Holo or reverse holo? This is a question often asked by people who are new to the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
What is a Holo Card?
A holo card is a rare card that has a holographic image at the top of the card instead of regular art. Its rarity is indicated by a ★ next to its card number.
Holo cards have appeared in every set from the original base set released in 1999. Before 2011, when Half art and full art cards were introduced, holo cards were the rarest and most sought after cards.
The original holo cards had an image printed onto a thin layer of foil which gave it a shiny effect. Because of this these cards are sometimes referred to as holofoil, or holographic foil cards.
The Luxray holo card pictured here can be found in the Battle Styles expansion set. It was photographed under a spotlight to show the holographic effect of light on the image.
What is a Reverse Holo Card?
A reverse holo card is a card that has a regular image at the top but the rest of the card is holographic. It is the reverse of a regular holo card hence its name.
These cards first appeared in 2002 with the release of the Legendary Collection expansion set.
They are not part of the main set of cards but form an alternative version of the non-holo cards. Sometimes called alternate holo cards they are designated rare, uncommon or common to match their non-holo counterparts.
The rarity of the card is indicated by a symbol next to the card number. ★ indicates Rare, ◆ indicates Uncommon and ● indicates Common.
The Teddiursa card pictured here is from the Cosmic Eclipse expansion set. It has been photographed under a spotlight to show the effect of the holographic part of the card.
Holo and reverse holo cards are highly collectable and fetch a much higher price than their non-holo counterparts.
Post time: 05-16-2022
