Best Charmander Cards to Grade
The Charmander cards worth grading, ranked by expected profit per submission — every grade outcome weighted by how often the card actually receives it — after current grading fees. The PSA 10 best case is shown on every row but does not decide the order. Top pick: Charmander (Dragon) at an expected +$851.
Ranked by expected profit 15
| # | Card | Raw | PSA 9 | PSA 10 | Cost | Best case | Gem rate | Expected | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expected +$851 per submission: 10.1% of 1,192 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($8,000), and a PSA 9 ($1,296) still clears the $1,034 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $335 | $1,296 | $8,000 | $699 | +$6,966 | 10.1% | +$851 | 1,192 high |
| 2 | Expected +$426 per submission: 13.4% of 179 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($4,118), and only a PSA 10 covers the $466 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $56 | $70 | $4,118 | $410 | +$3,652 | 13.4% | +$426 | 179 high |
| 3 | Expected +$412 per submission: 7.7% of 1,474 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($5,750), and a PSA 9 ($306) still clears the $777 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $100 | $306 | $5,750 | $677 | +$4,974 | 7.7% | +$412 | 1,474 high |
| 4 | Expected +$235 per submission: 29.5% of 576 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($950), and a PSA 9 ($217) still clears the $149 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $60 | $217 | $950 | $89 | +$801 | 29.5% | +$235 | 576 high |
| 5 | Expected +$183 per submission: 32.1% of 661 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($640), and a PSA 9 ($172) still clears the $106 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $20 | $172 | $640 | $86 | +$534 | 32.1% | +$183 | 661 high |
| 6 | Expected +$159 per submission: 2.2% of 898 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($2,700), and a PSA 9 ($1,000) still clears the $579 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $183 | $1,000 | $2,700 | $396 | +$2,121 | 2.2% | +$159 | 898 high |
| 7 | Expected +$84 per submission: 16.2% of 154 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($1,000), and only a PSA 10 covers the $98 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $8 | $16 | $1,000 | $90 | +$902 | 16.2% | +$84 | 154 high |
| 8 | Expected +$41 per submission: 3.2% of 220 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($2,640), and a PSA 9 ($100) still clears the $408 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $13 | $100 | $2,640 | $395 | +$2,232 | 3.2% | +$41 | 220 high |
| 9 | Expected +$39 per submission: 23.9% of 36,783 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($570), and only a PSA 10 covers the $176 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $90 | $110 | $570 | $86 | +$394 | 23.9% | +$39 | 36,783 high |
| 10 | Expected +$36 per submission: 18.2% of 346 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($520), and only a PSA 10 covers the $92 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $7 | $68 | $520 | $85 | +$428 | 18.2% | +$36 | 346 high |
| 11 | Expected +$27 per submission: 39.7% of 184 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($250), and only a PSA 10 covers the $88 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $6 | $34 | $250 | $82 | +$162 | 39.7% | +$27 | 184 high |
| 12 | Expected +$12 per submission: 58.4% of 3,439 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($116), and a PSA 9 ($108) still clears the $98 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $17 | $108 | $116 | $81 | +$18 | 58.4% | +$12 | 3,439 high |
| 13 | Expected +$11 per submission: 47.1% of 3,762 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($249), and only a PSA 10 covers the $127 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $45 | $39 | $249 | $82 | +$122 | 47.1% | +$11 | 3,762 high |
| 14 | Expected +$4 per submission: 6.6% of 654 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($900), and only a PSA 10 covers the $107 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $18 | $65 | $900 | $89 | +$793 | 6.6% | +$4 | 654 high |
| 15 | Expected loss −$24 per submission: 55.8% of 11,536 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($120), and only a PSA 10 covers the $106 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $25 | $35 | $120 | $81 | +$14 | 55.8% | −$24 | 11,536 high |
Best case only — no gem-rate evidence 1
Fewer than 10 graded copies in the PSA and CGC population reports. They clear the grading cost if they gem — that is all the numbers support.
| # | Card | Raw | PSA 9 | PSA 10 | Cost | Best case | Gem rate | Expected | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | $65 | — | $600 | $86 | +$449 | — | — | none <10 |
Expected = every grade outcome weighted by its share of the card's graded population, minus the raw price and the grading cost (PSA tier fee for the graded value plus ~$20 round-trip shipping, fees as of 2026-09-26). Best case is the PSA 10 leg alone. Gem rates come from a self-selected population — collectors grade their cleanest copies — so read them as an upper bound. Raw is a blended market price, not a sale of your copy. Full method and filters on the grading index.
How to read the Charmander ranking
Every Charmander card listed here clears one bar: its PSA 10 price beats its raw price by more than the cost of grading it. 16 Charmander printings pass. 15 of them (94%) have a gem-rate sample of at least ten graded copies in the population reports, and 14 of those keep a positive expected value once every grade outcome is weighted by how often the card actually receives it.
The order is expected profit, not the PSA 10 best case, which rewards the widest raw-to-gem gap whether the card gems one time in two or one in fifty. Here the top row, the Charmander from Dragon, gems 10.1% of the time across 1,192 graded copies: +$851 is what a long run of submissions would average, $6,966 is what one lucky copy returns.
The median gem rate across the sampled Charmander cards is 18.2%. Roughly one submitted copy in 5 came back PSA 10, and most rows here need that PSA 10 to cover raw price plus fee, so the gem rate decides whether a submission pays. Of the 15 ranked cards, 7 still cover raw price plus fee at PSA 9, 8 need a 10 to break even and 1 loses money on expectation. 15 rest on a hundred or more graded copies.
1 card sits below the ranking with a best case only, fewer than ten graded copies. The largest best case among them is the Charmander from Scarlet & Violet Black Star Promos at +$449.
Before you submit a Charmander card
Grading pays on condition. The four things every grader scores — centering, corners, edges and surface — can be checked at home before paying a fee, and a copy that is visibly off-centre or has a whitened corner will not gem whatever the population says. Those gem rates come from a self-selected population of clean copies, so a random copy does worse.
The cost column assumes a PSA submission at the tier covering the card's PSA 10 value, fees as of 2026-09-26, and raw is CardTrack's blended near-mint price, not a sale of your copy: pay more, or hold a lighter copy, and the break-even moves against you. Test a card with your own numbers in the ROI calculator, see the printings that fail the bar on the Charmander card list, or see how gem-mint premiums run across the whole catalogue on the PSA premium index.