The Blastoise 1st Edition Base Set card (2/102) is one of the most sought-after vintage Pokemon cards in the hobby, with PSA 9 copies selling in the range of $6,233 to $8,350 based on recent auction data from late 2025. A PSA 10 Gem Mint copy, when one surfaces at all, can command north of $20,000. As one of the original “Big 3” alongside Charizard and Venusaur, Blastoise carries a weight in the collecting community that goes beyond raw dollar figures — it appeared on the original Base Set booster pack artwork, making it one of the first Pokemon cards many collectors ever laid eyes on.
This card has a deep and active market. PSA has tracked 824 auction sales with a combined value of $2,231,049.62, which tells you this is not some niche collectible sitting in forgotten binders. People are buying, selling, and grading Blastoise 1st Editions regularly. In this article, we will break down exactly what makes this card valuable, how to identify a genuine 1st Edition print, what the grading landscape looks like, and where prices might be heading.
Table of Contents
- What Makes the Blastoise First Edition Base Set Card So Valuable?
- How to Identify a Genuine 1st Edition Blastoise and Avoid Costly Mistakes
- PSA Grading and Population Data for Blastoise 1st Edition
- Blastoise vs. Charizard and Venusaur — Where Does It Stand Among the Big 3?
- Common Pitfalls When Buying or Selling Blastoise 1st Edition
- The Role of Booster Pack Artwork in Blastoise’s Iconic Status
- Where Blastoise 1st Edition Prices Could Go From Here
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Makes the Blastoise First Edition Base Set Card So Valuable?
Three things drive the value of the blastoise 1st Edition: nostalgia, scarcity, and gameplay significance. Released on January 9, 1999, as part of the very first English Pokemon TCG set, this Holo Rare was printed in limited quantities before the Unlimited run flooded the market. The 1st Edition stamp — located on the left side of the card just below the artwork — marks it as part of that initial print run. Compared to Unlimited copies that can be picked up for a fraction of the cost, the 1st Edition carries a massive premium because of how few were produced. From a gameplay perspective, Blastoise was genuinely powerful in the early metagame. Its Pokemon Power, Rain Dance, allowed players to attach additional Water Energy cards to their Water-type Pokemon beyond the normal one-per-turn limit.
Paired with its Hydro Pump attack — 40 base damage plus 10 for each extra Water Energy attached beyond the three required — a loaded Blastoise could deal serious damage. This made “Rain Dance” one of the defining deck archetypes in competitive play during the late 1990s. That competitive legacy adds another layer of desirability for collectors who remember piloting those decks. It also helps that Blastoise was illustrated by Ken Sugimori, the original character designer for the entire Pokemon franchise. Sugimori’s clean, iconic art style defined what Pokemon looked like for an entire generation, and the Blastoise illustration on this card is unmistakably his work. Cards with Sugimori artwork from the Base Set hold a special status that later illustrators, no matter how talented, simply cannot replicate.
How to Identify a Genuine 1st Edition Blastoise and Avoid Costly Mistakes
The most important identifier on a 1st Edition Blastoise is the small black stamp that reads “Edition 1” with a number “1” inside a circle, positioned on the left-center of the card below the artwork frame. If that stamp is missing, you are looking at either a Shadowless or Unlimited print — both of which are worth considerably less. The Shadowless variant, printed shortly after the 1st Edition run, lacks the stamp but also lacks the drop shadow on the right side of the artwork box that Unlimited prints have. Confusing a Shadowless for a 1st Edition is a common and expensive mistake. However, if you are buying raw (ungraded) cards, authentication becomes a real concern. Counterfeit 1st Edition Base Set cards exist, and some are convincing enough to fool casual buyers.
red flags include slightly off-color printing, a 1st Edition stamp that looks too thick or too thin compared to authenticated examples, and cardstock that feels different from genuine Wizards of the Coast product. The safest route is to buy cards that have already been graded and encapsulated by psa, BGS, or CGC. The cost of grading provides a layer of verification that protects both buyer and seller. One limitation worth noting: even authenticated cards can have condition issues that dramatically affect value. A PSA 7 Blastoise 1st Edition trades for a fraction of a PSA 9. Surface scratches on the holo, whitening on the card edges, and centering issues are the most common problems that knock grades down. If you are considering buying a raw copy with the intent to grade, examine it under bright, direct light and check all four edges with magnification before committing.
PSA Grading and Population Data for Blastoise 1st Edition
Grading is where the real price separation happens with this card. A PSA 9 Mint Blastoise 1st Edition sold for $8,350 on December 1, 2025, while another copy moved at $6,233 just a few months earlier in September 2025. That range of roughly $6,000 to $8,500 reflects normal market fluctuation for a card at this level — auction timing, the number of competing listings, and broader market sentiment all play a role in final sale prices. PSA 10 Gem Mint copies are a different animal entirely. Estimated at $20,000 or more when they appear, PSA 10 Blastoise 1st Editions are genuinely scarce. The population data — meaning the total number of copies that have received a PSA 10 grade — is extremely low relative to the number submitted.
For a card printed in 1999 on cardstock that was not engineered for preservation, achieving a perfect 10 requires that the card survived over two decades without meaningful wear. Many cards that look flawless to the naked eye still receive a 9 due to microscopic surface imperfections or centering that falls just outside PSA’s tight tolerances. For context, consider that 824 tracked auction sales have generated over $2.2 million in total transaction volume for this card. That is a level of liquidity that most vintage collectibles across any category simply do not have. If you own a graded Blastoise 1st Edition, you can sell it. Finding a buyer is not the problem — agreeing on price is.
Blastoise vs. Charizard and Venusaur — Where Does It Stand Among the Big 3?
Blastoise, Charizard, and Venusaur form the trio of fully evolved Kanto starters in the Base Set, and collectors often refer to them as the “Big 3.” But this is not a group of equals in terms of market price. Charizard 1st Edition is the undisputed king, with PSA 10 copies selling for six figures and even PSA 9 copies commanding significantly more than a comparable Blastoise. Venusaur, on the other hand, typically trails behind Blastoise in value, making Blastoise the middle child of the group. That positioning actually works in Blastoise’s favor for certain collectors. Charizard has been priced out of reach for many people, and the hype surrounding it attracts speculative buyers who may not have deep roots in the hobby. Blastoise offers a more accessible entry point into high-end 1st Edition Base Set collecting without sacrificing the prestige of owning one of the original Holo Rares.
A PSA 9 Blastoise at $6,000 to $8,000 is a meaningful collectible that represents the best of the original set, and it does so at a price point that does not require a second mortgage. The tradeoff is upside potential. Charizard gets the media attention, the record-breaking auction headlines, and the crossover appeal to people who do not even collect Pokemon cards. Blastoise is unlikely to ever generate that same level of mainstream buzz. If you are collecting for personal satisfaction and historical significance, Blastoise is a strong choice. If you are purely speculating on future appreciation, the calculus is more complicated.
Common Pitfalls When Buying or Selling Blastoise 1st Edition
The biggest risk for buyers is overpaying for a card in a condition that does not justify the price. Raw 1st Edition Blastoise cards are frequently listed on secondary marketplaces with optimistic descriptions like “near mint” or “mint condition” that do not hold up under professional grading. A card described as near mint by a seller might come back as a PSA 7 or even lower, and at that point the value drops off sharply compared to what you paid. Unless you have significant experience evaluating card condition, buying pre-graded is the safer play. For sellers, the main pitfall is poor timing and venue selection.
Auction houses and platforms that specialize in Pokemon cards — such as PWCC, Heritage Auctions, or even eBay’s authenticated listings — tend to attract buyers willing to pay market rates. Selling through general marketplaces or local shops often means leaving money on the table. The difference between selling a PSA 9 Blastoise for $5,000 at a local card shop versus $8,000 through a competitive auction is significant enough to justify the patience and listing fees involved. One warning for anyone considering cracking a graded slab to resubmit for a higher grade: this is a gamble that frequently does not pay off. If your PSA 9 comes back as a PSA 8 on the second attempt, you have destroyed value that cannot be easily recovered. Regrading only makes sense when you have strong reason to believe the card was undergraded, and even then, the risk is real.
The Role of Booster Pack Artwork in Blastoise’s Iconic Status
Blastoise appeared on the original Base Set booster pack wrapper, which means it was quite literally the face of the first English Pokemon card product millions of children encountered. That visual association between Blastoise and the booster pack creates a nostalgic connection that other Holo Rares from the same set simply do not have. When people picture a Pokemon booster pack from the late 1990s, many of them picture Blastoise.
That kind of brand recognition within the hobby is difficult to quantify but impossible to ignore when evaluating long-term collectibility. This is a factor that separates Blastoise from many other high-value cards in the set. Cards like Alakazam, Chansey, and Mewtwo are all desirable 1st Edition Holos, but none of them carried the weight of representing the entire product line on store shelves across the country.
Where Blastoise 1st Edition Prices Could Go From Here
The vintage Pokemon card market has matured significantly since the pandemic-era boom of 2020 and 2021. Prices corrected from those speculative highs, and what remains is a more stable, collector-driven market. Blastoise 1st Edition has shown resilience through that correction — the fact that PSA 9 copies are still moving in the $6,000 to $8,000 range suggests a solid floor supported by genuine demand rather than hype.
Looking ahead, the supply of high-grade 1st Edition Blastoise cards is essentially fixed. No new copies are being printed, and the number of surviving cards in gradable condition shrinks over time as raw copies suffer damage from handling, storage, and environmental exposure. If demand holds steady or grows — driven by millennial nostalgia, the continued expansion of the Pokemon franchise, and increasing mainstream acceptance of trading cards as collectibles — prices for top-grade copies have room to appreciate. Nothing in this market is guaranteed, but the fundamentals for Blastoise 1st Edition are about as strong as they get for a vintage Pokemon card.
Conclusion
The Blastoise 1st Edition Base Set card occupies a rare position in the Pokemon collecting world. It is historically significant as one of the original Big 3 and as the face of the first booster pack, it has a deep and liquid market with over $2.2 million in tracked sales, and it remains accessible enough that serious collectors can actually acquire one.
PSA 9 copies trading between $6,233 and $8,350 represent a substantial but attainable investment in one of the hobby’s foundational cards. Whether you are a longtime collector looking to add a cornerstone piece to your vintage set or a newer enthusiast trying to understand what makes certain cards worth thousands of dollars, the Blastoise 1st Edition is a case study in how nostalgia, scarcity, condition, and cultural significance combine to create lasting value. Do your homework on grading, buy from reputable sources, and understand that this card’s story is still being written with every auction that closes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a Blastoise 1st Edition Base Set card worth?
It depends heavily on condition and grading. PSA 9 copies have recently sold for $6,233 to $8,350, while PSA 10 Gem Mint copies are estimated at $20,000 or more. Raw, ungraded copies in good condition sell for significantly less than graded examples.
How can I tell if my Blastoise is a 1st Edition?
Look for the 1st Edition stamp on the left side of the card, just below the artwork frame. It features a “1” inside a circle with the word “Edition.” If the stamp is absent, you have either a Shadowless or Unlimited print.
What is the difference between Shadowless and 1st Edition Blastoise?
Both were printed early in the Base Set run, but the 1st Edition has the Edition stamp and was produced first. The Shadowless variant lacks both the stamp and the drop shadow on the right side of the artwork box that Unlimited cards have. Shadowless cards are more valuable than Unlimited but less valuable than 1st Edition.
Is Blastoise 1st Edition a good investment?
No collectible comes with guaranteed returns, but Blastoise 1st Edition has shown strong market resilience with 824 tracked auction sales totaling over $2.2 million. The fixed supply and ongoing demand from nostalgic collectors provide solid fundamentals, though prices can fluctuate based on broader market conditions.
Why is Blastoise worth less than Charizard from the same set?
Charizard has broader cultural recognition and crossover appeal that extends well beyond the Pokemon card collecting community. It also benefits from being the most hyped card in the hobby’s history. Blastoise is highly valued within collector circles but does not generate the same mainstream attention or speculative demand.
Should I get my Blastoise 1st Edition graded?
If the card is in strong condition with clean edges, a scratch-free holo surface, and decent centering, grading through PSA can significantly increase its market value and provide authentication. However, if the card has visible wear, grading may not be worth the cost, as lower grades carry much smaller premiums.
