As part of our series of examining real-time values of the exploding Pokémon market, we examine the First Edition Jungle set. Unlike the Base Set, Jungle cards do not have the shadowless and shadowed border distinction. Instead, Jungle has the now traditional limited edition, or first edition set, that releases prior to the unlimited set that does not receive the "first edition" stamp on the card.

In addition, the Jungle set contained different Pokémon than the Base Set, creating a more diverse market in the early sets of Pokémon collecting. And of course, the following values are based on the best condition possible of the holographic versions of the card. Unfortunately, non-holographic and lower grade cards do not acquire as high of a value as new collectors and sellers may think.

First Edition Snorlax

Easily a fan favorite due to his hilarious persona and his cameos in Nintendo's Super Smash Brothers video games, Snorlax's value has risen exponentially since his release. In October of 2020, a gem mint PSA 10 sold for $15,700. However, just two months later in December, one sold for $8,700. In comparison, 3 years prior in 2017, the same card sold for $315, an astronomical price jump despite the huge margin of difference in the record-breaking sales. These values have trickled down to the lower grade cards as well with PSA 9s ranging in prices from $700 to $1,000.

First Edition Vaporeon

As part of the trifecta of Eevee evolutions, Vaporeon was one of the most popular cards to collect from the Jungle set, in addition to its siblings of Flareon and Jolteon. Although Jolteon was perhaps the fan-favorite, what made Vaporeon highly sought after was the beautiful contrast between the gold holographic and the blue background. Unlike its counterparts, Vaporeon was a highly presentable and beautiful card. This sentiment is reflected in its most recent sales. In October of 2020, a PSA 10 sold for nearly $15,000. However, that price greatly reduced in November and December with sales ranging from $8,000 to $9,000.  Recently, PSA 9s sold between $500 and $600.

First Edition Clefable

One of the more elegant Pokémon cards in the Jungle set is Clefable. Similar to the Base Set Chancey, Clefable's value is less driven by fandom and more so by the difficulty to acquire in high-grade. In November of 2020, a PSA 10 sold for $6,600. However, just several weeks later, a PSA 10 sold for $3,800. Over the course of December of 2020, Clefable's valuation steadily plateaued around $3,000.

First Edition Kangaskhan

Unlike some of the previous Jungle cards we have reviewed, the first edition Kangaskhan appears to be the only one still climbing in value. Though it fluctuated in the Fall of 2020 between sales of $3,500 to $4,500, by the end of December it steadily increased in value. On the very last day of 2020, one sold for $5,500.

First Edition Jolteon

Rounding off our list is perhaps the most popular Eevee evolution, reflected by the fact that more graded versions of this card exist than any other card on this list. Unlike the other cards in this list which have seen big fluctuations in price, Jolteon has maintained a steady value of $2,600 to $3,000 all throughout 2020. An even staggeringly high amount of PSA 9 Jolteons exists, which maintain a consistent value of $400 to $500.

Conclusion

Although the Jungle set did not contain any big value cards like the original Base Set, it still had many of the other fan-favorite cards, such as the Eevee evolution. This set catered to the fans outside of the Big-3 of Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, and of course, Pikachu. Driven by its age and rarity, the Jungle set still remains a classic set among fans, though containing fewer popular Pokémon. With many of these cards, it does not appear their high-value point will remain throughout 2021. However, it will be interesting to see what prices they finally plateau at, as the market still appears to be very volatile.

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