Rarity: what do those symbols mean?
There is a small symbol in the bottom corner of every card. That is the rarity, and it is the first thing you look at.
The three that have always been there
- Circle — common. There are most of these in a pack.
- Diamond — uncommon. A little less ordinary, usually still a few cents.
- Star — rare. One per pack, and it is where the holos sit.
Worth knowing: the symbol says how often the card occurs, not how much it is worth. A common from an old set can fetch more than a rare from a set still on the shelves.
What has been added since Scarlet & Violet
From that series the system was rebuilt, with stars and diamonds you can count. The more there are, the rarer it is.
- Double Rare — two stars. The ex cards with a lot of HP.
- Ultra Rare — two silver stars. Cards where the Pokémon steps outside the frame, with the name in foil.
- Illustration Rare — one gold star. Its own artwork across the whole card, often with the Pokémon in its surroundings. This is what many collectors are in it for now.
- Special Illustration Rare — two gold stars. The same idea but rarer, and usually the most expensive card of a set after the gold ones.
- Hyper Rare — three gold stars. The cards that are gold all over.
And the older series?
There you come across labels like V, VMAX, VSTAR, GX and EX. Those are not rarities but card types: stronger cards with their own rules, which usually come in a rare variant. There are also secret rares: cards with a number higher than the set total, such as 191/189. Those are deliberately included in small numbers.
What it gets you
The rarity tells you two things. First, which cards in a pile are worth a look: start with the stars. Second, whether you have the right card when you look up a price, because the same Pokémon often appears in several rarities in the same set, with sizeable price differences.
In Cardtracker the rarity is shown with every card, including on the set pages here on the site. Browse the sets.