I have been dipping my toes back into the Pokemon collecting game and there is a ton of new stuff out there since I was a kid.
I try to narrow the collection down so I don’t end up wanting everything. Since I was a kid I was a fan of Jolteon and having found out there are more eeveelutions than when I was growing up (jungle set) I also like umbreon and some of the Leafeon and Espeon. I just found out about the aquapolis Umbreon and saw there is a holo, reverse holo and normal version. I was familiar with holo and normal but reverse holo is new for me.
Does every normal card also have a reverse holo and are they more valuable than a normal card, how should I see this? Looks like the graded reverse holo ones are cheaper than normal cards.
The journey of discovering new Pokemon and cards is the best part! Generally speaking you’re correct that reverse holos will usually be less expensive than the holos of the same card. There are some exceptions (mainly ex era stamped reverses, but that’s pretty much the only exception that I’m aware of)
That’s speaking for NM raws. Often times in perfect grades your reverse holos will be worth more because they’re generally harder to grade than most holos. The prices for these types of cards usually drop off heavily when you move from 10 to 9 grades. And I’d recommend staying away from low pop reverse 10s in the beginning (or always lol). Every era is different and even within the same era the print quality and prices vary a lot.
Aquapolis is a generally scarce and expensive set, and Eevees are very popular so those will be expensive no matter what
I agree with wisewailmer. Reverses are a lot of fun, but generally they’re more expensive than normal (NON holo) cards, especially for popular species like the eevolutions.
-If we think about legendary collection, reverses are the main chase factor, so they’re frankly on the expensive side.
-Regarding the e-series era (expedition, aquapolis, skyridge) they’re usually cheaper than the holo version, and it could be a nice way to collect cards on a budget.
-For the ex-era, the opposite is true, basic holo cards aren’t that valuable, so the reverse version is a bit more pricey (although usually decently affordable especially for a binder copy).
-dp era: it really depends considering the species or the card popularity, they’re still a bit niche. I would say they are worth more especially in high grades.
You can use tcgfish.com to look up cards and see their different versions and avg prices at a glance. Sometimes information is old or missing, but it is a goid introduction to understanding trends between different versions of a card
That’s what happens to hoenn hoes! To be honest I always think to ex era when I hear reverses, it’s a natural reflex.
I still love the LC, it’s still unique enough to be awesome to collect. Also, who wouldn’t love the challenge of getting a PSA10 charizard in this (very hard to grade) set?
In the West, most of the cards have a reverse version - meanwhile, in Japan, most of the sets don’t have any.
My advice is to try to understand what you want to collect (for example specific sets or not, the version of the card, language, or if you give importance to these things or not) before starting to buy cards - wasting money and time on something that maybe you discover one month later you didn’t want… I find it frustrating!
It’s gonna depend heavily on the language and set. Also, “reverse” holo has always been the terminology for the alt card, but means something different depending on era. In English/international, for wotc “reverse holo” would’ve been like a 1st edition card until LC where the entire card other than the art is holo. That continued in expedition, Aquapolis, skyridge, RS, sandstorm, and dragon. Then reverse holos were regular holographs with energy symbols through the first third of ex era. Then they switched to a holo with a set name stamp, but still called reverse holo. In DP they started the reverse holo format we know today. In Japanese, most sets have not historically had reverse holos at all, but more recent years have had some “mirror” holos which is like a matte reverse holo with no design
I would start by thinking about the boundaries you want for your collection. If you’re into eeveelutions you’re in great company on this site, but collecting them is not for the faint of heart
Yeah that’s what I have been trying to do by collecting mainly Jolteon and Umbreon cards. I do like to buy some of the more valuable cards in later sets if I like them or expect them to rise in value a lot.
But since I was a kid I really liked Jolteon and from the newer eeveelutions umbreon.
