Best Steelix Cards to Grade
The Steelix 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: Steelix (Aquapolis) at an expected +$2,881.
Ranked by expected profit 15
| # | Card | Raw | PSA 9 | PSA 10 | Cost | Best case | Gem rate | Expected | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expected +$2,881 per submission: 9.3% of 775 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($30,000), and a PSA 9 ($1,199) still clears the $2,588 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $269 | $1,199 | $30,000 | $2,319 | +$27,412 | 9.3% | +$2,881 | 775 high |
| 2 | Expected +$940 per submission: 25.1% of 626 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($3,550), and a PSA 9 ($1,000) still clears the $732 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $327 | $1,000 | $3,550 | $405 | +$2,819 | 25.1% | +$940 | 626 high |
| 3 | Expected +$630 per submission: 4.3% of 575 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($10,625), and a PSA 9 ($1,125) still clears the $1,374 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $249 | $1,125 | $10,625 | $1,125 | +$9,251 | 4.3% | +$630 | 575 high |
| 4 | Expected +$436 per submission: 8.1% of 445 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($5,040), and a PSA 9 ($380) still clears the $744 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $75 | $380 | $5,040 | $669 | +$4,296 | 8.1% | +$436 | 445 high |
| 5 | Expected +$329 per submission: 2.2% of 451 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($7,500), and a PSA 9 ($969) still clears the $814 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $120 | $969 | $7,500 | $694 | +$6,686 | 2.2% | +$329 | 451 high |
| 6 | Expected +$256 per submission: 6.7% of 671 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($3,750), and a PSA 9 ($1,275) still clears the $887 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $480 | $1,275 | $3,750 | $407 | +$2,864 | 6.7% | +$256 | 671 high |
| 7 | Expected +$157 per submission: 22.7% of 1,640 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($1,000), and only a PSA 10 covers the $110 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $20 | $60 | $1,000 | $90 | +$890 | 22.7% | +$157 | 1,640 high |
| 8 | Expected +$122 per submission: 39.6% of 169 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($548), and only a PSA 10 covers the $140 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $55 | $90 | $548 | $85 | +$408 | 39.6% | +$122 | 169 high |
| 9 | Expected +$25 per submission: 30.9% of 2,178 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($315), and only a PSA 10 covers the $101 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $18 | $50 | $315 | $83 | +$214 | 30.9% | +$25 | 2,178 high |
| 10 | Expected +$19 per submission: 42.4% of 224 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($285), and only a PSA 10 covers the $153 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $70 | $114 | $285 | $83 | +$132 | 42.4% | +$19 | 224 high |
| 11 | Expected +$17 per submission: 4% of 1,978 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($1,500), and a PSA 9 ($138) still clears the $155 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $40 | $138 | $1,500 | $115 | +$1,345 | 4% | +$17 | 1,978 high |
| 12 | Expected +$9 per submission: 33.6% of 1,969 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($258), and only a PSA 10 covers the $103 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $20 | $40 | $258 | $83 | +$155 | 33.6% | +$9 | 1,969 high |
| 13 | Expected loss −$25 per submission: 41% of 1,215 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($123), and only a PSA 10 covers the $90 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $9 | $29 | $123 | $81 | +$32 | 41% | −$25 | 1,215 high |
| 14 | Expected loss −$29 per submission: 42% of 6,062 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($150), and only a PSA 10 covers the $115 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $34 | $40 | $150 | $81 | +$35 | 42% | −$29 | 6,062 high |
| 15 | Expected loss −$72 per submission: 0% of 21 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($360), and only a PSA 10 covers the $89 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence low on that sample. | $5 | $38 | $360 | $84 | +$271 | 0% | −$72 | 21 low |
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 Steelix ranking
Every Steelix card listed here clears one bar: its PSA 10 price beats its raw price by more than the cost of grading it. 15 Steelix printings pass. 15 of them (100%) 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 Steelix from Aquapolis, gems 9.3% of the time across 775 graded copies: +$2,881 is what a long run of submissions would average, $27,412 is what one lucky copy returns.
The median gem rate across the sampled Steelix cards is 22.7%. Roughly one submitted copy in 4 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 3 lose money on expectation. 14 rest on a hundred or more graded copies.
Before you submit a Steelix 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 Steelix card list, or see how gem-mint premiums run across the whole catalogue on the PSA premium index.