of interest in collectible cards and memorabilia, with a huge area of growth being PokƩmon. With a hugely disruptive pandemic leaving the general public home-bound for months at a time and massive celebrity influences like Logan Paul and Steve Aoki cashing in to open rare, vintage booster boxes on stream, the stars aligned, and for the first time the public saw the potential in collectibles as more than just nostalgic keepsakes; trading cards have truly become a mainstream investment class alongside the sneaker world.
Arguably the most iconic PokĆ©mon, perhaps only rivalled by Pikachu, is Charizard – a fire-type PokĆ©mon reminiscent of a dragon. As part of a box break hosted by Logan Paul in February 2021, individuals from around the world paid a massive $40,000-per pack for their chance at opening a 1st-edition, Base Set Charizard card which traded at $360,000 last December. Only half a year prior to this, the packs from an identical box were sold individually for $11,111 by Paul. The massive boom in interest, and prices on the secondary market, is unprecedented but very welcome for the informed. The following is a compilation of Charizard cards, starting most recently with those printed in 2021 and going all the way back to the first cards ever printed in 1996, with options for all budgets.
1996 Japanese Base Set Charizard-Holo
The first Charizard card ever produced in the TCG universe came in the Japanese Base Set in 1996, three years before the English release that is now hallowed. In Japan, Charizard goes by Lizardon and is here seen with the same art as the 1999 version which has comfortably realised prices in the six-figure range.
The card slightly deviates from the English design in three aspects. Firstly, the energy requirements for Fire Spin, where the four Fire Energy symbols are horizontal rather than stacked two-on-two. Secondly, the flame coming out of Charizardās mouth is non-holographic, making it much more detailed. And finally, the holographic speckles are more defined.
One could consider this as Charizardās true ārookie cardā, and it is only a matter of time before collectors realise how undervalued this card is at present. The card last traded in February with a PSA-9 sold for just north of Ā£1,000.
2000 Gym Challenge Blaineās Charizard
Gym Challenge was the seventh expansion of cards in the PokĆ©mon TCG universe, featuring first-generation PokĆ©mon and based on the first generation of PokĆ©mon video games. The expansion featured the Gym Leaders of the Kanto region which Ash faces off against in the original anime. Blaineās Charizard is a unique card, featuring the fire-type Gym Leaderās face backed by the Gymās Volcano Badge on the lower right. The Cinnabar Island Gym Leader never actually used a Charizard in his anime appearance; instead, he had a powerful trio in Ninetales, Rhydon and Magmar which Ash battles and comes out the victor. Last sold at #695 in a PSA-9, PSA-10 graded cards trade regularly between $6500 and $7500 ā in and around 5x the market value one year ago.
2000 Team Rocket Dark Charizard
The prior expansion to the aforementioned Gym Challenge was called Team Rocket and was dedicated to PokĆ©mon that had been raised without love and attention; hereby known as āDarkā PokĆ©mon which were denoted by their name as well as minor colour revisions to their respective cards. Dark PokĆ©mon had higher attack damage but lower HP compared to their regular counterparts, which is believed to be the effects of a violent or ill-willed trainer. Dark Charizard made an appearance in both Holo and Non-Holo variants, both of which are framed with a darker brown artwork window rather than the traditional yellow. This expansion also featured the PokĆ©mon TCGās first Secret Rare by way of a Dark Raichu, which alongside Dark Blastoise and Dark Dragonite are the best pulls aside from the iconic Charizard. The Non-Holo and Holo variants in PSA-9 last traded at Ā£364 and Ā£1,409 respectively.
2002 Neo Destiny āShining Charizardā
Based on PokĆ©mon Gold and Silver, the Neo-series featured second-generation PokĆ©mon, with the Neo Destiny expansion, in particular, introducing Light PokĆ©mon. Neo Destiny, as the name suggests, revolves around the destiny a PokĆ©mon has based on its trainer – as well as Light PokĆ©mon, the set included Dark PokĆ©mon which fulfilled an āevilā destiny as a result of their trainer. Shining Charizard followed on from earlier Shining cards which depicted PokĆ©mon in their shiny form for the first time; first introduced in Neo Revelation, the cards featured a non-holofoil background while the PokĆ©mon itself was given a glossy, foil appearance. This card in particular documents a dark silhouette of Charizard flying away from the viewer.
2003 Skyridge Crystal Charizard-Holo
Skyridge was the third and final expansion of the PokĆ©mon TCGās e-Card series and was made up of 150 cards from the Japanese expansions Split Earth and Mysterious Mountains, continuing on from the mega-rare Aquapolis expansion with Crystal-type PokĆ©mon. The Crystal PokĆ©mon are widely slated as analogues to the earlier released āShiningā PokĆ©mon, and are all extremely difficult to get a hold of in the modern world. The Crystal-type Charizard cardās art is a cartoonish depiction of the fire-type starter, backed with a dazzling, bright holographic foil. The card last sold in a PSA-9 for Ā£3,000 on our platform, and PSA-10 graded examples now regularly fetch upwards of Ā£14,000 ā a massive growth from triple-digit prices observed only three years ago.
2017 Burning Shadows Charizard GX
One of Charizardās most detailed depictions in the PokĆ©mon TCG shows the winged lizard lunging at the viewer, baring fangs and claws as well as being completely surrounded by flames. The Burning Shadows expansion released as a tie-in to the premiere of “I Choose You!, The 20th PokĆ©mon Movie”, which was produced as a loose remake of the original anime for its 20th anniversary.
2019 Hidden Fates (Regular/Shiny/Super Rare Charizard)
Hidden Fates saw a huge number of cards release, 94 of which were part of a āShiny Vaultā similar to the aforementioned expansions. The two Charizard cards included in the set were hugely popular. #9 sees a Charizard GX posed akin to that seen in original PokĆ©mon battles, while the shiny-vaulted #SV49 showed a similarly posed black Charizard variant which was originally released in Japan as a part of the GX Ultra Shiny A Secret Rare iteration of the shiny was produced as part of the Burning Shadows expansion (#150) featuring the widely sought after textured rainbow print. All three iterations are available, with the regular, shiny, and secret rare Charizard in PSA-10 last sold at Ā£138, Ā£962 and Ā£2,040 respectively.
2020 Charizard VMAX (Darkness Ablaze/Champions Path/Shining Fates)
Originally released in the Darkness Ablaze expansion, one dedicated to demonstrating the power of Gigantamax PokĆ©mon and making them playable in the TCG, the card later saw a Rainbow/Secret Rare Charizard in Championās Path and a Shiny version in Shining Fates. The Rainbow Rare variant was available in Japan prior to its widespread release through a number of Charizard HR Competitions, seeing trainers construct a 40-card deck on the fly from only ten packs of cards; the overall winners of said competitions were gifted the Japanese card, as early as a full three months before the September launch of Champions Path. The regular, shiny and secret rare Charizard actively trade on the secondary market, with PSA-10 graded cards selling for aproximately between Ā£200 and Ā£700.
2020 Charizard V (Championās Path)
In 2020, Pokemon TCG released an Elite Trainer Box centred around the franchiseās poster boy Charizard, and one of the best cards to pull from the Champions Path expansion is without a doubt the Shiny Charizard V. Illustrated by 5ban Graphics, this variation is an adaption from the Charizard V Black Star Promo which accompanied every Championās Path purchase. Charizardās shiny form is easily observed here, being only minutely obscured by gold stars signifying its rarity – just as shiny PokĆ©mon shimmer on appearance in the video game series. The secret-rare card last sold at Ā£525 in a PSA-10.
2021 Daniel Arsham Crystalized Charizard Card Sculpture
The New York-based artist continuously draws from the PokĆ©mon universe for his work; early 2020 saw Arshamās Time Dilation exhibit at Perrotin feature statues of PokĆ©mon alongside classical sculptures, all in his now signature āErodedā styling which sees crystalline formations visible through erosion on resin. More recently Arsham released a piece paying homage to the hallowed Base Set 1st-edition Charizard in his familiar art style, with a 2.4kg, 30cm tall pink resin rendition of the now legendary 1999 card. A 500-strong production run keeps the piece awfully limited, and with Arsham quickly becoming a titan in the art world, the demand was insatiable upon release.
