Pokémon card rarities explained: rare, full art and gold cards

Every Pokémon card has a rarity, printed in the bottom corner. On Japanese cards it's a letter code; on English cards it's a symbol or name. Here's how to read it — and which cards are the rare ones.

Japanese rarity codes

• C, U, R — common, uncommon and rare: most of the cards in every pack.
• RR — Double Rare: Pokémon ex cards in regular art.
• AR — Art Rare: a Pokémon shown in a full illustration. Called Illustration Rare in English.
• SR — Super Rare: full art Pokémon ex and Trainer cards. Called Ultra Rare in English.
• SAR — Special Art Rare: full art Pokémon ex and Trainers with special illustrations, usually the chase cards of a set. Called Special Illustration Rare (SIR) in English.
• UR — Ultra Rare: gold cards with a textured gold finish. Called Hyper Rare in English.

The Mega Evolution series adds its own top-end rarities, such as the Mega Rayquaza ex Master Ultra Rare.

What are full art Pokémon cards?

A full art Pokémon card has artwork that covers the whole card instead of sitting in a frame. SR, SAR and gold cards are all full art. Special Illustration Rares are the most sought-after full arts in modern sets because each one is a unique illustration — see our rare single cards and collectors' favourites in cool Pokémon cards.

What are gold Pokémon cards?

Gold Pokémon cards — UR in Japanese, Hyper Rare in English — are printed with a gold, textured finish and are among the hardest cards to pull from a set. The Mega Charizard Y ex Hyper Rare is one example. Gold metal "cards" sold online as novelties are not playable Pokémon TCG cards.

What are the rarest Pokémon cards?

The rarest Pokémon cards were never sold in packs at all: prize cards from contests and tournaments, awarded to a handful of people. The best known is Pikachu Illustrator, a 1997–98 contest prize: see the rarest Pokémon cards. In modern sets the rarest cards are the SAR, gold and top-rarity cards, which can turn up less than once per booster box.

Rarity isn't the whole story

Two cards of the same rarity can be worth very different amounts. The Pokémon on the card matters — Charizard, Pikachu and Gengar are always in demand — and so do condition and grading. To see what cards sell for, use our Pokémon card price checker, or read about the most expensive Pokémon cards.