Are your Pokémon cards worth millions? Here's what to look for.

Fans of Pokémon growing up might have thousands of dollars sitting in storage somewhere.

As nostalgic fans celebrate Pokémon's 30th anniversary, with Pokémon Day honored on Friday, Feb. 27, they might feel the urge to dive into their past collections of Pokémon trading cards and collectibles.

They also might be surprised to learn that those cards could hold more value than just childhood memories, authenticators say, with some rare editions reselling for thousands.

For fans tempted to peek back at their old collections, here's how to determine whether your old Pokémon trading cards could earn you some money.

What should I look for in my Pokémon cards?

Before learning the prices of collectible Pokémon cards, fans need to authenticate and grade them, which means an expert must examine the cards to determine how close they are to "perfect" condition via a designated grading scale that often goes from 1 to 10. The higher the grade, the higher the potential price it can sell for.

Jonathan Holloway, founder of Pokémon card authentication and pre-grading company Validoe, told USA TODAY that fake cards are abundant in the market, so the authenticity of the cards should be ensured before grading, which often comes at a price. Real cards should have a vibrant, holographic pattern, he said. After being authenticated, the condition of the cards should be considered.

"If someone has Pokémon cards, it's been 30 years, it's been 20 years, sitting in their mom's basement or sitting in their mom's attic, the first thing that I would recommend is for someone to look at the cards," Holloway said. "You want to look at the condition of the cards, because I think that's the biggest indicator around the value that the card can potentially experience."

According to Holloway, cards are usually assessed by observing four specific areas during grading: centering, surface, edges, and corners.

• Centering refers to the balance of the borders on the front and the back of the card. The ratio of border to center of the card can determine how high the card is graded.
• Surfaces are examined to determine how clean the card is, including the holographic element, the artwork, and the text. Imperfections and clarity are also looked for.
• Edges at the perimeter of the card are observed to see if there are any nicks or marks on the back or front.
• Corners are examined to determine whether all four corners of the card are symmetrical, sharp, or if they have any white spots or dings/marks.

At some companies, like Holloway's, you can also get the cards pre-graded to see whether they are in good enough condition to be sent off for official grading. This helps less-experienced collectors and increases their confidence, he added.

Which Pokémon cards are sought after?

Arguably, the most sought-after Pokémon cards are known as the "base set," or the first original set of Pokémon cards produced in the late 1990s. There are a few base set editions, including first edition cards. Base set cards can be identified by looking in the bottom right corner and spotting a number out of 102.

If you collected the cards in the 1990s, there's a chance those cards could be from the base set, Holloway said.

"These are various versions of the same cards. But the key thing, though, is the ones that are the most popular in terms of potential next value would be the base set, first edition," Holloway said. "Because if you can find a base set first edition Charizard that is in pristine condition, now you're talking six figures."

Simon Hancox, director of card grading company and marketplace website TC Grader, shared a similar sentiment, adding that original Pokémon Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur are "always going to be the most expensive cards throughout everybody's collection."

Hancox, who's been a fan and collector of Pokémon for decades, said the value of base set cards prompted people to go digging back through their collections starting in the early 2010s. Before that, kids, including himself, would write their names on cards without a worry about keeping them collectible.

The Pokémon community experienced a big boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn skyrocketed card values, he said.

"Now in the industry, people are buying the products, keeping them sealed, and they're hoarding them," Hancox said. "So, whether this phenomenon is going to be the same in 10 or 15 years, because everyone is now collecting them, it's hard to tell."

Logan Paul sells rare Pokémon card for $16.5 million

One card, YouTuber Logan Paul's rare PSA 10-graded Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card, sold this month at Goldin Auctions for nearly $16.5 million. The sale broke the Guinness World Record for the most expensive Pokémon card sold at auction, making it the second time Paul and this specific card have broken a world record.

Paul initially purchased the card in Dubai for $5,275,000 in 2021, setting the Guinness World Record for the most expensive Pokémon card sold at a private sale, according to a Guinness World Records news release.

Solari Capital Founder AJ Scaramucci was the lucky purchaser and is now the owner of the rare card, according to a Goldin news release. 

The culture around Pokémon card collecting

Hancox expects the 30th anniversary to spark another spike in card value and cause fans to rummage through their old cards to see how much they are worth. Anniversaries tend to bring back past collectors and inspire them to buy new packs of cards, he said.

"Once it starts hitting the mainstream news that the 30th anniversary is coming up and the more propaganda is going to go around, one hundred percent you'll have all of those old school collectors all coming back," Hancox said. "Even people who were collecting like five, six years ago, they'll be coming back to regrade their cards purely because there'll be new people coming into the hobby."

The 30th anniversary also gives parents who were once card collectors a chance to share the hobby with their own children, he added.

"When the 30th anniversary comes around, it's just an extra opportunity to now open packs for your kids and get them involved in the collecting and how fun it is, and even the (trading card) board games," Hancox said.

In a similar vein, the nostalgic feeling the cards and Pokémon stories create in people draws them back into the world, Holloway said.

"Most of those kids are adults now. They have money, disposable money, that they can now go and build their own collections, that they couldn't build when they were younger," Halloway said. "Not only that, but then Pokémon is always reinventing. People can't get away from the nostalgia of the brand."

Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] or on X @katecperez_.