Set Symbols & Eras — Identify Any Card
Symbols, set codes, regulation marks and rarities explained — plus every era from Base Set to Mega Evolution, with the tells that place a card in seconds.
Identify any card in ten seconds
Three marks date almost any card. First, the set symbol — the small icon by the card number (modern) or beside the art box (vintage); match it and you have the set. Second, on anything printed since 2023, the set code does the work for you: three or four letters printed right on the card that map one-to-one to a set. Third, the regulation mark letter narrows the print window even when you cannot place the symbol.
The edge cases are the fun ones: a yellow-bordered card with no symbol at all is Base Set. A "Shiny Vault" number prefixed SV inside Hidden Fates is its own subset. Promo cards carry a black star with "PROMO" across it and live in their own numbered promo series per era — which is why they never match the set checklist you are holding.
Every era, 1999–2026
Each English era maps to a video-game generation, and each has a signature card type that dates any card instantly. Every era's full set list — with live prices — is on the sets page.
| Era | Years | Runs | How you know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original / WotC | 1999–2003 | Base Set → Skyridge | No symbol = Base Set. Yellow borders, no card codes; 1st Edition stamps on early prints carry huge premiums. |
| EX era | 2003–2007 | Ruby & Sapphire → Power Keepers | First Pokémon-EX cards; set symbols bottom-right of art; holo "e-reader" strips disappear partway through. |
| Diamond & Pearl / Platinum | 2007–2009 | Diamond & Pearl → Arceus | LV.X cards; silver-bordered trainers; symbol sits right of the card number. |
| HeartGold & SoulSilver | 2010–2011 | HGSS → Call of Legends | Pokémon Prime with foil frames; LEGEND cards printed across two halves. |
| Black & White | 2011–2013 | Black & White → Legendary Treasures | Full-art EX debuts; grey modern layout begins; symbols bottom-left above the number. |
| XY | 2014–2016 | XY → Evolutions | Mega Evolution EX cards; BREAK cards printed sideways in gold; Evolutions reprints Base Set art. |
| Sun & Moon | 2017–2019 | Sun & Moon → Cosmic Eclipse | GX cards with white attack boxes; rainbow-rare hypers; Hidden Fates and its Shiny Vault. |
| Sword & Shield | 2020–2022 | Sword & Shield → Crown Zenith | V/VMAX/VSTAR; alt-art boom starts here; regulation marks (D, E, F) appear bottom-left. |
| Scarlet & Violet | 2023–2025 | Scarlet & Violet → Prismatic Evolutions | Silver borders replace yellow; lowercase-ex returns; set codes like SVI/PAL printed on every card; marks G, H, I. |
| Mega Evolution | 2025–present | Mega Evolution → Delta Reign | Mega Pokémon ex return; ME-prefixed set codes; the era running right now — see the upcoming-sets guide for what's next. |
Rarity symbols, decoded
The base alphabet has not changed since 1999: circle for common, diamond for uncommon, star for rare. Everything since is stacked on top: holofoil rares (foil art, same star), reverse holos (foil everywhere except the art — one exists for nearly every common and uncommon since 2002), and the modern tier system — double rares for ex and V cards, ultra rares for full arts, illustration rares and special illustration rares for the alt-art chase cards, and gold-stamped hyper rares at the top.
Two practical notes. Secret rares carry numbers above the printed set size — 201/197 is not an error, it is the point. And rarity is not value: plenty of illustration rares outprice the hyper rares above them, because collectors chase art, not tier labels. Live prices, not symbols, settle what a card is worth.
Found the set? Get the price.
Once you know the set and number, the card's live market price — and its whole price history — is one search away.
Set symbols FAQ
Where is the set symbol on a Pokémon card?
On modern cards (Black & White onward) it sits at the bottom-left of the card, next to the card number and rarity symbol. On older cards it is usually bottom-right of the artwork box. Base Set famously has no symbol at all — a missing symbol on a yellow-bordered card is itself the identifier.
What do the letters on modern cards mean (like SVI or ME)?
Since Scarlet & Violet, every English card carries a set code — SVI for the base Scarlet & Violet set, PAL for Paldea Evolved, ME-prefixed codes for the Mega Evolution era. Typing that code plus the card number into CardPrice search finds the exact card instantly.
What are regulation marks (D, E, F, G, H, I)?
The letter in a small box at the bottom-left shows tournament legality — the Standard format rotates by mark each year. They double as a dating tool: the mark narrows any modern card to a two-ish-year window at a glance.
How do I know if my card is 1st Edition or Shadowless?
1st Edition cards carry a round "Edition 1" stamp on the left middle of the card. Shadowless refers to early Base Set prints missing the drop shadow on the right edge of the art frame — hold a later print next to it and the difference is obvious. Both command large premiums over unlimited prints.
What do the rarity symbols mean?
The classics: circle = common, diamond = uncommon, star = rare, with holo variants of rares. Modern sets stack tiers above that — double rares (ex/V), ultra rares (full art), illustration rares, special illustration rares, and gold hyper rares — each with its own symbol variant next to the card number.
How many Pokémon card sets are there?
Over a hundred English main-line and special sets since 1999, plus a parallel Japanese catalog that runs ahead of the English releases. CardPrice tracks the full list — every set, English and Japanese, with live prices for each card.