Pokemon card collectors will always have a smaller collection dedicated to their rarest cards, separate from their common collection and stored immaculately.

Anything from Japanese cards to Charizard Full Arts or even cards of your favorite Pokemon all deserve to have their quality preserved.

Every collector will have their own way of storing rare cards, but there are a few essentials that will make storing your treasures easier.

Penny Sleeves

Collectors will be accustomed to using penny sleeves, but if you're just starting off as a collector, you’ll want to stock up on these.

Generally speaking, collectors tend to store Full Arts, Secret Rares, Rainbow Rares and even some Holos or Reverse Holos in penny sleeves.

The plastic sleeves are your first point of protection to shield any card from dust, scratches and other exterior debris.

You can buy different colored penny sleeves with a variety of textures.

It’s also a good idea to store some in your wallet in case you pull a rare card on the go.

Photo by Steven Cordes on Unsplash

Toploaders

Toploaders are similar to penny sleeves, except they are a little bigger and made of hard plastic.

This product is therefore more expensive than penny sleeves and are normally used to store your rarer cards.

Once your card is in a penny sleeve, it can then be inserted into the toploader for extra protection.

pokemon card toploader

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Tags

A common problem collectors have with toploaders is the difficultly in removing the penny- sleeved card without bending the toploader or pinching the card inside.

Using sticky plastic tags to attach to your penny-sleeved card before putting it in the toploader allows for a safer and easier way to remove your card by simply pulling on the tag.

Graded Cards

If you own a few cards which are rare and in mint condition, and you’d like them to stay that way, paying to get them graded by PSA or CGC will not only grade your card, but the company will seal it within a thick, plastic casing which is maximum protection for a card.

Shipping Cards

If you are selling single cards and they are ready for posting, rare cards should always be packaged within a penny sleeve and toploader as standard practice.

If the card you are selling is not particularly rare, posting it within a penny sleeve and then securing it in between two pieces of cardboard is a cheaper option. Investing in graded card sleeves is also an efficient and cost-effective option to send off sold cards in a professional manner.

As a rule of thumb however, all cards which are being sold should always be sent within a penny sleeve, at the very least.