Charizard · Expedition Base Set, what to know.
About the Charizard card
Numbered 39 of 165 in Expedition Base Set, released in September 2002, Charizard is a Rare, a Stage 2 Fire-type carrying 100 HP.
It evolves from Charmeleon, so Charizard is a later-stage card that set-builders usually slot into a full evolution run rather than buy alone.
Illustrated by Atsuko Nishida. Nishida is the original designer of Pikachu and many Gen 1 Pokémon, and her card work has a soft, rounded warmth that suits the friendlier creatures.
About Charizard in the Pokémon world
The fire-flying final form of the Charmander line, and the unofficial mascot of the franchise outside of Pikachu. Massive dragon-shaped silhouette, wings, tail-flame. The single most-recognized trading card of the modern era. Its Base Set holo print drove the entire vintage Pokémon market and continues to set the comp price for every other Wizards-era holo.
What is Charizard worth?
Charizard is a non-holo Rare. In Expedition Base Set, value concentrates in the holo rares, so a Charizard trades modestly, though a clean, well-centered 1st Edition copy in PSA 10 is scarcer than the print run suggests and carries a real premium. Check the live price above for the figure by grade.
Print variants and how to spot them
Confirm the print and finish on Charizard before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.
Grading and condition
Non-holo Rares like Charizard are easier on surface but no kinder on centering. Wizards-era cards were less protected than the holos, so high-grade Charizard survivors can be scarcer than expected, with edge whitening the usual cap.
If you are collecting Charizard
For Charizard, check centering by eye, edge whitening on all four sides, and surface under angled light. Non-holo Rares from this era are cheap enough that a PSA 10 submission on a clean Charizard can make sense.
