Holo and reverse holo

Holo and reverse holo are two different foil treatments of Pokémon cards. A holo card has a glittering pattern in the artwork itself, while a reverse holo card has foil on the rest of the card surface and a plain, matte artwork. Both are used to set cards apart from the basic versions, but they are not the same thing and not equally scarce.

Holo

A holo card, often called a "holo rare" or just a "holo", has foil in the artwork box. From the first English sets in the late 1990s, holo was reserved for cards of high rarity, which is why many people think of holo first of all as a sign of a sought-after card. In older sets the holo is tied to the rarity symbol for "rare", but foil patterns have since become far more varied. Each larger set often has its own patterns, and collectors tell them apart deliberately.

Reverse holo

With reverse holo the opposite applies: the foil covers the borders, text and background around the artwork. A reverse holo is a parallel version of a card that otherwise exists in a regular edition. In newer sets nearly all commons, and often uncommons and some rares, have a reverse holo version. This means the same card can sit at two different price levels in the same set. Reverse holos appeared in English sets in the early 2000s and have been a regular part of sets since.

Why the distinction matters

• Price: a holo of a well-known Pokémon from an older set can sit far above the reverse holo of a card from a newer set.
• Condition: foil cards can show scratches and print marks more clearly than regular cards, which affects the grade; see card condition.
• Confusion: some sets have holo, reverse holo and other special patterns, so check the set's own list.

How to tell them apart

Hold the card against the light and tilt it. If only the artwork shimmers, it is a holo. If everything except the artwork shimmers, it is a reverse holo. Look at the card layout if you are unsure what counts as border, text box and background. In some older sets, such as Jungle and Fossil, the same Pokémon exists both as a holo and as a non-holo, with different card numbers. A reprint can also have a different foil treatment from the original.

A caveat

How many holos or reverse holos a given set contains is stated in the set list, but how often they appear in packs is not officially published. You can find cards and set information in the card catalog.

In summary

Holo means foil in the artwork, and reverse holo means foil on the rest of the card. The two treatments have different roles within sets. Always read the set list to see which cards exist in which version, since a Pokémon can appear in several variants in the same set. Foil cards also need a little extra care in storage, because the surface scratches easily.