Pokemon cards vs. the market: a collectibles comparison board
How to read this
The horizontal axis follows time, and the vertical axis shows the growth of a series indexed to 100 at the start of the selected range. That shared base puts card prices and market benchmarks on one axis. The From buttons change the starting range. Log and Linear change the vertical scale. The series buttons toggle individual cards, benchmarks, and averages, including the additional series in the More row. Hover over the chart, or focus it and use arrow keys, to inspect values. Show table view opens year-end raw prices for the selected series; the same button hides it again.
Read the marks before reading a card line as continuous history. Ringed dots identify cited sales from reported auction results. Between known observations, the chart uses geometric interpolation and marks estimates with the approximate symbol in the tooltip and table. A dashed hand-off marks the transition from cited sales to weekly observations. A record-setting auction sale and a broad market value do not share the same base. A visible step at that boundary is a change of measure, not evidence of a sudden crash or spike. The shapes are directional, not tick-accurate.
Benchmarks are month-end closes from Financial Modeling Prep for the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 through QQQ, and gold through GLD. Card observations are captured weekly and summarized as the month's median. The companion post describes the scheduled collection as Sunday morning. Read the board's data-as-of stamp to identify the published bundle. The browser computes group averages from the members' indexed series, with a point only when at least two members have data. If the bundle cannot be loaded, the board has no invented fallback history.
The S&P price index does not reinvest dividends. Cards pay no yield and carry auction and grading friction, so the plotted comparison does not erase those differences. The data boundaries are part of the comparison: educational, not advice. Read Graded Pokemon cards versus the stock market, fifteen years on one axis for the build story and the limits of the historical card record.
About this board
This board charts graded Pokemon card prices against the S&P 500, the Nasdaq-100 and gold, with every series indexed to 100 at the start of the selected range so one card and one index share an axis. Card prices refresh weekly from our own capture. Benchmarks are month-end closes.
Card lines carry two kinds of number. Ringed dots are cited auction sales going back to 2004. Everything after the first observation date is our weekly reading of the broad market price for that card, and the chart marks where one measure hands off to the other.
Educational, not investment advice.