Metal Pokémon Cards: Their History and Value

What are metal Pokémon cards?

Metal cards should not be confused with the 1999 Burger King promotional 23kt gold-plated Pokémon cards, which were not cards in the traditional sense, but more closely resembled ingots or medals. Official metal Pokémon cards were first introduced in 2021 for the 25^th anniversary of Pokémon.

What are metal Pokémon cards made of?

Metal cards are the same size as regular Pokémon cards, but are made of a thin metal material. Metal Pokémon cards are not made of gold or any other precious metal.

Are metal Pokémon cards legal for tournament play?

Metal cards are not legal to play in official Pokémon tournaments, as they are thicker and heavier than a real card, and would result in a marked deck. You probably also wouldn’t want to attempt to shuffle one of these cards!

How many metal Pokémon cards are there?

As of May 2024, only 5 official metal Pokémon cards have ever been released!

Celebrations Ultra-Premium Collection — 2021

The first two metal cards were introduced in 2021 in the Celebrations Ultra Premium Collection.

The first of the two cards is a replica of Pikachu from the original Pokémon base set.

This card is currently worth around $32.00 retail price and has been fairly steadily dropping in value over the past year, as seen by the TCGplayer market price graph.

The second card in the Celebrations Ultra-Premium Collection is a replica of the iconic Charizard #4 card from the original Pokémon base set.

This card is currently worth around $84.00 retail price and has also been steadily dropping in value over the past year as can be seen in the graph.

Arceus VSTAR Ultra-Premium Collection

The next two metal cards were released in the Arceus VSTAR Ultra-Premium Collection in early November 2022.  These two cards, Arceus V and Arceus VSTAR, were manufactured in full-color, unlike the previous Celebrations metal cards. These two cards are worth approximately $4 and $7, respectively.

151 Ultra-Premium Collection

The next metal card to be released was Mew ex in the 151 Ultra-Premium Collection in 2023.  This card very closely resembles a typical Secret Rare. It is currently worth around $3.25.

Will there be future metal Pokémon cards?

It is reasonable to assume that there will be additional metal cards produced in the future.  Pokémon has released 1-2 metal cards each year over the past 3 years, so it is likely that a future Ultra-Premium collection will include metal cards.

What about all of the other metal cards I see for sale?

With the popularity of the Pokémon franchise, it is unfortunately quite common to see individuals and companies trying to make a quick buck off of unwary Pokémon collectors. There are many unofficial metal cards offered for sale on sites like eBay and Etsy. The quality of some of these knock-offs is good, while others are very bad. But, unofficial cards are all counterfeits and essentially have zero resale value. Remember, there are only 5 current official metal Pokémon cards—don’t be caught off-guard by unscrupulous sellers!