There is no greater ‘chase’ card in any collection quite on the level of what Charizard is for Pokémon card collectors. The fire-type’s existence alone is enough for fans to have come up with ‘Charizard tax,’ and understandably so.
For the uninitiated, this tax is slang used by members of the fandom who have to pay premium prices for cards that feature Charizard simply because, well, they feature Charizard. Cards of equal rarity from the same collection in the same condition will go for lower prices.
The feral need to have not only a Charizard card, but also one from one of the most iconic sets of all time; i.e., 2002’s Legendary Collection was on full display during this month’s Fanatics Collect’s Premier Auction.
The Reverse Holo Charizard in PSA 10 gem mint, after 41 bids, sold for a whopping $468,000. This is after adding in the platform’s 20% buyer’s premium.
This is a 372% increase in value from what it sold for mere months ago, in April.
Its sale price then, which was also a PSA 10 gem mint, was $99,095. The deal was brokered by Alt XYZ, and at the time, this was a record for the card.
CHARIZARD ON FIRE 🔥
A 2002 Pokémon Legendary Collection Reverse Holo Charizard PSA 10 just set a new high, selling for $99,095 at @altxyzofficial
That’s now the all-time record for this card. pic.twitter.com/jwLIyB45qL— The Collectibles Guru (@gurucollects) April 6, 2026
Charizard Cards Command Even More Value At Auction Than This
The further back we go in time, the easier it gets for cards to creep closer to gargantuan numbers well into the seven figures.
Pokémon cards are a clear example of this. Case in point: the 1996 Japanese Base Set “No Rarity Symbol” Charizard (PSA 10).
It sold for a record $1.7 million. At the time of the sale, only eight PSA 10s of this card existed; its crossing the $1M threshold makes quite a bit of sense.
A variant of this same card, which was signed by its illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita, sold for $1,232,200 on Goldin this past March as well. It was also a PSA 10.
Final Sale Price on this 1996 Pokemon Japanese Base Set Holo #6 Charizard, No Rarity Symbol – Case Signed by Mitsuhiro Arita: $1,232,200
The All-Time Highest Public Sale for any Charizard!
Email Sell@Goldin.com to consign your Pokemon Collectibles to one of our upcoming… pic.twitter.com/dPgzLe3au2— Goldin (@GoldinCo) March 8, 2026
Another ‘holy grail’ of high-end Pokémon card collecting is the 1999 English Base Set 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard. This sold for a whopping $954,800 as a PSA 10.
It’s safe to say that Charizard commands a great deal of respect among collectors and is a go-to when it comes to bringing in a pretty penny on the market.
In retrospect, this is a no-brainer given that it was Ash’s ‘ace in the hole’ any time he was in a pinch during his tournaments.
