For example, here is my page in binder Ill never let go. All of these cards are childhood gifts from my closest friend since 2nd grade. Hes the kindest person I know, his first gift for me was Ancient Mew, we were 8-10 years old, we had no clue about prices. When I first saw the card, I fell in love with it, such a unique card till this day. Next gift he gave me was Shiny Scizor, we own this card together technicaly, he told me: “since this card exists, our friendship exists too”… Thanks for reading (s for my english xD)
I was lucky enough to be part of a group buy for an english TMB deck and ended up with this Will’s Girafarig. It’s a card I would have never been able to acquire on my own, and every time I see it, it reminds me of the good in the hobby and the friends made along the way. Special thanks to @HumanForScale and @gemmintpokemon
This Squirtle was from when I went to my best friend’s birthday party to go skating. Somehow, inside the building, there was a vending machine that had cards. I was very little at the time, but I was amazed that this was even a thing, and I ended up getting this very nice Squirtle!
I think I would have to go with my Ash-Greninja EX Promo and Full Art Darkrai EX from BREAKPoint, the first card I ever pulled from a pack, out of that same Ash-Greninja EX box from Walmart. They’ve got a little wear, but they’re easily my two favorite cards in my entire collection.
All sealed card, missing just the English Moltres with Danish insert (if it exists, I have only seen Ancient Mew with Danish insert card, but have yet to see any of the legendary birds).
All graded cards I currently own, including pop-1 BGS-BL10. (I’m still looking for a Japanese ARS-9+; German Platin-9+; Italian GRAAD-9+; and English corrected illustrator CGA or ARK (Australian) 9+.)
Every secret Santa gift I’ve gotten on E4, sadly I’m in the middle of a move to Denver to post photos but I put the cards, the oversized cards, and art on my office wall in my house and will never get rid of them.
I think at the right point in my life, and the right price, I could sell any part of my PkMn collection, except my E4 sig collection, and my MTG lands collection. Both are worth little to nothing to others, so I don’t see a price that would ever be close to their value to me. Everything else… My Masaki Gengar would be tough to sell… My first holos… but I feel like, if I sell part of it, it would have to be the beginning of the end.
Realistically I think if I was offered enough money I would probably sell any card I own. But if for some reason I was able to resist that…probably all of my artist signed cards (particularly those addressed to me). 1/1 items that are personal and I can never get back
I’ve been collecting ever since base set in 1999. I stopped around 2008 and picked it back up again in 2014. Around 2018, I started getting more serious about collecting (starting to buy sealed product and actually setting collection goals for once). When I did, I started watching the poketuber Leonhart. While my views on him are a bit complicated now (his collabs with the Pauls being one reason), he was one of the people who seemed to share a love for vintage WOTC era cards, in a time when a lot of focus was starting to shift towards modern chase cards. Pokemon was one of the happiest spots in a not so happy childhood for me, so seeing those vintage packs get opened felt so nice. In 2020 (I think?) he did a pop-up shop in Dallas, where you could buy a gen 1 pack for it’s original MSRP of $5. The catch was that you had to open the pack right then and there, so you couldn’t scalp it. It gave me a chance to finally be able to afford to open a gen 1 pack again! I chose jungle (as they were out of rocket, which would have been my top choice), and got to open my pack on his stream in front of a venue of hundreds of people. I pulled this beautiful Erica’s Vileplume, which became my first (and only) card that I’ve graded! I would sell my shadowless collection if I was ever in a bind. This card won’t leave me til my estate sale haha.
While I don’t have a pic handy of my other non-negotiable, I will never get rid of any of my base set weedles. My very first card that I ever pulled was from a pack that my grandparents gave me on Christmas. While I have gotten more since, so I don’t know which one it was, I know that it is one of the bunch, so the whole bunch stays.
One that I will never get rid of, though it isn’t sellable/tradable, is a base set poliwhirl. When I was a kid, I didn’t realize that cardboard was so susceptible to water damage, and had the cards near the bath. The poliwhirl got stuck to an ekans, and when I separated them, the poliwhirl’s belly came off. It’s such a clear memory for me that I laugh about now. I don’t care how damaged it is - it stays
Every one has a price. I hear that. What if you already have everything you need. Then selling a card is not necessary. That’s me. I would never sell that card pulled from a 3$ pack with my kid. Even is someday it was worth 6 figures. My kid can do as they please with it. Me. Nope. It not the card, not the money, it’s the bond and memory of a time that cannot be bought.
Oh, I hear you! There are absolutely some cards of mine that will come with me to the grave. I’m just trying to say, if prices keep going nuts the way they have, and your (or my) collection gets to be worth several hundred K or even low millions in like, lets say 20-30 years, people will have to weigh early retirement/generational wealth vs cardboard.
Hmmm. You are assuming I’m not there. You under estimate how many early collectors,just collecting from " back in the day" are now owners of individual cards, not collections worth hundred K or millions
Every single one of my childhood cards are and always will be NFS. There aren’t any spectacular individual cards in that group, but that group of cards as a whole is the core of my collection.
Now on to some non-childhood cards that I won’t ever part with:
This card may very well be my favorite charmander card ever made (besides base set), and I personally opened and graded this card. It doesn’t hurt that the PSA 10 rate for this card is pretty tough, so replacing it would be a huge pain.
I had a japanese base set pack in my collection for a while, and sometime in 2023, I decided I wanted to open it. I remember seeing the reflection of the holo in the wrapper and the crazy excitement that took over me. Probably the only time I’ve ever “popped off” when opening cards
