Best Salamence Cards to Grade
The Salamence 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: Salamence LV.X (Arceus) at an expected +$1,846.
Ranked by expected profit 15
| # | Card | Raw | PSA 9 | PSA 10 | Cost | Best case | Gem rate | Expected | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expected +$1,846 per submission: 2.9% of 804 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($26,100), and a PSA 9 ($5,000) still clears the $2,420 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $140 | $5,000 | $26,100 | $2,280 | +$23,680 | 2.9% | +$1,846 | 804 high |
| 2 | Expected +$1,058 per submission: 14.2% of 577 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($8,500), and a PSA 9 ($505) still clears the $954 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $250 | $505 | $8,500 | $704 | +$7,546 | 14.2% | +$1,058 | 577 high |
| 3 | Expected +$994 per submission: 6% of 684 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($16,500), and a PSA 9 ($1,495) still clears the $1,659 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $475 | $1,495 | $16,500 | $1,184 | +$14,841 | 6% | +$994 | 684 high |
| 4 | Expected +$886 per submission: 4.4% of 938 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($8,300), and a PSA 9 ($3,753) still clears the $1,039 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $337 | $3,753 | $8,300 | $702 | +$7,261 | 4.4% | +$886 | 938 high |
| 5 | Expected +$803 per submission: 6% of 1,342 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($10,500), and a PSA 9 ($1,200) still clears the $1,318 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $194 | $1,200 | $10,500 | $1,124 | +$9,182 | 6% | +$803 | 1,342 high |
| 6 | Expected +$455 per submission: 10.6% of 1,172 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($4,300), and a PSA 9 ($360) still clears the $469 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $57 | $360 | $4,300 | $412 | +$3,831 | 10.6% | +$455 | 1,172 high |
| 7 | Expected +$317 per submission: 5.2% of 230 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($4,650), and a PSA 9 ($400) still clears the $432 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $16 | $400 | $4,650 | $416 | +$4,219 | 5.2% | +$317 | 230 high |
| 8 | Expected +$115 per submission: 7.9% of 101 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($1,450), and a PSA 9 ($230) still clears the $131 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $17 | $230 | $1,450 | $114 | +$1,319 | 7.9% | +$115 | 101 high |
| 9 | Expected +$70 per submission: 46.4% of 511 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($345), and only a PSA 10 covers the $100 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $17 | $17 | $345 | $83 | +$245 | 46.4% | +$70 | 511 high |
| 10 | Expected +$69 per submission: 22.5% of 71 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($499), and a PSA 9 ($110) still clears the $97 you have in it. Confidence medium on that sample. | $12 | $110 | $499 | $85 | +$402 | 22.5% | +$69 | 71 medium |
| 11 | Expected +$64 per submission: 36.4% of 700 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($395), and only a PSA 10 covers the $117 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $33 | $69 | $395 | $84 | +$279 | 36.4% | +$64 | 700 high |
| 12 | Expected +$16 per submission: 55.2% of 335 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($161), and only a PSA 10 covers the $91 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $9 | $45 | $161 | $82 | +$71 | 55.2% | +$16 | 335 high |
| 13 | Expected loss −$23 per submission: 27.4% of 598 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($430), and only a PSA 10 covers the $174 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $90 | $46 | $430 | $84 | +$256 | 27.4% | −$23 | 598 high |
| 14 | Expected loss −$24 per submission: 31.8% of 12,681 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($250), and only a PSA 10 covers the $140 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $58 | $55 | $250 | $82 | +$110 | 31.8% | −$24 | 12,681 high |
| 15 | Expected loss −$76 per submission: 0% of 72 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($3,000), and a PSA 9 ($160) still clears the $405 you have in it. Confidence medium on that sample. | $6 | $160 | $3,000 | $399 | +$2,595 | 0% | −$76 | 72 medium |
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 | $10 | — | $111 | $81 | +$20 | — | — | 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 Salamence ranking
Every Salamence card listed here clears one bar: its PSA 10 price beats its raw price by more than the cost of grading it. 16 Salamence printings pass. 15 of them (94%) have a gem-rate sample of at least ten graded copies in the population reports, and 12 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 Salamence LV.X from Arceus, gems 2.9% of the time across 804 graded copies: +$1,846 is what a long run of submissions would average, $23,680 is what one lucky copy returns.
The median gem rate across the sampled Salamence cards is 10.6%. Roughly one submitted copy in 9 came back PSA 10, and most rows here still cover raw price plus fee at PSA 9, so the PSA 9 price does most of the work. Of the 15 ranked cards, 10 still cover raw price plus fee at PSA 9, 5 need a 10 to break even and 3 lose money on expectation. 13 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 Salamence Spirit Link from XY Black Star Promos at +$20.
Before you submit a Salamence 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 Salamence card list, or see how gem-mint premiums run across the whole catalogue on the PSA premium index.