Rainbow Rare Charizard GX cards have dominated the Pokémon TCG market in recent years, with some copies selling for an unbelievable $700,000! As your resident trading card expert, let me walk you through exactly why this blinged-out Charizard commands such astronomical prices compared to other cards.
Charizard‘s Popularity Makes it Pokemon‘s Most Valuable Card
First, we have to talk about the immense popularity of Charizard itself. As one of the original starter Pokémon from the Red/Blue video games, Charizard holds a special place in the hearts of 90s kids like us who grew up with Pokemon. Who didn‘t pick Charmander as their first partner? And that sweet feeling when it finally evolved into the mighty fire-breathing dragon Charizard!
Out of over 800 Pokemon now, the vintage originals like Charizard remain the most iconic and beloved. So it‘s no surprise that Charizard consistently has the most valuable cards out of any Pokémon. Collectors and investors are willing to pay huge premiums for rare Charizard cards, even if they aren‘t the strongest in competitive play.
Rainbow Rares Are The Rarest Modern Card Variant
Now let‘s talk about what makes Rainbow Rare cards so special. Starting in the Sun & Moon series, the Pokémon Company introduced this new "secret" rare variant with a stunning multicolor shimmering pattern. Unlike most cards, the illustration extends fully over the textbox for amazing artwork.
But here‘s the key factor – Rainbow Rares are ridiculously hard to pull from packs! On average, you‘ll only get 1 Rainbow Rare in every 600 booster packs. To put that in perspective, you have about a 1 in 100 chance to pull any holographic rare card. That makes Rainbow Rares around 6 times rarer than even your standard holo rare Charizard!
Here‘s a breakdown of just how rare they are:
- Holo Rare: 1 in 100 packs
- Ultra Rare (GX/EX): 1 in 150 packs
- Full Art Ultra Rare: 1 in 400 packs
- Rainbow Rare: 1 in 600 packs
And remember, Rainbow Rares are limited to only 1 to 8 different cards per set. With pull rates that low and supply that limited, it‘s easy to see why values skyrocket.
The Burning Shadows Print Run Disaster
Now we come to the most coveted Rainbow Rare of all – the Charizard GX from 2017‘s Burning Shadows set. What makes this specific card so much more valuable than other Rainbow Rares printed around the same time?
Well, based on production information shared by The Pokemon Company, it appears Burning Shadows had a major print run disaster. The set was massively overprinted compared to demand. And specifically, the print sheet configuration resulted in a huge supply imbalance between the Secret Rare Charizard GX Rainbow and the other Secret Rares in the set.
The English print run breakdown was estimated as:
- 5 Secret Rare Charizard GX Rainbows
- 75+ copies EACH of the 14 other Secret Rares!
Since most Burning Shadows openings resulted in one of the 14 more common Secret Rares rather than the Charizard, it became exponentially rarer despite the overprinting. This "perfect imbalance" made the card virtually unobtainable even in Unlimited prints.
Add in the organic demand from Charizard fans, nostalgic adults with more spending power, and investors treating the cards like assets, and you have the perfect recipe for this card‘s legendary growth from a $50 card on release to $700,000 today!
Modern Hype Inflates Prices for New Rainbows
But it‘s not just vintage Rainbow Rares reaching insane heights. Let‘s look at the newly released Charizard VSTAR Rainbow Rare from February 2022‘s Brilliant Stars set.
Despite no competitive viability and no short supply like the Burning Shadows issue, this card still quickly rose to sell for over $500! Then again, it IS one of only 8 Rainbow Rares in the set. And as the only Rainbow Charizard in the Sword & Shield era so far, it was guaranteed to see speculative demand.
Some experts argue Pokemon is intentionally short-printing their most popular character to keep values high. Others suggest the investors and influencers whipping up hype are more responsible for the inflated prices than actual scarcity.
Regardless, it‘s clear the market mania extends beyond just correcting under-supply issues. Modern Rainbow Rares benefit from the nouveau riche sentiment in the hobby right now.
Grading Multiplies Prices Exponentially
You might be wondering how mint condition factors into the value of Rainbow Rares. The effect grading has on prices is actually exponential! Let‘s look at Beckett Grading Services‘ recent sale prices:
- Charizard GX Rainbow BGS 9: $35,000
- Charizard GX Rainbow BGS 9.5: $150,000
- Charizard GX Rainbow BGS 10: $300,000
That‘s right, a perfect BGS 10 is worth nearly 10 times more than a BGS 9! You see this across every grading company – PSA, CGC, SGC, etc. A 10 grade vs. a 9 can literally mean hundreds of thousands more dollars for the exact same card.
Grading companies are extremely stringent, with only a tiny fraction of all cards submitted receiving a pristine 10 grade. There‘s so few 10s in circulation that demand vastly outpaces supply, which is why the value skyrockets.
Rainbows Compared to Other Ultra Rare Charizards
Now that you understand what drives Rainbow Rares to such astronomical prices, let‘s compare them to some of the other ultra rare Charizard variants released over the years:
- 1st Edition Shadowless Base Set (1999) – Over 20 years old now, but still the undisputed king. A PSA 10 sold for $336,000 in 2021. Even heavy played copies fetch 5 figures.
- Gold Star Charizard (2004) – The iconic ★ symbol returns in modern sets, but nothing matches the clout of original Gold Stars. Near mint copies still sell for ~$1,000.
- Shining Charizard (2002) – Before Rainbows, Shinings were the cream of the crop when it came to ultra rares. Shining Charizard is the holy grail, approaching a $10,000 valuation.
- Crystalline VMAX (Japan 2020) – Gorgeous iridescent Japanese promo with only 50 copies produced as stadium giveaways. These can sell for $10,000+ each.
While none have reached the inflationary heights of the Burning Shadows Rainbow Rare, these are all equally iconic and coveted by collectors. But nothing compares to pulling that one-of-a-kind Secret Rare Charizard GX Rainbow…what a rush!
I hope this guide gave you some deeper insight into why Rainbow Rare Charizards create so much hype. Let me know if you have any other questions – I could talk about this stuff all day! Enjoy the hunt my friend.
