Horsea · Fossil, what to know.
About the Horsea card
Horsea is card 49 of 62 in Fossil, released in October 1999, a Common. It is a Basic Water-type with 40 HP.
As a Basic Pokémon, Horsea needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.
Illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. Arita painted the Base Set Charizard and much of the early holo run, and his work has a painterly weight that set the visual tone of the Wizards era.
The Pokédex entry printed on Horsea reads: "Known to shoot down flying bugs with precision blasts of ink from the surface of the water."
About Horsea in the Pokémon world
A small water seahorse Pokémon. Fossil Common. Cheap.
What is Horsea worth?
Horsea is a Common, so raw copies trade for very little and most of the print run survives. The only real value is in pristine, high-grade copies, where even a Common can reach low triple digits in 1st Edition PSA 10. See the live price above for the current figure by grade.
Print variants and how to spot them
Fossil shipped in 1st Edition and Unlimited, with no Shadowless print. The Edition 1 stamp under the artwork separates the scarcer 1st Edition Horsea from the Unlimited copy.
Grading and condition
Horsea is the most forgiving tier to grade in the set. Centering on the framed border is the usual cap, and the soft Wizards-era cardstock picks up edge whitening easily, but high print runs keep clean copies affordable.
If you are collecting Horsea
Raw copies of Horsea are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Horsea is the practical move.
Three prints, three markets.
Edition 1 stamp under the artwork. Trades above Unlimited in matching grade.
No stamp. The standard, more affordable print.
