Price Charting for the EX Dragon Ampharos Holo refers to looking up the going market value of the Ampharos ex card, #89/97, from the 2003 EX Dragon set. This is a Rare Holo ex card, released in English on November 24, 2003, and it remains one of the more recognizable Lightning-type ex cards from the early ex era. If you are pulling a price guide for this card, you are tracking a Stage 2 Pokémon ex with 150 HP, illustrated by Ryo Ueda, that evolves from Flaaffy.
As of now, the most reliably documented sale data tied to the broader Ampharos holo family is a Lightly Played raw copy of the related EX Dragon Frontiers #001/101 Reverse Holo selling for $38.00, though that is a different, later card and should not be mistaken for the 2003 #89/97. The honest answer for the 2003 EX Dragon #89/97 specifically is that detailed price-guide pages exist for it, but exact, current raw and graded dollar figures are not always easy to pin down from a quick search. PSA tracks it as a graded card with a dedicated CardFacts page, and Sports Card Investor maintains a price guide labeled “2003 EX Dragon Holo 89/97.” For example, a collector who finds an “Ampharos Holo” listing online needs to confirm whether it is the 2003 ex from EX Dragon or the 2006 Delta Species version from EX Dragon Frontiers before trusting any quoted price, because the two trade at different levels.
Table of Contents
- What Does Price Charting for EX Dragon Ampharos Holo Actually Track?
- Where the Price Data Comes From and Why It Can Be Incomplete
- Distinguishing the 2003 ex from the 2006 Delta Species Ampharos
- Raw vs. Graded Pricing and the Tradeoffs
- Common Pitfalls When Charting This Card
- Using PSA Population Data Alongside the Price Chart
- The Specs That Confirm You Are Pricing the Right Ampharos
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Price Charting for EX Dragon Ampharos Holo Actually Track?
price charting for this card means assembling recent sales data, condition tiers, and grading premiums into a single reference point so you can estimate what a copy is worth today. For the 2003 EX Dragon Ampharos ex #89/97, the relevant inputs are raw (ungraded) sales, PSA 9 sales, and PSA 10 sales, plus the population data that PSA publishes on its CardFacts page. The card’s identity is fixed: Lightning type, Stage 2 ex, 150 HP, artist Ryo Ueda, with the Poké-Body “Conductivity” and the “Gigavolt” attack that does 40+ for one Lightning and two Colorless Energy. Those specs help you confirm you are charting the correct card rather than a same-name reprint.
A useful comparison is the EX Dragon Frontiers #001/101 Ampharos, a Holo Rare Delta Species card from 2006. Because both cards are Ampharos and both are holo, listings frequently blur together. The one verified recent figure in this family is the $38.00 Lightly Played raw sale for the Frontiers reverse holo. That number is concrete, but it tells you about the Frontiers card, not the 2003 ex. Treating it as a proxy for #89/97 would be a mistake, since the two cards come from different sets, three years apart, with different rarities and collector demand.
Where the Price Data Comes From and Why It Can Be Incomplete
The main sources for charting this card are PSA CardFacts, which hosts a dedicated page for the 2003 EX Dragon Ampharos ex Holo #89, and Sports Card Investor, which runs a price guide page for the same card. PSA’s page is valuable because it ties to certification and population tracking, so you can see roughly how many copies have been graded at each tier. Sports Card Investor aggregates marketplace sales into a guide format, which is closer to a true “price chart.” The limitation worth flagging is that not every price-guide page returns a clean, current number on demand.
For the 2003 EX Dragon #89/97, specific raw, PSA 9, and PSA 10 sale prices were not readily available in summary form, even though the guide pages themselves exist. In practice, this means you may need to open the price-guide page directly and read the most recent comparable sales yourself rather than relying on a single headline figure. If a site shows you an old “last sold” price with no date, treat it cautiously, because a stale comparable on a low-volume vintage card can be off by a wide margin.
Distinguishing the 2003 ex from the 2006 Delta Species Ampharos
The single most important step before charting is identifying which Ampharos holo you actually hold. The 2003 EX Dragon card is Ampharos ex, #89/97, a Rare Holo ex. The 2006 EX Dragon Frontiers card is Ampharos #1/101, a Holo Rare Delta Species.
The set number printed on the card is the fastest tell: “89/97” points to EX Dragon, while “001/101” or “1/101” points to Frontiers. As a concrete example, imagine two eBay listings both titled “Ampharos Holo EX Dragon.” One shows the card numbered 89/97 with the “ex” suffix in the name and 150 HP; that is the 2003 card this guide centers on. The other shows 1/101 with a Delta Species marking; that is the Frontiers card whose reverse holo had the verified $38.00 Lightly Played sale. Charting the wrong one means applying the wrong comparables, and on vintage ex cards that error can swing your valuation substantially.
Raw vs. Graded Pricing and the Tradeoffs
When you chart this card, you are really choosing between three lanes: raw, PSA 9, and PSA 10. Raw copies are cheapest and fastest to sell, but they carry condition risk that the buyer prices in defensively. A PSA 9 typically commands a premium over raw because the grade removes uncertainty, and a PSA 10 sits at the top because gem-mint vintage holos are scarce.
The tradeoff is grading cost and time: submitting a modestly valued card for grading can eat much of the premium if the card comes back a 7 or 8 instead of a 9 or 10. The practical decision hinges on the spread between tiers, which is exactly what a price chart is for. If a PSA 10 of #89/97 sells for many multiples of a raw copy, grading a clean specimen can pay off; if the spread is thin, grading may not clear its own cost. Because the exact current figures for the 2003 #89/97 were not confirmed in the available data, the safe move is to pull at least three recent comparable sales per tier before deciding, rather than acting on a single listed price.
Common Pitfalls When Charting This Card
The biggest pitfall is condition misreading on early-2000s holos. EX-era cards are prone to edge wear, surface scratching on the holo foil, and centering problems, all of which separate a raw “near mint” from a card that will only grade a 7. A listing photographed under generous lighting can hide whirling or print lines that drop the grade, so a price chart based on optimistic raw listings will overstate what your copy is worth.
Another limitation is thin sales volume. Vintage ex singles like Ampharos ex do not trade every day, so a price chart may rest on a handful of sales spread across months. When data is sparse, a single outlier sale, an auction with two determined bidders, or a lowball “buy it now” can distort the apparent market. Always check the date on any comparable, and be skeptical of a chart that implies precision it cannot actually support given how few copies change hands.
Using PSA Population Data Alongside the Price Chart
PSA’s CardFacts page for the 2003 EX Dragon Ampharos ex Holo #89 is worth reading next to any price chart because population numbers explain price. If very few copies exist in PSA 10, that scarcity supports a steeper top-tier premium; if the PSA 9 population is large, those copies will be easier to find and may trade closer to raw. For example, checking population before listing tells you whether your gem-mint candidate is genuinely rare at that grade or one of many, which directly informs your asking price.
The Specs That Confirm You Are Pricing the Right Ampharos
Before finalizing any valuation, match the card in hand to the verified specifications: Ampharos ex, #89/97, EX Dragon, English release November 24, 2003, Lightning type, Stage 2 ex evolving from Flaaffy, 150 HP, artist Ryo Ueda, with the “Conductivity” Poké-Body that places one damage counter when an opponent attaches Energy from hand, and the “Gigavolt” attack at 40+ for one Lightning and two Colorless. If every one of those details lines up, you are charting the 2003 EX Dragon Ampharos ex Holo and can apply EX Dragon comparables rather than Frontiers ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which card is “EX Dragon Ampharos Holo”?
It is Ampharos ex, #89/97, a Rare Holo ex from the 2003 EX Dragon set, released in English on November 24, 2003.
Is this the same as the EX Dragon Frontiers Ampharos?
No. The Frontiers card is Ampharos #1/101, a 2006 Holo Rare Delta Species. The verified $38.00 Lightly Played raw sale belongs to the Frontiers #001/101 reverse holo, not the 2003 #89/97.
What are the card’s specs?
Lightning type, Stage 2 ex evolving from Flaaffy, 150 HP, illustrated by Ryo Ueda, with the “Conductivity” Poké-Body and the “Gigavolt” attack.
Where can I find price data for it?
PSA CardFacts hosts a dedicated page for the 2003 EX Dragon Ampharos ex Holo #89, and Sports Card Investor maintains a “2003 EX Dragon Holo 89/97” price guide.
Why are exact prices hard to confirm?
Specific current raw, PSA 9, and PSA 10 figures for #89/97 were not available in summary form, so you may need to open the guide pages and read recent comparable sales directly.
Should I grade my copy?
It depends on the spread between raw and graded sales and on the card’s condition. Pull several recent comparables per tier before deciding, since grading cost can outweigh the premium on lower grades.
