The Marshtomp card from EX Ruby & Sapphire (#41/109) is a budget-tier collectible, with raw Near Mint copies typically selling for about $2.00 and listings ranging from roughly $1.00 to $2.49 across the major marketplaces. If you are checking a price chart to decide whether your copy is worth selling or holding, the short answer is that this is an inexpensive common-tier card, and most ungraded examples will not clear the price of a cup of coffee. The most recent recorded eBay sales for raw copies hover right around the $2.00 mark.
To put a real number on it: a Near Mint, ungraded Marshtomp 41/109 recently sold for about $2.00 on eBay, while TCGplayer has listed copies as low as $1.00 and Troll & Toad has asked around $2.49 for the same card. Graded examples, such as a CGC 9 or a PSA-graded copy, fetch a premium over raw, but the base value is low enough that grading rarely makes financial sense unless the card is part of a larger set-completion or sentimental goal. This Marshtomp is a Stage 1 Water Pokémon with 80 HP, illustrated by Ken Sugimori, and it first appeared on July 1, 2003 in the very first set of the EX series. Understanding where it sits in that history helps explain why the price has stayed flat and modest for two decades.
Table of Contents
- What Does Price Charting for EX Ruby and Sapphire Marshtomp Actually Show?
- How Reliable Are the Listed Prices for Marshtomp 41/109?
- How Does Marshtomp’s Value Compare Within the EX Ruby and Sapphire Set?
- Should You Grade an EX Ruby and Sapphire Marshtomp?
- Common Pitfalls When Pricing This Marshtomp Card
- Who Buys an EX Ruby and Sapphire Marshtomp?
- Where to Check Current Marshtomp 41/109 Prices
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Price Charting for EX Ruby and Sapphire Marshtomp Actually Show?
price charting for a card like Marshtomp 41/109 pulls together recent sold listings from sources such as eBay, TCGplayer, and Troll & Toad to produce an average or range rather than a single fixed number. For this card, those sources converge on a raw value of roughly $1.00 to $2.49, with the average completed sale sitting close to $2.00. A price chart is most useful here as a sanity check: if someone offers you $10 for a raw copy, the chart tells you that is well above market, and if you see one listed at $0.99, that is simply a seller pricing to move inventory quickly. The reason the figures cluster so tightly is that Marshtomp is an Uncommon, not a chase rare.
It was printed in large quantities as part of a 109-card set, so supply is plentiful and demand is driven mostly by set collectors rather than competitive players or investors. Compare this to a holographic Gardevoir or Sceptile ex from the same set, where the price chart would show a far wider spread and higher peaks because those cards are scarcer and more sought after. One practical example: a collector trying to finish the EX Ruby & Sapphire base set will treat Marshtomp as a “filler” purchase, often buying it in a bulk lot alongside other commons and uncommons. In that context, the per-card price effectively drops below the $1.00 floor, which is worth remembering before you pay full marketplace price for a single copy plus shipping.
How Reliable Are the Listed Prices for Marshtomp 41/109?
The prices you see on any chart reflect recent sales rather than a guaranteed live value, and for a low-dollar card that distinction matters more than people expect. Because Marshtomp sells so cheaply, a single sale can swing an “average” noticeably, and shipping costs frequently exceed the card itself. A copy listed at $1.00 with $1.50 shipping is, in real terms, a $2.50 card, so comparing raw sticker prices across sites can mislead you if you ignore postage. There is also a numbering quirk worth flagging as a limitation.
Some catalogs and grading databases list this card as #040/109 under a 2003 base-numbering scheme, while the commonly cited collector number is 41/109. Sports Card Investor, for example, indexes it as 2003 EX Ruby & Sapphire Base 040/109, whereas TCGplayer and Pokellector use 41/109. If you search only one number, you may miss sold listings under the other, and that incomplete data can make the card look rarer or scarcer than it is. The warning here is straightforward: never base a buying or selling decision on a single listing or a single numbering format. Cross-check the 41/109 and 040/109 references, and weigh completed sales over active asking prices, since asking prices on a budget card are often aspirational and sit unsold for weeks.
How Does Marshtomp’s Value Compare Within the EX Ruby and Sapphire Set?
Within the 109-card EX Ruby & Sapphire set, Marshtomp sits firmly in the low-value tier alongside the other evolution-line commons and uncommons. As the middle stage of the Mudkip line, it bridges the cheap basic Mudkip and the more desirable Swampert cards, but it carries none of the premium that the holo and ex cards command. A price chart for the full set would show Marshtomp near the bottom, with the ex cards and reverse holos occupying the top. The reverse holo variant of Marshtomp is a useful comparison point.
GoCollect tracks the reverse holo (41/109) separately from the standard base version (40/109), and reverse holos from this era generally carry a modest premium over their non-holo counterparts because fewer were printed and they are harder to find in clean condition. If you own a reverse holo copy, do not assume it shares the standard card’s $2.00 valuation; check the reverse holo data specifically, as the gap can be meaningful in percentage terms even when the absolute dollar difference is small. As a concrete example, a collector sorting a bulk lot might overlook that the shiny, mirror-foil background of a reverse holo makes it the more valuable pull, while the plain base Marshtomp goes into the common pile. Misidentifying the two is one of the easiest ways to undervalue a card from this set.
Should You Grade an EX Ruby and Sapphire Marshtomp?
For most owners, grading Marshtomp 41/109 does not make financial sense, and the math illustrates why. Professional grading from PSA or CGC typically costs more than the raw card is worth several times over. A CGC 9 or PSA-graded Marshtomp does sell at a premium above the roughly $2.00 raw price, but that premium rarely covers the grading fee, return shipping, and the wait time involved. You would be spending more to encapsulate the card than you could realistically recover on resale. The tradeoff changes only in narrow cases.
If you have a pristine copy you believe could earn a PSA 10, and you are grading it as part of a larger submission where the per-card cost drops, the economics improve slightly. Even then, a budget uncommon competes for buyer attention against far more desirable graded cards from the set, so liquidity is poor and a graded Marshtomp may sit unsold for a long time. Compare this to grading a high-value holo from the same era, where a jump from raw to PSA 10 can multiply value many times over and easily justify the fee. With Marshtomp, the ceiling is simply too low. The practical recommendation is to keep the card raw in a penny sleeve and top loader unless you have a specific collecting reason to slab it.
Common Pitfalls When Pricing This Marshtomp Card
The most common mistake is overestimating the card’s value because of its age. A 2003 release sounds old enough to be valuable, but age alone does not create scarcity, and Marshtomp was printed in volume as a non-holo uncommon. Sellers who price it at $10 or $15 hoping a buyer mistakes age for rarity will almost always be left with an unsold listing, because the completed-sale data plainly shows a $1.00 to $2.49 range. Another pitfall is condition blindness.
On a card valued around $2.00, the difference between Near Mint and a played, edge-worn copy can erase nearly all the value, since buyers paying budget prices still expect clean cards or will only pay bulk rates. Whitening on the dark blue and green borders of this card shows easily, so inspect edges and corners carefully before assuming your copy commands the full Near Mint figure. Finally, be cautious with marketplace fees and shipping when selling. After eBay fees and postage, a $2.00 sale can net well under a dollar, which means selling single common cards individually is often not worth the effort. Many sellers bundle cards like Marshtomp into set lots specifically to avoid losing money on per-card overhead.
Who Buys an EX Ruby and Sapphire Marshtomp?
The buyers for this card are almost entirely set collectors and nostalgia-driven fans rather than investors. Someone assembling a complete EX Ruby & Sapphire set needs the 41/109 Marshtomp to fill the slot, and they will pay the going rate of a dollar or two to check it off the list.
Players who remember the early EX era also pick up affordable cards like this to rebuild childhood collections without spending much. A typical real-world transaction looks like a collector buying a small lot of EX Ruby & Sapphire commons and uncommons for a few dollars total, with Marshtomp included among them. Individually the card is an afterthought, but as part of completing the first set in the EX series, it carries the value that comes from being a necessary piece rather than a standout one.
Where to Check Current Marshtomp 41/109 Prices
For up-to-date figures, the most useful references are TCGplayer, which lists the Marshtomp 41/109 product directly and tends to show the lowest market prices near $1.00, and Troll & Toad, which has carried the card around $2.49. GoCollect tracks both the standard 40/109 and the reverse holo 41/109 separately, which is the place to look if you need to distinguish variant values.
Sports Card Investor indexes the card under the 040/109 base numbering and aggregates recent sales data. Because marketplace prices move daily, treat any single figure as a snapshot rather than a fixed value. Checking the completed eBay sales alongside one or two of these databases gives the most accurate read, and for Marshtomp that read has stayed remarkably consistent: a raw Near Mint copy changing hands for about $2.00, with the realistic floor near $1.00 and the ceiling for ungraded copies around $2.49.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is an EX Ruby & Sapphire Marshtomp worth?
A raw Near Mint copy of Marshtomp 41/109 sells for about $2.00, with listings ranging from roughly $1.00 on TCGplayer to around $2.49 on Troll & Toad.
Is Marshtomp 41/109 a rare card?
No. It is an Uncommon from a 109-card set printed in large quantities, which keeps its value low and stable.
Why is the card sometimes listed as 040/109 instead of 41/109?
Some catalogs use a 2003 base-numbering scheme that labels it 040/109, while the commonly cited collector number is 41/109. Both refer to the same card.
Is it worth grading my Marshtomp?
Usually not. Grading fees typically exceed the card’s value, and even a CGC 9 or PSA-graded copy commands only a modest premium over the roughly $2.00 raw price.
Does the reverse holo version sell for more?
Yes, the reverse holo variant generally carries a modest premium over the standard base card and is tracked separately by databases like GoCollect.
Who illustrated the card and when was it released?
Ken Sugimori illustrated it, and it was released on July 1, 2003 in EX Ruby & Sapphire, the first set of the EX series.
