The Sceptile Holo from the 2003 Pokémon EX Ruby & Sapphire set, card #11/109, carries a wide range of prices depending entirely on condition and grade. A raw, ungraded copy in Near Mint shape most recently sold for around $110.00, while TCGplayer lists the holofoil’s market price closer to $68.26, with some guides showing $78.29. At the top end, a graded PSA 10 Gem Mint example reached $3,550 at a recent auction. In short, you can spend anywhere from a few dollars to several thousand on this single card, and the difference comes down almost entirely to how the card has been preserved and certified. The card itself is a Holo Rare and one of the marquee Grass-type cards from the very first English EX-era expansion.
It is worth knowing immediately that a separate non-holo Sceptile, #20/109, exists in the same set. That card is a different and generally lower-value printing, and confusing the two is one of the most common mistakes buyers and sellers make when checking prices. For example, a collector who pulls a Sceptile and sees a $3,550 sale online might assume their copy is worth a fortune, when in reality that figure applies only to a flawless, professionally graded holo. The same card raw and lightly played could trade for less than $30. Understanding the full pricing picture is what separates a smart purchase from an overpaid one.
Table of Contents
- What Is Price Charting for the EX Ruby & Sapphire Sceptile Holo?
- How Condition and Grade Drive the Sceptile Holo’s Value
- Where to Check Prices for Sceptile #11/109
- Raw Versus Graded — Which Makes Sense for Sceptile Holo?
- Common Mistakes and Limitations When Pricing This Card
- The Significance of EX Ruby & Sapphire as a Set
- Tracking Sceptile Holo Sales Over Time
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Price Charting for the EX Ruby & Sapphire Sceptile Holo?
price charting for this card means tracking what real copies of Sceptile #11/109 actually sell for across different conditions, grades, and marketplaces over time, rather than relying on a single sticker price. Because the card has existed since 2003, it has a long sales history, and that history shows enormous spread. Aggregated sold-comparable data spans from a low of roughly $4.50 to a high of $744.51, with an overall blended average around $27.12. That average, however, mixes holo, reverse-holo, and non-holo variants together, so it is more of a starting reference than a true valuation. The distinction between the holo (#11/109) and the non-holo (#20/109) matters more here than almost anything else.
When a pricing tool quotes a low “average,” it is frequently because cheaper non-holo and reverse-holo sales are being folded into the same number. The holo rare commands a premium, and the cleanest way to see that premium is to isolate single-grade sales data instead of broad averages. As a comparison, consider the gap between the TCGplayer holofoil market price near $68.26 and the recent raw Near Mint sale of $110.00. Both describe the same holo card, yet they differ by more than $40. That difference reflects timing, individual card eye-appeal, and buyer demand on a given day, all of which a single static price can never fully capture.
How Condition and Grade Drive the Sceptile Holo’s Value
The single biggest factor in this card’s price is condition, and for a 20-plus-year-old holo, condition is rarely perfect. Early EX-era holos are notorious for surface scratches, edge whitening, and holo swirl wear, all of which become obvious under bright light. A card that looks “good enough” in a phone photo can grade far lower in hand, which is why the spread between a raw copy and a graded one is so dramatic. The grading numbers tell the story plainly. A PSA 9 Mint Sceptile holo has recently sold in the $285 to $290 range, while a PSA 10 Gem Mint jumped all the way to $3,550.
That is more than a tenfold increase for a single grade step from 9 to 10. The reason is scarcity: very few of these cards survive in true gem-mint condition with sharp corners, clean edges, and a flawless holo layer, so the PSA 10 population stays small and demand concentrates there. The warning here is straightforward. Submitting a raw card for grading costs money and time, and there is no guarantee of a 10. If you send in a copy hoping for the $3,550 outcome and it comes back a 9, you are looking at roughly $285 to $290 in value instead, minus your grading fees. Grading is a gamble, and the odds tighten considerably for vintage holos with hidden wear.
Where to Check Prices for Sceptile #11/109
Several marketplaces and data sources track this card, and each tells a slightly different part of the story. TCGplayer is the standard reference for raw holofoil pricing, currently listing the market price around $68.26 to $78.29 depending on the guide. CardTrader logs individual listings and recent sales, including the $110.00 Near Mint result. PSA’s Auction Prices Realized is the authoritative source for graded sales, recording the $285 to $290 PSA 9 figures and the $3,550 PSA 10 auction. For a concrete example of why multiple sources matter, look at Mavin, which compiles a broad pool of sold listings and reports a range from $4.50 to $744.51.
On its own, that range looks chaotic. But once you understand that the low end is almost certainly non-holo or heavily played copies and the high end is graded gem-mint material, the numbers start to make sense. No single source captures the whole picture, so cross-referencing is essential. Sports Card Investor also tracks the holo under reference 011/109, which is useful for spotting price trends over time rather than a single snapshot. The practical takeaway is to treat each platform as one data point and weigh PSA’s graded sales most heavily when a card is certified, since those are apples-to-apples comparisons within a known grade.
Raw Versus Graded — Which Makes Sense for Sceptile Holo?
Deciding whether to buy or sell this card raw or graded comes down to a tradeoff between cost, risk, and convenience. A raw Near Mint copy trading around $110.00 is an accessible entry point for a collector who simply wants the card in a binder. There are no grading fees, no waiting months for a return, and no risk of a disappointing grade. The downside is that raw cards carry uncertainty: the buyer is trusting the seller’s condition assessment, and resale value is capped without certification. Graded copies flip that equation.
A PSA 9 at roughly $285 to $290 costs significantly more than a raw card, but it comes with a guaranteed, third-party condition verdict and a tamper-evident slab. For high-value vintage holos, that assurance is what unlocks the strongest prices. The PSA 10 at $3,550 simply cannot exist as a concept without grading, because the entire premium is built on certified perfection. The comparison most collectors face is this: pay around $110 for a raw card you can enjoy immediately, or invest in a graded copy where most of the cost reflects the grade rather than the card itself. For a player or casual fan, raw wins on value. For an investor or someone chasing the top of the market, only a graded copy makes financial sense, and even then the jump from a 9 to a 10 is where nearly all the money lives.
Common Mistakes and Limitations When Pricing This Card
The most frequent error is confusing the holo #11/109 with the non-holo #20/109. They share a name and a set but are entirely different cards with different values. A buyer who pays a holo premium for a non-holo, or a seller who undervalues a holo by checking non-holo comps, can lose real money on the mistake. Always confirm the card number printed in the corner before trusting any price. A second limitation is the unreliability of blended averages.
The frequently cited $27.12 average figure blends conditions and variants, so it understates a clean holo and overstates a worn non-holo. Treating that number as “the price” of the card is misleading. The same caution applies to the $4.50-to-$744.51 range: it is statistically real but practically useless without knowing which condition and variant each sale represents. The warning for anyone using automated pricing tools is to verify what the tool is actually measuring. Many aggregators scrape listings without distinguishing holo from reverse-holo from non-holo, which corrupts the average. The most trustworthy single-grade data points come from PSA’s Auction Prices Realized, because each sale is tied to a specific certified grade and variant, leaving no ambiguity about what changed hands.
The Significance of EX Ruby & Sapphire as a Set
EX Ruby & Sapphire holds a specific place in Pokémon card history as the first English expansion of the EX era, released in 2003. That “first of its kind” status gives its holo rares, including Sceptile #11/109, extra appeal among collectors who value set milestones.
Sceptile, as the final evolution of the Treecko starter line tied to the Ruby and Sapphire video games, carries additional nostalgia for players who grew up with that generation. As an example of how set significance translates to price, the PSA 10 result of $3,550 reflects not just the card’s condition but the demand for early EX-era starter-line holos in flawless shape. Cards that combine a recognizable Pokémon, a milestone set, and gem-mint scarcity tend to command the steepest premiums, and Sceptile checks all three boxes at the top grade.
Tracking Sceptile Holo Sales Over Time
Because this card has been traded for over two decades, its sales history is deep enough to reveal patterns rather than one-off prices. The data points available right now span a raw holofoil market price near $68.26 to $78.29, a recent raw Near Mint sale of $110.00, PSA 9 results around $285 to $290, and a standout PSA 10 auction at $3,550.
Laid side by side, these figures map the full ladder from ungraded to certified gem-mint. A practical example of using this history: a seller holding a clean raw copy can look at the $110.00 Near Mint comp as a realistic asking point, while weighing whether the gap up to a PSA 9’s $285 to $290 justifies the cost and risk of grading. The numbers give a concrete framework for that decision instead of guesswork, anchoring each choice to a real, documented sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Sceptile #11/109 and #20/109?
Card #11/109 is the Holo Rare and the higher-value version, while #20/109 is a separate non-holo printing from the same EX Ruby & Sapphire set that generally sells for much less. Always check the corner number before pricing.
How much is a raw EX Ruby & Sapphire Sceptile Holo worth?
Raw holofoil market prices run roughly $68.26 to $78.29 on TCGplayer, while a recent Near Mint copy sold for $110.00 on CardTrader. Condition causes most of the variation.
What does a graded Sceptile Holo #11/109 sell for?
A PSA 9 Mint has recently sold in the $285 to $290 range, and a PSA 10 Gem Mint reached $3,550 at auction. The jump from a 9 to a 10 accounts for nearly all of the value difference.
Why do average prices for this card look so low?
Aggregated averages around $27.12 blend holo, reverse-holo, and non-holo sales together, which drags the figure down. That number understates a clean holo and should not be treated as the card’s true value.
Is it worth grading my Sceptile Holo?
It depends on condition. A PSA 10 can be worth thousands, but a PSA 9 lands near $285 to $290, and grading fees plus the risk of a lower grade mean there is no guaranteed payoff for a vintage holo with hidden wear.
