Poliwag 1999-2000 #59 value & price
Reviewed by Mumbles · Updated 4 Aug 2026Related Poliwag & chase cards
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Poliwag is one of those Base Set commons that quietly hooked a generation of collectors, that little tadpole face with the swirl on its belly, illustrated by Ken Sugimori and tucked into the original 1999-2000 lineup at #59. It is not a rare card by design, but Base Set nostalgia carries a lot of weight, and if you are checking Poliwag value today, a raw copy runs about $3 while a pristine PSA 10 climbs all the way to $81. Common in rarity, uncommon in the way people still hunt it down decades later.
Price history
InteractiveRaw value is $2.44, down 44% over the past year, with an all-time high of $5.28 in October 2024.
Recent pulls of Poliwag
Real pulls of this card across the tracked pack-opening sites, data no price guide has.
$0.17CommonPokemon Dime PackTilt Rips · 24m ago$0.17CommonPokemon Dime PackTilt Rips · 42m ago$0.17CommonPokemon Dime PackTilt Rips · 46m ago
$17CGC 10Starter Pokémon Gacha PackCollector Crypt · 1h ago$0.17CommonPokemon Dime PackTilt Rips · 1h ago$0.17CommonPokemon Dime PackTilt Rips · 2h ago$0.17CommonPokemon Dime PackTilt Rips · 2h ago$0.17CommonPokemon Dime PackTilt Rips · 2h ago
Chase Poliwag yourself
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Poliwag price at every grade
Market value at each grade, with how many exist (population). 97 graded, only 16 are PSA 10.
| Grade | Value | Population | PSA / CGC |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 (Gem Mint) | $81 | 16 | - / 16 |
| PSA 9 | $37 | 40 | - / 40 |
| PSA 8 | $33 | 22 | - / 22 |
| PSA 7 | - | 11 | - / 11 |
| PSA 6 | $15 | 4 | - / 4 |
| PSA 5 | $12 | 3 | - / 3 |
| PSA 4 | $10 | - | - / - |
| PSA 3 | $9.00 | - | - / - |
| PSA 2 | $8.00 | 1 | - / 1 |
| PSA 1 | - | - | - / - |
| Raw / Ungraded | $2.44 | - | - |
Prices & population from PriceCharting. Value shown is the PSA-grade market price; population is split by grading company (PSA / CGC).
Card details
- Set
- Base Set
- Card number
- 59 of 102
- Rarity
- Common
- Type
- Water
- HP
- 40
- Stage
- Basic
- Weakness
- Grass ×2
- Retreat cost
- 1
- Illustrator
- Ken Sugimori
- Released
- 1999
Attacks
- Water Gun10+Water
Does 10 damage plus 10 damage for each Energy attached to Poliwag but not used to pay for this attack's Energy cost. Extra Energy after the end don't count.
Where to pull Poliwag
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The collector's take on Poliwag
Is Poliwag worth grading?
So is Poliwag worth grading? Here is the honest math: a PSA 10 sits at 27.3x the raw price, jumping from $3 ungraded to $81 in gem mint condition, with Grade 9 landing at $37 in between. That sounds like a great multiplier until you factor in grading fees, shipping, and the wait, all of which can eat into or exceed the return on a card that started at just a few dollars raw. On top of that, hitting an actual PSA 10 is not guaranteed. Out of 97 graded copies on record, only 16 have made it to that top grade, so a lot of submissions land at Grade 9 or below. If you already own a sharp-looking Poliwag and love the idea of having it slabbed, go for it, but grading purely to flip for profit on a common like this is a gamble more than a plan.
How rare is Poliwag?
Scarcity on a card like Poliwag is a little different than on a rare holo, since the card itself was never hard to pull back in the day. What is scarce is condition. Of the 97 total graded copies out there, only 16 have earned a PSA 10, which tells you gem mint survivors from this era are the real prize, not the card itself. That population split is exactly why the price gap between raw and PSA 10 is so wide: everyone can find a Poliwag, but almost nobody can find a perfect one.
Where can you pull Poliwag?
This is where PackSpy's own data comes in handy, because we track real pulls across pack-opening sites rather than just guessing at odds. We have recorded Poliwag pulled 51 times across courtyard, collector-crypt, and tilt-rips, with the biggest recorded pull hitting $205. It has shown up in packs like the Wildcard Starter Pack, Pokémon Starter Pack, Starter Pokémon Gacha Pack, Pokemon Expert Pack, and Elite Pokémon Gacha Pack. Worth remembering though: opening packs for value is a gamble, and most rips do not beat what you paid in. Poliwag is a fun one to land, but if you specifically want this card, buying it outright on the secondary market is usually the more reliable route.
Questions people ask
How much is Poliwag worth?+
A raw, ungraded Poliwag from the 1999-2000 Base Set is valued at $3. Grade it up and a Grade 9 sits at $37, while a PSA 10 gem mint copy reaches $81. So the answer really depends on condition and whether it has been graded.
Is Poliwag worth grading?+
A PSA 10 is worth 27.3x the raw price, which is a tempting jump, but only 16 of the 97 graded copies on record have actually hit that grade. Factor in grading costs and the risk of landing a lower grade, and it is worth grading mainly if you already believe your copy is in excellent shape.
What set is Poliwag from?+
Poliwag comes from the original 1999-2000 Base Set, card number 59, where it was printed as a common illustrated by Ken Sugimori. It is one of the classic early cards that a lot of collectors grew up opening.
Other Poliwag cards & values
Every Poliwag card we track, ranked by value.
More Base Set chase cards
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Mumbles built PackSpy so pack-opening data would not be a guessing game. We track real pulls and live card prices across the top pack sites and show what is actually happening, no hype, just the numbers. Every price and population figure here is pulled from live market data. More about Mumbles.
Open a pack that holds Poliwag
Rip real, graded Pokémon packs live on the top pack-opening sites, the same ones PackSpy tracks. Our #1 pick right now is LastPack.
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