Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Shadowless vs 1st Edition?

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bheffner33

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So I used to be into Pokemon as a child and have been going through some nostalgic feelings. Bought most of the holo's for the base set on eBay. Paid $33 for every rare card excluding Magneton, Blastoise, Venesaur, Charizard and Chansey.

Now I was planning on just having these cards to look at and bring back memories. I bought a Blastoise and and Venesaur for $5 a piece from a reputable online site. All these cards are in NM condition.

Now I was looking at getting a fancier Chansey and Charizard to round off my collection of rare cards in the base set. I came upon first edition and shadowless cards. You know this is coming next, but which cards are more rare? It seems that a NM 1st edition Chansey is about 3 x the price of a shadowless Chansey, does that seem about right? I was about to spend $60 on a shadowless Charizard, but is that even worth it? Should it even make a difference to me?

Basically I want to know if the first editions are really that much more rare than shadowless cards to justify a big price difference? Besides the obvious that there is a 1st edition stamp and only a collector would notice a shadowless card.

Thanks for your help.
 
Here is how the rarity table goes with English Base set cards:

1. Shadowless 1st editions
2. Shadowless
3. Unlimited

Price differences exist for a reason, so expecting to pay 3 times the amount for a 1st edition shadowless over a non-1st edition is not outside the norm. As for your dilemma, it is entirely up to you. If you believe it is worth it for the Shadowless 1st edition card(s), then by all means pick 'em up. Either way, these cards will continue to increase in value over the years, so it will be a good investment.
 
soleosnip3rv2 said:
Here is how the rarity table goes with English Base set cards:

1. Shadowless 1st editions
2. Shadowless
3. Unlimited

As for your dilemma, it is entirely up to you. If you believe it is worth it for the Shadowless 1st edition card(s), then by all means pick 'em up. Either way, these cards will continue to increase in value over the years, so it will be a good investment.
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thank you, but just to follow up.. say I could get a shadowless NM Chansey for $11, and also a 1st Edition NM Chansey for $37. Is this about right, or are 1st editions not that much more rare?

I know you say it is up to me, but I would rather the opinion of a guy that knows more than I do. Would you, yourself, pay 3x more for 1st edition vs shadowless?
 
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bheffner33 said:
thank you, but just to follow up.. say I could get a shadowless NM Chansey for $11, and also a 1st Edition NM Chansey for $37. Is this about right, or are 1st editions not that much more rare?

I know you say it is up to me, but I would rather the opinion of a guy that knows more than I do. Would you, yourself, pay 3x more for 1st edition vs shadowless?
Click to expand...

You can pick up 10 of the 16 1st edition base holos for under $25 if you are patient. Only a few of them are going to run you $50+.

If the Chansey is a PSA 9-10, then it may be worth $37. However, that price is a bit steep in my opinion. I would definitely pay 3 times the amount for a 1st edition base holo card if it was in near flawless condition (PSA 9-10). The thing with these old cards is that condition means everything, especially to collectors who would be willing to pay top dollar for the cards.
 
I think the best way to put a perspective on how rare the Shadowless and 1st Edition cards are you need to look at the print runs.

There was 8 print runs for the base set. Only the first one was Shadowless. Out of all those shadowless cards only a few got stamped with a 1st edition stamp.

Now I can't tell you if all the print runs consisted of the same number of sheets printed or not, but it's very telling that unlimited cards are much more common then Shadowless and 1st Editions.

BTW the last run was the 1999-2000 copyright date cards, I wouldn't worry about that unless you're going to be more serious in the collection.

As for the pricing it's all about what a person is willing to pay. there is no set rule, like if a Shadowless Charizard goes for ___ amount then a 1st edition will go for __X that amount.

As for what you should get, it's all about if you want the cards or not. If you're just buying solely on nostalgia then stay in with the Unlimited cards, it'll be much cheaper. If you want to try and get them for a collection then get them all or whichever appeals to you most. If you're trying to keep them for an investment go for 1st edition and/or shadowless and make sure the condition is great. That's just my $.02
 
thanks guys, really a lot of help. Think I am going to just get a shadowless Charizard and Chansey to finish my little collection of base set rare cards. Now to wait for the right price and condition. Found a Charizard shadowless in NM condition but it's $70. Thanks again
 
Personally, I find it tough settling for shadowless cards when I know there's something better out there, you know? The 1st edition cards are the benchmark, and they are both rarer and more desirable than the shadowless cards. In the end that's all that matters. If you can get a good deal on a 1st edition card then I would go for it!
 
Good points all.
My two cents is: very few, if any, extra 1st Editions were printed than shadowless. I've collected shadowless since the beginning and was able to compare how many were available then. Mint ones may be even rarer than 1st Ed because collectors were saving the 1st Ed. when the shadowless came out...and the shadowless all got played.
Lastly, more and more people are fake stamping shadowless cards and they could get better and better at it. So what happens? Fewer shadowless and more 1st editions.
Make sense?
 
Yeah I presumed that was the case. Either way, no matter what, everyone will go for the 1st editions because they are widely accepted as the most desirable

Why buy a Toyota when you could get a Porsche am I right? Flawed example but you know what I'm getting at ahah :)
 
cbd1235 said:
Yeah I presumed that was the case. Either way, no matter what, everyone will go for the 1st editions because they are widely accepted as the most desirable

Why buy a Toyota when you could get a Porsche am I right? Flawed example but you know what I'm getting at ahah :)
Click to expand...

Unless its a Porche body on a Toyota chassis;)
 
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