A 4th print Charizard is far rarer than a standard Unlimited Charizard, not less rare. In the graded record it turns up roughly once for every 125 to 250 Unlimited copies: CGC has graded 60 against 14,801 and TAG 9 against 1,422, and PSA held about 484 against more than 62,400 in September 2024.
Here 4th print means the Base Set Charizard 4/102 whose copyright line, at the bottom of the card, reads 1999-2000; collectors also call it the UK print. Unlimited means the standard card with a drop shadow beside the art box, a 1999 copyright line and no 1st Edition stamp, the small black Edition 1 mark on the earliest print. An earlier version of this page said the 4th print was the less rare of the two. Every grader with a count of both cards shows the opposite.
As of October 6, 2026: CGC has 60 4th print Charizards against 14,801 standard Unlimited copies (0.41%). TAG has 9 against 1,422 (0.63%). PSA held about 484 against more than 62,400 in September 2024 (about 0.78%), the newest PSA pair available. CGC has graded two 4th prints at Gem Mint 10, against 296 tens on its Unlimited line.
Wizards of the Coast never published a print run for either card. Asked in a January 2000 chat whether it releases print run statistics, it said: “Though we are a publicly held company, we are not obligated to release that sort of information.” Pokemon Pricing’s own estimate for the 1999-2000 print, built step by step with every assumption shown in how many 4th print Charizards were printed, is about 15,000 Charizards, within a range of about 10,000 to 50,000. For the standard card, see how many Unlimited Base Set Charizards were printed.
4th print Charizard vs Unlimited: what the graders count
Three graders give a count of both cards. Each share below is our arithmetic on one grader’s own figures: 4th print copies divided by standard Unlimited copies.
| Grader | 4th print Charizards | Standard Unlimited Charizards | 4th print share | One 4th print per | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CGC | 60 | 14,801 | 0.41% | 247 Unlimited | October 6, 2026 |
| TAG | 9 | 1,422 | 0.63% | 158 Unlimited | October 6, 2026 |
| PSA | about 484 (collector’s figure) | more than 62,400 (Goldin lot) | about 0.78% | about 129 Unlimited | September 2024 |
| BGS | at least 18 at grade 8.5 or higher | not available | not available | not available | February 2026 |
| SGC | not available | not available | not available | not available | not read |
CGC files the card as 4/102 Charizard (2000) 1999-2000 Holo, a separate line inside its Base Set Unlimited report, next to the standard Charizard (1999) Holo. TAG goes further and keeps a separate set, 2000 WOTC Pokémon Base Set 1999-2000, apart from its 1999 Base Set. Both reports are public and were read on October 6, 2026.
PSA’s report now needs a login, so its pair comes from two sources in the same month. Jon Free, described by Richard Winterton Auctioneers as one of the world’s largest collectors of fourth print cards, cited “484 total fourth print PSA-graded Charizards against 4,229 total first edition Charizards” in September 2024. A Goldin lot that closed the same month put PSA’s Unlimited Charizards at more than 62,400. PSA’s Unlimited count has kept growing, to more than 105,365 in a Goldin listing open this month, but no newer PSA count of the 4th print has been published, so the PSA share cannot be brought up to date.
Beckett grades the print as its own set, Pokemon Base Fourth Print. A BGS 8.5 sold on Fanatics Collect in February 2026 carried the note “BGS Population 1 of 10 – Eight Graded Higher”, so at least 18 copies sit at 8.5 or above. Beckett’s own report was offline, and SGC’s sits behind a reCAPTCHA.
The three usable shares sit close together: 0.41%, 0.63% and about 0.78%, or roughly one 4th print for every 125 to 250 standard Unlimited Charizards. Two biases pull in opposite directions. Many owners never look at the copyright line, and PSA warned in 2019 that it “started recognizing certain varieties within specific sets long after the company began grading the issue”, so some 4th prints may sit in its plain count; both push the share down. The 4th print can sell at a premium, which gives owners more reason to grade it and pushes the share up. Neither effect has been measured.
These are counts of slabs, not cards. PSA says collectors “crack out their cards to have them signed, resubmit, or sell raw”, so one card can be counted twice, and raw copies are not counted at all. Our Base Set Charizard population report sets every printing side by side.
Side by side: the 4th print and Unlimited Charizard compared
The two cards share art, number and layout. One line of small print, the graders’ filing and the counts separate them.
| Feature | 4th print (1999-2000) | Standard Unlimited (1999) |
|---|---|---|
| Copyright line | 1999-2000 | 1999 |
| Drop shadow beside the art box | Yes | Yes |
| 1st Edition stamp | No | No |
| Colour | A bit lighter, per CGC | Standard |
| Issued | UK market, per CGC (see below) | The standard English print |
| CGC files it as | Charizard (2000) 1999-2000 Holo, inside Base Set – Unlimited | Charizard (1999) Holo, same set |
| TAG files it as | Separate set: Base Set 1999-2000 | 1999 WOTC Pokémon Base Set |
| BGS files it as | Separate set: Pokemon Base Fourth Print | Not read; Beckett’s report was offline |
| PSA files it as | Unclear (see the PSA section below) | Charizard-Holo, no variety |
| Graded: CGC / TAG / PSA | 60 / 9 / about 484 | 14,801 / 1,422 / more than 62,400 |
| CGC 10s | 2 Gem Mint 10; no Pristine or Perfect 10 | 296: 1 Perfect, 11 Pristine, 284 Gem Mint |
| TAG top grades | No 10; the best is a single 9 | Two 10s and 47 at grade 9 |
| PSA 10s | Six recognised, per the collector (September 2024) | 489 (PSA data, August 2025) |
| BGS top grades | No 9.5 or 10, per the auction house (September 2024) | Not read |
| Sales found | PSA 9: $2,070 and $3,595 (August 2025). PSA 1: $725 (September 2026) | PSA 10: $10,065 (September 2024); $23,400 to $27,500 (May to August 2026) |
Where the 4th print was sold rests on second-hand accounts. CGC says the 1999-2000 set “was a variant that was issued for the UK market”. Hansons, which auctioned a sealed 1999-2000 booster box in 2023, said the box “was only released in the UK.” Jon Free told the Winterton release that fourth print boxes and packs also came from the USA and Australia, but held only ordinary Unlimited holos. None of these is a Wizards statement.
The top grades show the gap most starkly. CGC’s plain Unlimited line holds 296 tens of all three kinds; its 1999-2000 line holds two. TAG has graded 1,422 Unlimited Charizards with two 10s among them, and nine 4th prints with nothing above a 9. In September 2024 the Winterton release counted six recognised PSA 10 4th prints, against 489 Unlimited PSA 10s in PSA’s CardFacts data archived in August 2025, and said that “there are no BGS 9.5 or 10s in existence” for the 4th print.
The sales lines are sales found, not records, and not at the same grade: our sources hold no public 4th print PSA 10 sale and no Unlimited PSA 9 sale, so no like-for-like premium can be shown.
Is Charizard typical? The cross-card check
If collectors graded 4th print Charizards far more, or far less, eagerly than other 1999-2000 holos, Charizard’s share would stand out. It does not. Across the 15 Base Set holos with a 1999-2000 line, CGC has graded 475 1999-2000 copies against 91,585 Unlimited copies, or 0.52%. TAG’s holos come to 29 against 5,354, or 0.54%.
Card by card at CGC, the holos run from 0.27% (Venusaur, 23 of 8,509) to 0.61% (Magneton, 24 of 3,934). Low-demand holos such as Chansey (0.28%) and Clefairy (0.36%) sit inside that band, and so does Charizard at 0.41%. The one holo well above it is Mewtwo, at 0.97%. The 4th print Charizard is scarce in the same proportion as the set’s other 1999-2000 holos; nothing marks it out as a special short print.
Holo vs non-holo: why a 4th print common is not rare in the same way
The 1999-2000 copyright line is not equally scarce across the set. At CGC, the six non-holo rares (cards 17 to 22, which fill the same rare slot in a pack as the holos) have 254 1999-2000 copies against 3,938 Unlimited copies, or 6.45%; Pidgeotto’s line is on the report’s second page. That is about 12 times the 0.52% share for holos.
TAG’s 1999-2000 set holds 632 non-holo slabs against 4,803 non-holo slabs in its Unlimited Base Set, or 13.2%, against 0.54% for holos. Relative to its Unlimited twin, then, a 1999-2000 holo is roughly 12 to 24 times scarcer than a 1999-2000 non-holo.
For a buyer, that is the useful line. Graders hold one 4th print Charizard for every 125 to 250 Unlimited copies, but one 1999-2000 non-holo for every 8 to 16 Unlimited twins. A 1999-2000 copyright on a common, an uncommon or a non-holo rare is a real variant, not a scarce one in the way the holo is, so the 4th print label on a non-holo listing carries far less weight.
The split fits what Jon Free told the Winterton release: that “the holographic cards were only printed in the UK for around two weeks” and that “only around 20 per cent of UK boxes contain them”. He gave no source for either figure, so both are one collector’s claims. The graded data supports the direction, scarce holos and plentiful non-holos, without confirming either number.
How to tell if your Charizard is a 4th print
- Read the copyright line first. It is the small print along the bottom of the card. CGC says the 1999-2000 cards “carry the 1999-2000 copyright date at the bottom of each card”; as Hansons told the BBC, “Other base set cards are stamped 1999.”
- Check the shadow and the stamp. A 4th print has the drop shadow on the right edge of the art box and no 1st Edition stamp, exactly like Unlimited. These checks rule out 1st Edition and Shadowless (the early unstamped print with no shadow) but cannot separate a 4th print from an Unlimited card.
- Use colour as a hint, not a test. CGC says the print tends to be a bit lighter in color, which is hard to judge without a standard copy beside it.
- Read the slab. CGC writes Charizard (2000) 1999-2000 Holo; TAG puts it in its separate 1999-2000 set; BGS labels it Pokemon Base Fourth Print.
Why PSA slabs are a trap
PSA is where the 4th print is hardest to pin down. Its public CardFacts pages show no separate 1999-2000 entry that we could find, and its full report needs a login. On the 4th print PSA 9 sold on Fanatics Collect in August 2025, the PSA details read Year 1999, Brand Pokemon Game, Subject Charizard-Holo: the same fields as an Unlimited PSA 10 listed on the same site. The slab details alone may not tell the two apart.
Some 4th prints were also graded before PSA separated them. Jon Free counted “around four other PSA 10 Charizards from before they recognised it as a separate print run”, and PSA’s 2019 warning about late-recognised varieties applies here. So a plain PSA Charizard-Holo slab can hold a 4th print, and an auction title that says 4th print is the seller’s description, not PSA’s label; PWCC was titling PSA slabs 4th Print UK as early as 2017. The copyright line sits on the front of the card, so a sharp photo of the slab settles it either way.
Why the rarer card is not the pricier one
Rarity in a population report does not set a price. CGC’s own disclaimer says population reports “are not an indicator of value or rarity”. Demand is for Charizard the card, and a graded rarity of roughly 1 in 125 to 250 does not turn into a price 125 to 250 times higher. The 4th print sales we used all come from Fanatics Collect’s sold items; auction prices include the buyer’s premium.
| Sold | Grade | Price | Sale type |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2017 | PSA 9 | $475 | Auction (PWCC, titled 4th Print UK) |
| July 2018 | PSA 9 | $380 | Auction (PWCC) |
| June 2024 | PSA 1 | $168 | Auction |
| August 2025 | PSA 9 | $2,070 | Auction |
| August 2025 | PSA 9 | $3,595 | Buy Now |
| February 2026 | BGS 8.5 | $840 | Auction |
| September 2026 | PSA 1 | $725 | Buy Now |
On the Unlimited side, Fanatics Collect’s sales history for the PSA 10 shows $23,400 to $27,500 from May to August 2026 and $48,000 in March 2026, and Goldin sold one for $10,065 in September 2024. Those are different grades, so they do not price a 4th print premium. They do show the scale: no public 4th print sale we found comes near an Unlimited PSA 10. The top grade may be the exception, on a claim only: the Winterton release said “the last PSA 10 of this card to exchange hands sold privately for more than £40,000”. That was a private sale with no public record.
The 1st Edition shows the same thing from the other side. In graded copies, 1st Edition Charizards outnumber 4th prints: about 8.7 to 1 at PSA in Jon Free’s September 2024 figures (4,229 to 484), 10.8 to 1 at CGC (650 to 60) and 6.4 to 1 at TAG (58 to 9). Yet the 1st Edition is the more valuable card: a 1st Edition PSA 9 sold on Fanatics Collect for $15,600 in June 2023, several times what the August 2025 4th print PSA 9s fetched. These are graded ratios, not print ratios. 1st Editions are far more likely to be sent for grading because of what they sell for, and no print size for either version has been published.
For prices as they move, the Unlimited Base Set Charizard price history tracks sales from verified sold listings across eBay, TCGPlayer, Goldin, and Fanatics Collect, and the 1st Edition Charizard price history does the same for the stamped card. Our overview of how many Base Set Charizards exist covers every printing. The newest 4th print sale we found is a PSA 1 at $725, sold on Fanatics Collect in September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 4th print Charizard rarer than an Unlimited Charizard?
Yes, far rarer. In the graded record it runs at about 0.4% to 0.8% of standard Unlimited Charizards: CGC has graded 60 against 14,801 and TAG 9 against 1,422 (October 6, 2026), and PSA held about 484 against more than 62,400 in September 2024. That is roughly one 4th print for every 125 to 250 Unlimited copies.
How many 4th print Charizards have been graded?
CGC lists 60 and TAG 9 as of October 6, 2026. A collector quoted by Richard Winterton Auctioneers put PSA’s count at 484 in September 2024, and a February 2026 sale showed at least 18 at BGS grade 8.5 or higher. These are slabs, not unique cards, and SGC’s count could not be read.
How do I know if my Charizard is a 4th print?
Read the copyright line at the bottom of the card. A 4th print reads 1999-2000; a standard Unlimited card reads 1999. Both have the drop shadow beside the art box and no 1st Edition stamp, and CGC says the 4th print tends to be a bit lighter in color.
Is a 4th print Charizard worth more than an Unlimited Charizard?
Our sources hold no same-grade pair of sales, so no premium can be measured. 4th print PSA 9s sold for $2,070 and $3,595 on Fanatics Collect in August 2025, while Unlimited PSA 10s sold there for $23,400 to $27,500 from May to August 2026. Graded rarity does not set price one to one, and CGC itself says population reports are not an indicator of value or rarity.
Are 4th print common cards rare too?
Much less so than the holos. At CGC, 1999-2000 non-holo rares come to 6.45% of their Unlimited twins, and at TAG all 1999-2000 non-holos come to 13.2%, against 0.52% and 0.54% for holos. The 4th print label carries far less scarcity on a non-holo card.
Does PSA label the 4th print Charizard separately?
It could not be confirmed. A collector said in 2024 that PSA recognises the print, and auction houses title PSA slabs as 1999-2000, but the PSA details on a 4th print PSA 9 sold in August 2025 read Pokemon Game, Charizard-Holo, the same as an Unlimited slab. Copies graded before PSA separated the print may sit in its plain line.
Was the 4th print Charizard only sold in the UK?
CGC describes the 1999-2000 set as issued for the UK market, and an auction house called a sealed 1999-2000 box UK-only. A collector says 4th print packs also reached the USA and Australia but held only ordinary Unlimited holos. Wizards of the Coast never published where or how long the run was printed.
Sources
- CGC Cards Population Report: Base Set – Unlimited – English (page 1) — CGC Cards, read October 6, 2026
- CGC Cards Population Report: Base Set – Unlimited – English (page 2) — CGC Cards, read October 6, 2026
- CGC Cards Population Report: Base Set – Unlimited – English (Charizard lines and disclaimer) — CGC Cards, read October 6, 2026
- CGC Cards Population Report: Base Set – 1st Edition – English — CGC Cards, read October 6, 2026
- TAG Pop Report: 2000 WOTC Pokemon Base Set 1999-2000 — TAG Grading, read October 6, 2026
- TAG Pop Report: 1999 WOTC Pokemon Base Set — TAG Grading, read October 6, 2026
- TAG Pop Report: WOTC Pokemon Base Set – 1st Edition — TAG Grading, read October 6, 2026
- Pokemon auction: Highest grade BGS fourth print Charizard in the world for sale in Lichfield, Staffordshire — Richard Winterton Auctioneers (quoting collector Jon Free), September 5, 2024
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Rare Holofoil #4 Charizard – PSA GEM MT 10 (Lot #52) — Goldin, closed September 21, 2024
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Holo #4 Charizard – PSA GEM MT 10 (Lot #54, open) — Goldin, current listing, read October 6, 2026
- 1999 Nintendo Pokemon Game Charizard-Holo (CardFacts) — PSA, archived by the Internet Archive, Wayback Machine capture of August 28, 2025
- Sold Items: charizard 1999-2000 — Fanatics Collect, read October 6, 2026
- 1999-2000 Pokemon Base Set Holo Charizard #4 PSA 9 MINT (WA186, Lot 5191) — Fanatics Collect, sold August 10, 2025
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Holo Charizard #4 PSA 10 GEM MINT: Sales History on Fanatics Collect — Fanatics Collect, read October 6, 2026
- 1999-2000 Pokemon Base Set Holo Charizard #4 BGS 8.5 NM-MT+ (WA212, Lot 7326) — Fanatics Collect, sold February 8, 2026
- 1999 Pokemon Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizard #4 PSA 9 MINT (May PC, Lot 15) — Fanatics Collect, sold June 9, 2023
- CGC Trading Cards’ Favorite Pokemon Base Set Variants — CGC Trading Cards, undated, read October 6, 2026
- Pokemon cards bought decades ago to delight granddaughter could make £20,000 at auction — Hansons Auctioneers, October 11, 2023
- Rare Pokemon cards almost put in skip valued at £20k — BBC News, October 13, 2023
- Pokemon Online Help chat log (Wizards Customer Service) — Wizards of the Coast, archived by the Internet Archive, January 27, 2000
- 1999 Pokemon Game TCG Cards: PSA Population — PSA, archived by the Internet Archive, Wayback Machine capture of September 19, 2019
- What is the POP Report and how do I use it? — PSA Knowledge Base, July 18, 2025
- Beckett service status (served at the BGS population report address) — Beckett, read October 6, 2026
- How Many 4th Print Charizards Were Printed? Our Estimate: About 15,000 — Pokemon Pricing (our companion article, with the estimate method and assumptions), October 6, 2026
Population figures are snapshots of each grading company’s public report on the date shown and change every week as new cards are graded. Print-run figures for the 1999 English Base Set were never published by Wizards of the Coast; anything described here as an estimate is labelled as one. This article is collector information, not investment advice. Pokémon and Charizard are trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc. and GAME FREAK inc.; Pokemon Pricing is not affiliated with them or with any grading company.