The Most Expensive Gold Star Pokemon Cards
The rarest pull of the EX era. Shiny artwork, a tiny gold star, and a 2026 market gone vertical.
By Misprint Editorial | Published Jun 21, 2026 | 8 min read
Four different Gold Star cards have sold for six figures since February. A year ago, exactly none of them had.
Gold Stars are the EX era's endgame: 27 English cards printed between 2004 and 2007, each depicting a shiny Pokemon, each pulled at a rate of roughly one per case, each aged twenty years in an era nobody preserved. They were always grails. What changed in 2026 is the altitude: the anniversary rally hit this rarity harder than any other corner of vintage, and the record book has been rewritten almost monthly.
This countdown ranks the ten most expensive English Gold Stars by verified raw near-mint value as of late June 2026. One reading note that matters for this rarity more than any other: aggregator "ungraded" prices badly lag this market, because raw Gold Stars trade at a steep counterfeit-risk discount while anything authenticated commands a premium (you'll see PSA 1s outselling raw guide prices below). Where guides and authenticated sales disagree, we quote the verified side. The complete 27-card checklist and the six-figure hall of fame follow the countdown.
10. Mewtwo Gold Star, EX Holon Phantoms #103/110 (2006): ~$2,200
Up roughly 230% year over year, and the graded ceiling explains why: a PSA 10 sold for $85,000 in April. Even PSA 8s now bring $11,000. Mewtwo spent years as the overlooked Holon Phantoms star next to its Pikachu setmate; the market has corrected that oversight with prejudice.
9. Treecko Gold Star, EX Team Rocket Returns #109/109 (2004): ~$2,500
One of the three original Gold Stars from the rarity's 2004 debut set. Around $2,500 raw, with PSA 9s at $9,500 and PSA 10s past $30,000. The Team Rocket Returns trio (Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip) launched the entire rarity, and first-of-a-kind status ages well.
8. Mew Gold Star delta species, EX Dragon Frontiers #101/101 (2006): ~$2,700
The Charizard's setmate and perennial second banana, which still means $2,700 raw, PSA 8s at $9,000-plus, and PSA 10s near $28,000. Dragon Frontiers is the same brutally scarce 2006 set powering half the vintage rally, and Mew's fanbase needs no introduction.
7. Mudkip Gold Star, EX Team Rocket Returns #107/109 (2004): ~$3,200
The internet's favorite starter, at $3,200 raw and climbing. The gem population is tiny enough that PSA 10 pricing is mostly theoretical; a PSA 9 was listed at $49,995 this month, which tells you where sellers think the ceiling is. Even a PSA 1 sold for nearly $4,000 in June.
6. Torchic Gold Star, EX Team Rocket Returns #108/109 (2004): ~$3,600
The quiet six-figure card. A gem-mint CGC 10 Torchic sold for $117,600 in February, one of the sales that announced the Gold Star run, and raw copies have followed to $3,200 to $4,000. A fire chicken outselling almost every Charizard in existence is the kind of thing that makes this hobby great.
5. Pikachu Gold Star, EX Holon Phantoms #104/110 (2006): ~$4,300
The rocket ship. In April 2025 a PSA 10 Pikachu Gold Star was an under-$40,000 card. In February 2026 one sold for $148,800; two more cleared $109,000 in May. Raw copies trade around $3,800 to $4,800 and mid-grade slabs now cost what gems cost two years ago. The mascot plus the rarest vintage rarity plus a record-hungry market: no card better captures 2026.
4. Charizard Gold Star delta species, EX Dragon Frontiers #100/101 (2006): ~$5,500
Of course. The Gold Star Charizard, in its black delta-species shiny form, hit $100,000 in PSA 10 in February after $65,600 in December, roughly tripling in six months. Only 98 PSA 10s exist from about 4,800 graded, a 2% gem rate. Raw copies run $4,500 to $6,500, and market watchers are openly speculating about where the next gem sale lands. When the most famous Pokemon meets the rarest rarity, the price has no natural ceiling.
3. Espeon Gold Star, POP Series 5 #16/17 (2007): ~$5,700
The scarcer-than-you-think half of the POP Series 5 pair. Available only through Organized Play promo packs, never in boosters, and unlike its Umbreon partner it never got an English reprint, so every English Espeon Gold Star is the real 2007 article. A PSA 10 sold for $56,120 at Goldin in April, and even damaged raw copies bring $5,000.
2. Umbreon Gold Star, POP Series 5 #17/17 (2007): ~$7,500
The icon of the rarity. The English POP Series 5 Umbreon trades around $6,500 to $8,500 raw (a PSA 2 sold for $7,500 in June, which tells you how little the number on the slab matters when the card is real), with PSA 10s valued around $63,000 and PSA 8s realizing $23,000 at auction. One giant caveat lives in the buyer-beware section below: this exact card has a 2021 reprint with the same name and the same number, and it pollutes listings, and price feeds, everywhere.
1. Rayquaza Gold Star, EX Deoxys #107/107 (2005): ~$9,000 verified
The rarity's apex, and the clearest case of the guide-versus-reality gap. Price guides still quote raw copies near $6,000, yet a heavily played raw copy sold for $8,200 in June, a PSA 1 brought $9,100, and a PSA 3 has cleared $11,999. A verified near-mint raw Rayquaza Gold Star is realistically a five-figure card now. Up the ladder it gets steeper: PSA 7s at $25,100, PSA 8s at $34,101, and a PSA 10 (last publicly recorded at $48,598 back in 2023) that would almost certainly command six figures if one traded today. The shiny black Rayquaza tops our Rayquaza countdown too; no Pokemon wears the Gold Star better.
The Six-Figure Hall of Fame
The 2026 record book, all verified sales:
- $180,000: Umbreon Gold Star, Japanese Player's Club promo (025/PLAY's partner, 026/PLAY), PSA 10 at PWCC in early 2024, matched by a BGS 9.5 sale in late 2025. The Japanese PLAY promos required 70,000 loyalty points to obtain in 2005 and are the most valuable Gold Stars on earth, several times their English POP 5 counterparts.
- $148,800: Pikachu Gold Star PSA 10, February 2026 (with $114,000 and $109,800 follow-ups in May).
- $117,600: Torchic Gold Star CGC 10, February 2026.
- $100,000: Charizard Gold Star delta species PSA 10, February 2026.
- $85,000: Mewtwo Gold Star PSA 10, April 2026.
- $56,120: Espeon Gold Star POP 5 PSA 10, April 2026 (its Japanese PLAY sibling has traded $46,500 to $66,000).
And the mid-tier is following: a Groudon Gold Star PSA 10 brought $27,000 this year. In this rarity, "mid-tier" now means five figures gem-mint.
The Budget Gold Stars
Here's the part most rankings skip: a third of the checklist is still attainable. Genuine English Gold Stars trading between roughly $700 and $1,100 raw as of late June: the Regi trio from Legend Maker (Regice at about $700 is the cheapest Gold Star, period), Celebi from Crystal Guardians, the Power Keepers Eeveelutions (Flareon around $776, Jolteon $860, Vaporeon $1,085, a fraction of their POP 5 cousins), and the legendary beasts Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. Graded PSA 8 copies of several trade $1,350 to $2,400. If the top of this list is out of reach, the bottom is a genuine vintage grail for the price of a modern booster case.
Buyer Beware: The Traps
Gold Stars are among the most counterfeited and mislabeled cards in the hobby, and the 2026 prices have made it worse.
- The Celebrations Umbreon trap. The 2021 Celebrations Classic Collection reprinted the Umbreon Gold Star with the same name and the same #17. It's a $50 to $200 card, it floods search results, and it even contaminates automated price feeds. Espeon got no such reprint, only Umbreon; know which one you're bidding on.
- Japanese PLAY promos are different cards. The $180,000 Umbreon is the Japanese 026/PLAY loyalty promo, not the English POP 5 card. Listings conflate them constantly, in both directions.
- Worlds deck replicas. The 2007-2008 World Championships decks include replica Jolteon, Vaporeon, and Flareon Gold Stars with non-standard card backs. They're souvenirs, not the Power Keepers originals.
- No English 1st Editions exist. The English EX era had no 1st Edition print runs, so an "English 1st Edition Gold Star" listing is a red flag by definition.
- Fake tells. The authentic POP 5 Umbreon's artwork has a matte finish; fakes add a glitter foil that the real card never had. Oversaturated borders, muddy color, and fuzzy text are the other common giveaways. At these prices: buy slabbed, or buy from a marketplace that authenticates, and read our fake-spotting guide before going raw.
The Full Rankings
| Rank | Card | Set / Year | Approx. value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rayquaza Gold Star | EX Deoxys (2005) | ~$9,000 verified (PSA 8: $34,101) |
| 2 | Umbreon Gold Star | POP Series 5 (2007) | ~$7,500 (PSA 10: $63,000) |
| 3 | Espeon Gold Star | POP Series 5 (2007) | ~$5,700 (PSA 10: $56,120) |
| 4 | Charizard Gold Star delta | EX Dragon Frontiers (2006) | ~$5,500 (PSA 10: $100,000) |
| 5 | Pikachu Gold Star | EX Holon Phantoms (2006) | ~$4,300 (PSA 10: $148,800) |
| 6 | Torchic Gold Star | EX Team Rocket Returns (2004) | ~$3,600 (CGC 10: $117,600) |
| 7 | Mudkip Gold Star | EX Team Rocket Returns (2004) | ~$3,200 |
| 8 | Mew Gold Star delta | EX Dragon Frontiers (2006) | ~$2,700 (PSA 10: $28,000) |
| 9 | Treecko Gold Star | EX Team Rocket Returns (2004) | ~$2,500 (PSA 10: $32,800) |
| 10 | Mewtwo Gold Star | EX Holon Phantoms (2006) | ~$2,200 (PSA 10: $85,000) |
Honorable mentions in a tight band just below: Latias (about $1,700), the Gyarados Gold Star (about $2,500 verified, arguably top-10 and rising), and Latios (about $1,450).
The Complete English Gold Star Checklist
All 27, for the set builders:
| Card | Set | Number | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mudkip, Torchic, Treecko | EX Team Rocket Returns | 107-109/109 | 2004 |
| Latias, Latios, Rayquaza | EX Deoxys | 105-107/107 | 2005 |
| Entei, Raikou, Suicune | EX Unseen Forces | 113-115/115 | 2005 |
| Groudon, Kyogre, Metagross | EX Delta Species | 111-113/113 | 2005 |
| Regice, Regirock, Registeel | EX Legend Maker | 90-92/92 | 2006 |
| Alakazam, Celebi | EX Crystal Guardians | 99-100/100 | 2006 |
| Gyarados delta, Mewtwo, Pikachu | EX Holon Phantoms | 102-104/110 | 2006 |
| Charizard delta, Mew delta | EX Dragon Frontiers | 100-101/101 | 2006 |
| Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon | EX Power Keepers | 100-102/108 | 2007 |
| Espeon, Umbreon | POP Series 5 | 16-17/17 | 2007 |
The Bottom Line
The Gold Star market crossed a threshold in 2026: what used to be one legendary card (the Japanese Umbreon) with a six-figure price is now a rarity where four different cards have cleared $85,000-plus this year and the raw market is repricing to match. The pattern beneath the records is consistent, though. Twenty-seven cards, one-per-case pull rates, twenty years of attrition, and a counterfeit problem severe enough that authentication is the price of admission. Buy the exact card, verified, and remember the budget tier exists; a real Gold Star for $700 is still one of the best deals in vintage.
Prices referenced are approximate market values as of late June 2026 and will fluctuate. Check current listings on Misprint for the latest prices.
