A Short Note About 1st Edition

       This post is going to be very short. You just need to know that if a card is first edition (you'll see what I mean in the photo) It is rarer than the non-1st edition (unlimited) version. That's all!

First edition card

Card Condition

        Condition is very important to the rarity of a card. For example, a 1st edition base set Charizard in good condition may be worth $70, while a bad condition one might be worth $15. (These aren't actual prices, this is just an example.) There are different common condition quirks: peeling, scratching, bending/creasing, miscoloring, ripping and curling. These effects can make your cards less rare and valuble, so inspect all of your cards.  Make sure you look at it in a light climate so you can see any scratches. Also, make sure to check any card you want to trade/buy before getting it. (TIP: if you have any really rare good condition cards, you will probably want to put them in hard plastic cases for safekeeping. Curling most commonly happens to holo cards, so those are the ones you'll want to put in hard plastic cases first, as it stops the curling.)

Great condition card ("Mint condition")

Bad condition card

Lvl X, EX and Prime Cards

        These three types of cards are the ones you will normally find in tins. Level X cards are not sold anymore, making some of them worth more than an EX or a prime. There are two different types of EXs: old EXs and new EXs. You can tell them apart easily: on an old EX, the word EX will look like this: ex. However, on a new Ex, the text will look like this: EX. The word "EX" or "X" will be next to the Pokemon's name. NOTE: You will not see the word "Prime" on such cards, yet they will look "special" as you will see in the photo. These cards are all either silver stars or PROMOs. Like other cards with these rarities, the silver stars are usually rarer. This is so because you can get a PROMO version of these cards in any old tin, while silver stars must be obtained randomly in packs. These cards can be pretty darn rare, and may be traded for other rare cards.

Silver star old ex

PROMO new EX

Silver star Prime card

Miscuts

        Miscuts, like misprints, are errors on the cards that make the cards look abnormal, also making them considerably more rare and valuable. However, while misprints are printing errors, miscuts are errors in how the card is shaped and cut. These cards can contain parts of 2 different cards. A minor miscut could simply be a slightly off-sized border, while major ones could have large chunks of multiple cards within them, though this is an extremely rare case. Another form of a miscut is if the border of the card is square instead of rounded.
If you have any known misprints or

Major miscut

miscuts, be sure to put them aside for showcasing to your friends!

Minor miscut

Square Cut Card

Triple Star (Shining)

      This symbol may just be the rarest of all. If your card has triple stars, it is shining, unbelievably rare. These cards can be worth $50 or more. There are very few of them, and if you have one, my advice would be to NOT TRADE IT!!!!!

3 small stars in the corner as the rarity symbol: this card is extremely rare!

Misprints

         Another way you can tell a Pokemon card's rarity is if it is misprinted. Misprints are cards that were accidentally printed in a way they shouldn't be. In most cases, this makes the card much rarer and more desirable. There are many misprints out there, so a few things you should look at are the date, the border, the HP, the attacks, the energy symbols and the spelling.
Here are some examples of the above:

Dialga G X has miscolored
energys at the bottom of the card.

Phanpy is spelled 2 different ways
in the PokeBody.

Misprint Vulpix says "HP 50"
instead of "50 HP".

Rarity Symbols

Star (rare)

          There are four main rarity symbols that you will see commonly on Pokemon Cards: The Circle is common, the Diamond is uncommon, and the Star is rare.

Circle (common)

Diamond (uncommon)

    Those are the main types of rarity, but that is not all of them; there are also silver stars and big black "PROMO" stars. There are other things too, but they are not rarity symbols.

Secret rare silver star

Big "PROMO" star