Rare Charizard One of the First Pokémon Topsun Cards Graded by CGC Trading Cards

When CGC Trading Cards® recently began certifying Pokémon Topsun cards, the graders were thrilled to encounter a valuable Charizard Pokémon (1997) Topsun Original Series card. Not only is the Charizard a rarity within the Japanese-exclusive Topsun set, it’s also the most valuable card in the series.

After going through CGC Trading Cards’ multi-step authentication, grading and encapsulation process, the card came out with a CGC Pristine 10 grade, with sub-grades of 9.5 for Centering, 10 for Surface, 10 for Corners and 10 for Edges.

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Pokémon Topsun was a promotional trading card series produced by Top Seika; a popular Japanese media company known for their collaborations with Japanese candy brands. Topsun cards were included in packs of apple-flavored bubble gum. A full set includes 150 cards — one for each of the original 150 Pokémon, excluding Mew.

Because the Topsun cards date to the earliest years of the Pokémon franchise, the collecting community considers them highly interesting and valuable. The #006 Charizard is no exception. This example is also a first print edition, indicated by the blue backing exclusive to first-print Topsun cards and a lack of set number.

CGC Trading Cards is now accepting all Pokémon Topsun cards for authentication, grading and encapsulation. For more information on how to submit your cards, click here.