Desk grade
7.5
6.5 – 8.0
Range from this photo. Not a PSA, BGS, or SGC cert.
- Centering
- 7.5
- Corners
- 7.5
- Edges
- 7.5
- Surface
- 7.5
Estimate from catalog averages, not a live surface check.
Glare, blur, and parallels get missed. The grading company still has the cert.
Value
Send it to slab
$780
Raw · $420 – $1,500
Desk book
Raw
$780
$420 – $1,500
PSA 10
$9,800
PSA 9 $1,600
Population suggests a real shot at a grade that clears raw plus fees. Liquidity also concentrates in holders at this level.
Grade yield
24% chance of PSA 9+. Net potential upside: +$216 after grading costs. Leave it raw.
PSA regular · $50 fee · $15 ship · $9 insurance · about 45 days. Shifted by this photo's 7.5 and 2,140 graded copies. Not a PSA yield.
Raw $780 · PSA 10 $9,800 · PSA 9 $1,600 · PSA 8 $640
- PSA 103% · pop 86+$7,661 after fee
- PSA 922% · pop 640+$544 after fee
- PSA 839% · pop 980-$289 after fee
Net is the slab price minus a 13% take, ship pad, a $50 fee, and raw. A 10 is not the likely outcome of a 9 photo.
Hold or sell
Mixed book — no rush
Liquidity 51
No season window on this sport. The call is only the listed pile and the pop. One census snapshot — not a live pop velocity.
Trust shield
Check these tells
A phone photo cannot measure font kerning or a rosette against a reference set. These are the known tells for this issue.
- 1st Edition stamp ink, size, and placement are the most faked marks in TCG
- Shadowless vs Unlimited is a back-and-border call, not just the stamp
Liquidity
List this copy
Title, desk grade, and comps in one block. We do not submit it for you.
Authenticity
Likely authentic
Visual review, not a cert.
Census match on a well-documented issue. Still verify holograms, stamps, and stock in hand — photos miss texture.
- Print and type match known copies of this issue
- Stock and finish consistent with the set
- 1st Edition Neo stamp plus the correct holo. Unlimited Lugia is a different, cheaper card.
Census
How many exist
Graded
2,140
Gem mint
86
Gem rate
4.0%
Available now
12
- PSA 8980 pop · 5 listed
- PSA 9640 pop · 3 listed
- PSA 1086 pop · 0 listed
Compiled census estimate (PSA/BGS public pops)
Last sale · PSA 9 · $1,480 · Jul 2026
Comps
Sales tape
Desk book until you pull a live market read.
PSA 10 · Goldin
Sep 18, 2026
$9,092
Raw · Heritage
Aug 25, 2026
$765
PSA 10 · Heritage
Aug 8, 2026
$9,570
PSA 9 · Heritage
May 23, 2026
$1,581
Raw · eBay
May 1, 2026
$828
PSA 9 · Fanatics
Jun 12, 2026
$1,705
Raw · PWCC
Feb 23, 2026
$867
On the market
Open a live search on the desks that actually print paper.
Desk
If you send it in
Set the grade you think you have and the service you would buy.
- At Raw
- $780
- Raw now
- $780
- Gem book
- $9,800
- Lift after fees
- -$50
Keep it raw · 45-day regular at $50.
Tells
How fakes fail
Stamp, shadow, and holo pattern decide the market.
- 1st Edition stamp ink, size, and placement are the most faked marks in TCG
- Shadowless vs Unlimited is a back-and-border call, not just the stamp
- Holo should have the era swirl — modern holo sheets look wrong
- Unlimited, Shadowless, and 1st Edition are three different books
On this issue: 1st Edition Neo stamp plus the correct holo. Unlimited Lugia is a different, cheaper card.
Centering & surface
Meter L/R and T/B from this photo, then loupe the print. A hint at what PSA, BGS, or SGC might say — not a cert.
Lot notes
The other vintage holo whale after Charizard.