PORYGON

1ST EDITION

SIGNED BY TOMOAKI IMAKUNI

Recording artist, illustrator, and longtime mascot for the Pokémon franchise, Tomoaki Imakuni is also known for his eccentric personality and unique costumes. He’s been involved with the TCG since the beginning, receiving cameos on cards such as Imakuni?’s Doduo and even having his own dedicated Trainer cards. When Rohmer attended the 2019 Pokémon World Championships, he approached Imakuni for an autograph with a 1st Edition Base Set Porygon—the very first card that Imakuni created artwork for.

1ST EDITION

The 1999 Base Set Charizard is a symbol for all things elite in the collecting world and an immediate centerpiece for any fortunate enough to cage one. Rohmer acquired his copy by trading away his entire 2021 25th Anniversary Creatures Deck—a highly limited half-deck of 30 cards that hark back to the franchise’s origins, exclusively bestowed upon a small group of Creatures Inc. affiliates and Pokémon card artists. When a fellow collector reached out to negotiate a trade for the deck, Rohmer honed in on a PSA 10 1st Edition Base Set Charizard, a card he “never, ever dreamt” of owning. A deal was cut and the Charizard was his.

The annual Tropical Mega Battle, held between 1999 and 2001 in Honolulu, Hawaii, marked the first time both U.S. and international Pokémon TCG players could compete with one another in an official tournament. This proved to be a formative time for Pokémon’s organized play division, as the template of these events eventually inspired the global championships we know today. This Lucky Stadium Trainer card was given out exclusively to competitors who placed during the event, meaning less than 50 copies are believed to have been printed. Extreme scarcity aside, the card also features bilingual card effects in English and Japanese, a rare occurrence that perfectly encapsulates the inclusive nature of this early Pokémon event.

NATTA WAKE VOL. 6

SIGNED BY KAGEMARU HIMENO

Collectors have been seeing Kagemaru Himeno credited on cards since 1999. As one of Pokémon’s most celebrated artists, Himeno has been behind some of the most recognizable card illustrations of all time: the Birthday Pikachu Black Star Promo and the Eeveelutions from the 1999 Jungle set, among many others. After not publicly signing in the U.S. for well over a decade, Himeno shocked the hobby by announcing a signing event at the Charlotte Regional Championships earlier this year. An estimated 450 collectors attended, and Rohmer was one of the lucky few to take home an autograph from a member of Pokémon royalty. Rohmer’s anointed card was a Japanese promo that was distributed in the Pokémon Card Ni Natta Wake manga, which Kagemaru Himeno also created. This playful card depicts a revised version of the Birthday Pikachu seen on earlier promos.

SIGNED BY

HIRONOBU YOSHIDA

“This is by far my favorite card in my collection,” states Rohmer. Diving further into Pokémon’s pool of creators, this Shiny Mew promo was signed by the card’s artist, Hironobu Yoshida, at the 2007 World Championships. With Mew being a Mythical Pokémon, it is fitting that Yoshida would leave his mark on this card considering that he is the creature designer for other iconic Mythicals such as Celebi, Darkrai, and Deoxys, the last of which he sketched alongside his signature. Similar to many of his fellow artists, Yoshida is an elusive figure who only publicly signs once in a blue moon—or, in this case, a blue Mew. Looking to make an offer? Look elsewhere. According to Rohmer, “it’s the card I could never see myself parting with.”

SIGNED BY TAKUMI AKABANE

Takumi Akabane is one of the original members of the Pokémon Trading Card Game development team and has also contributed artwork for the game’s many Special Energy cards. This Reverse Foil R Energy card from EX Team Rocket Returns sports ink from Akabane alongside a drawing of the Gen 4 ghost-type Pokémon Drifloon. Both the card and the signature were graded as perfect 10s, making this piece, in Rohmer’s words, a “unicorn.”

1ST EDITION

SIGNED BY MASAKAZU FUKUDA

The EX-era Gold Star cards are up there among the most desirable Pokémon chase sets in existence. Each card features a different Shiny Pokémon depicted as the epic, awe-inspiring figure that they are. This is all thanks to the dramatic renderings provided by Masakazu Fukuda, who took ownership of the Gold Stars and raised them to greatness. Rohmer personally got this Rayquaza autographed at the 2020 Dallas Regional Championships, where Fukuda was publicly signing for the first time in years. Fukuda’s additional Rayquaza sketch on top of an already coveted card handily multiplies this card’s cool factor.

SIGNED

BY KEN SUGIMORI

A collection of Pokémon’s finest autographed cards would not be complete without Ken Sugimori, the artist behind the original 151 Pokémon illustrations, the franchise’s many video game covers, and over a thousand unique cards. Along with flaunting a rather elusive autograph, this card has another one-of-a-kind quality. On it, Sugimori has sketched an image of Mew; it is an extremely rare occurrence for a Sugimori sketch to depict something other than his signature Pikachu head. Rohmer has stated that he has never seen a Sugimori Mew before and that this may very well be the first and only of its kind.

2006

MEW – HOLO GOLD STAR 15

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As a PSA Set Registry user, Rohmer became the first collector on the platform to build the unlimited Japanese Dragon Frontiers Holofoils set to 100% completion. This set contains 22 cards and features Delta Species remixes of classic Pokémon, including a Grass-type Dragonite, a Psychic-type Ninetales, and this dazzling Gold Star duo. Searching for ways to easily catalog his collection, Rohmer decided to load his set onto the Set Registry after seeing the benefits it offered. “Your whole collection is right there on one page,” he explains. “It’s easy to view and you know the values… it’s a cool way of having everything under one roof without having to put in a lot of effort.” What’s more, every card in Jeremy’s set is a Gem Mint 10.

Check out Swolepoke’s complete set on the PSA Set Registry:

When the 1992 Stadium Club Beam Team insert set first lit up the scene just over 30 years ago, that’s exactly what it was: a supernova that forever changed how people looked at chase cards.

Collectors of a certain age remember the dreary dullness of card manufacturer offerings before that big bang moment. At the time, there was no such thing as a highly collectible insert set. Fleer AllStars? Upper Deck Silver Sluggers? Cool to the touch...

Beam Team delivered a jolt, a paradigm shift not unlike a few years later when ultra-rare parallels, autographs, and memorabilia would be commonplace.

Driven by a checklist of the game’s most electric and an innovative, never-before-seen design inspired by the Topps-sponsored “Beams Above the Rim” laser show, the Stadium Club Beam Team set quickly recharged the hobby.

Factor in a level of scarcity that was just beginning to shine through the heyday of the Junk Wax era, and it’s easy to see why the original Beam Team — and some of its later incarnations — continues to power personal collections.

Here’s a shocker: 1992 Stadium Club wasn’t actually the first sighting of a Beam Team insert.

Topps had incorporated Beam Team inserts in its flagship 1992 Topps product earlier that year. Lacking the foil, grandeur, and rarity of the Stadium Club set—and spreading its wattage thin with three players to a card—these Topps Beam Team inserts barely made a blip.

That certainly wasn’t the case with the Stadium Club Beam Team cards. Inserted into Series 2 packs and introduced in late October 1992, the insert rode the current of insane hype surrounding Shaquille O’Neal’s NBA debut.

He burst onto the scene two weeks later in brilliant fashion, scoring 12 points while grabbing 18 rebounds in a 110–100 win over Miami Heat. That performance sparked a streak of 11 double-doubles to begin his career, and by December, his Beam Team rookie card was arguably the hottest card on the market.

Meanwhile, the NFL draft class that year was a bust; baseball was coming down from an early-nineties Ken Griffey Jr. high, and the hockey world was waiting for Eric Lindros to flex his star power.

In 1992, it was Shaq—and only Shaq—and his Beam Team insert was the card to own. Michael Jordan wasn’t far behind, and his card still radiates with collectability.

Topps returned in 1993 with a well-received Beam Team sequel that included popular Jordan and Shaq cards alongside rookie versions of Chris Webber and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. But a poorly designed third effort did not register. It took another year — and the introduction of intricate diecutting — for the set to regain its magnetism. That 1995 set would be the last until 2000, when Beam Team was reintroduced as a numbered insert with print runs of 500 each.

The culture shock continues to the present day, with Topps making Beam Team a Stadium Club fixture across baseball and soccer releases and current greats now powering the set into a whole new era of collectability.

Inserted at a rate of one per Series 2 box and featuring a 21-card set, the Jordan insert was one of the first truly hard pulls in the card collection arena. Pick the wrong box, and you’d end up with Jeff Hornacek. Pick the right box and land a Jordan card that is now worth more than $6,000 if in PSA 10 condition. Only 102 of the close to 2,500 PSA-graded versions have commanded PSA 10 status.

Gem Mint versions of Shaq’s arguably top rookie insert card hit a peak of more than five figures during the recent card boom, while they’ve fallen back down to earth a little. With 119 PSA 10 designations as of May, they’ll still set you back a pretty penny, with one selling for $5,000 late last year.

BEAM TEAM

Speaking of pretty pennies, they don’t get much nicer than this. People forget the cultural force that was Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, Shaq’s Blue Chips co-star and Orlando Magic running mate. Drafted third but traded to the Magic for No. 1 pick, Chris Webber, Hardaway was an instant star, and he and Shaq barely scratched the surface of their potential. This remains one of Penny’s best rookie cards, and PSA 10 copies — of which there are fewer than 30 — can run at more than $400. Think that’s rare? There are only three Members Only PSA 10s.

BEAM TEAM

The Beam Team brand’s first foray into football also marked its first serial-numbered set, with just 500 per player and a 30-card set. Manning, Brett Favre, and Randy Moss are highlights of the set, which was printed on die-cut plastic, rendering them incredibly tough grades. Only seven of Manning’s cards have been graded by PSA: four 8s and three 9s.

The first baseball Beam Team set features an absolutely loaded checklist of star cards sequentially numbered up to 500. Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken Jr., Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas, and, of course, “The Kid” — Ken Griffey Jr.—are featured in the set. A PSA 10 Griffey with a population of six sold for nearly $1,000 in May.

With just two words, Jordan announced his return to basketball, and in 2002, Topps announced his return to the Beam Team set with his first numbered version and the first one starring Jordan in a Washington Wizards uniform. A surprisingly few 43 have been graded by PSA, with nine coming back as Gem Mint 10s. A PSA 9, of which there are 14 copies, sold for $1,499 in March.

In the mid-2000s, Topps re-introduced the Beam Team set with both memorabilia cards and autographed cards of the top rookies (albeit not including Kevin Durant). Even in graded condition, Kobe’s cards don’t sell for astronomical amounts, with PSA 8 copies selling for less than $400.

This one hurts. Back in 2019, the Gold Rainbow 1/1 version of Ohtani’s first Beam Team, released in 2018 and graded PSA 10, sold for just $410 at auction. That was a nice pickup for the buyer, especially considering base versions in PSA 10 condition sell for more than $300 today.