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To collectors, few items are more prized than Pokemon Error Cards. These prints may often look ordinary, but there’s something amiss with them. Whether it’s something tiny like missing a symbol, or it’s two completely different cards due to a cutting error, there are some truly valuable pieces of memorabilia out there. These types of cards are also exceedingly rare, and are often graded by the PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) to prove their legitimacy.
We searched for the rarest, most valuable Pokemon Error Cards that you can purchase on eBay. These are specific cards that are available now, though these are also types of errors you could see on other cards. You might have some misprints among your collection as well.
Note: There are other cards that may be selling for more, but we are only using listings that have an “Authenticity Guarantee” stamp on them.
What are Pokemon Error Cards?
Pokemon Error Cards are misprints. They have issues somewhere along the lines when it comes to the printing process, and are missed by quality control. All card games, from Magic to Yu-Gi-Oh see these kinds of mistakes. They’re often worth a good amount of money to collectors as well. As you’ll see in this list, people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for these unique problem cards.
There are dozens of error types. You might see ink stains, cards cut in weird ways, or information simply being left off. However, some of these are more common than others.
10) Pikachu Red Cheeks ($5,500)
While you may have to occasionally look hard to spot an error, this Pokemon Error Card jumps out immediately. Pikachu’s cheeks on this First Edition item are red, instead of yellow. This is a noticeable difference, but only if you’re familiar with the original print.
Pikachu’s cheeks are red now, but on the first print of the card, they were not. Subsequent versions, however, do have the red cheeks.
9) Mew Movie Promo Multiple Errors ($7,000)
This Pokemon Error Card is a pretty wild one, and what makes it special is that it has quite a few errors. It would likely be worth more if it were graded, but this one doesn’t appear to be. This Movie Promo Mew card has a silver line going across the card, alongside a gold oval-shaped ink error, and several others.
These cards were only printed in limited quantities during the time of the first Pokemon Movie, so if you didn’t get one then, they could run for a decent price. This Ancient Mew, however, is worth way more for the various printing errors it features.
8) Japanese Shiny Charizard Ink Error ($7,500)
From the Plasma Gale set, we have a unique Shiny version of Charizard. Normally a blueish hue, this Pokemon Error Card has an inky black color instead. While it does admittedly look quite cool, this isn’t what the card is supposed to look like.
In addition to the dark-colored body, his inner wings and belly are also darkened by the ink, completing this Pokemon Error Card. Normally, the inner wings are a red color, and the torso closer to white or beige.
7) Vaporeon No Expansion Symbol ($9,000, $11,700.00 buyout)
The value of these cards is only going to soar from here. This one would be a place higher, but I haven't counted the buyout price as it could wind up changing as bids come in. This holo Vaporeon looks perfect in every way, except for one tiny flaw.
You might miss this Pokemon Error Card’s issue at first glance, like I did. It’s lacking both the logo for the expansion under the card art and the “First Edition” stamp that many of those cards had. With that in mind, there are certainly individuals willing to spend a great deal to own this adorable Eevee evolution.
6) Haunter Blue Ink Stain ($9,999)
Ink stains aren’t uncommon among Pokemon Error Cards, but this one’s a deliberate splotch of blue ink right on the card. At first glance you could miss it, but look at the border of the card art. You can see the blue splotches running down the yellow of the border.
Everything else about this Ghost-type Pokemon is perfectly normal, and otherwise probably wouldn’t be worth very much. That simple ink blot makes it worth nearly 10,000 dollars.
5) Dragonite Inverted Stamp Black Star Promo ($15,000)
Black Star Promo cards are often limited-release versions of cards for special events. Typically, they’re aligned with the Pokemon League and the various films that came out. Dragonite was one of the five promo cards for the Pokemon movie Mewtwo Strikes Back.
What makes this Pokemon Error Card special is that the stamp is upside down. It’s incredibly obvious upon first glance. These cards were already limited in number, but to give one an error only increases its value.
4) Mew Holo Pop Upside Down Back ($19,999.98)
This Mew Holo looks perfectly normal as well. The card art is appropriate, and there are no ink stains, misalignments, or weird cuts. Mew’s card even looks mostly normal if you turn it over. The logo is there, but there’s something amiss - The Pokeball is upside down!
This card from 2007 is worth nearly 20,000 dollars thanks to that simple card error. It’s peculiar how such a thing could occur so rarely in a card sheet printing, but it’s there for the world to see. If you want the most valuable Mew card in existence, it’s likely going to be this one.
3) Bulbasaur Card Incorrect Stat Wording ($24,000)
I admittedly had a hard time figuring out exactly what was wrong with this card when I looked at it on the listing page. It’s a perfectly fine version of Bulbasaur. The art and stats are just fine, but when you look closely at the height/weight line, you’ll see “Length” referenced twice, instead of Length/Weight.
It’s a very curious printing error. That’s what makes some of these so interesting and rare. It’s hard to explain how this could even happen in a one-off, or even a few times in a printing set. Perhaps there was a sheet of them, and they didn’t all get disposed of. Either way, it’s a 20K+ Bulbasaur.
2) Misty's Determination half pure foil misprint ($50,000)
This entry on eBay came with a video to show exactly what the problem with this unique Pokemon Error Card is. According to the seller on the platform, this card was cut incorrectly and had extra paper folded up on the main card. Part of the foil was printed on that folded-up paper, and part was on the regular print of the card.
As far as errors go, it’s certainly unique. I’ve never seen a misprint look anything like this, which certainly explains its $50,000 asking price.
1) Pokemon Albino Coating Energy card ($61,000)
This version of Coating Energy is the most expensive, authenticity guaranteed card we found on eBay. It’s a pretty simple misprint, though. The seller reportedly went through 8,000 Pokemon cards to find this particular blunder.
The front of the card looks fine enough, but the back of it has no color. In a way, it’s fitting, since it matches the look of the front, but the classic Pokemon card back has no color at all. It’s a really unusual piece, and one worth adding to a collection of Pokemon Error Cards without a doubt.
These types of cards are becoming rarer as the years go on. As printing systems improve, it will become harder to spot such items. With that in mind, it’s likely that the value of misprint cards will only go up in the future.
