Last updated · prices collected
Fossil set overview
Fossil is the third English expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, released by Wizards of the Coast on 10 October 1999 after Base Set and Jungle. It has 62 cards: 15 Holo Rares numbered 1 to 15, the same 15 Pokémon again as non-holo Rares numbered 16 to 30, then 16 Uncommons and 16 Commons. There are 57 Pokémon and 5 Trainer cards, and no Energy. Every card was printed in a 1st Edition run and an Unlimited run, and each card in the list shows the price of both where TCGplayer has one.
The set is built around the Fossil Pokémon of the first Game Boy games. Its Trainer card Mysterious Fossil (062/062) is played as a Basic Pokémon with 10 HP that evolves into Omanyte (052/062), Kabuto (050/062) or Aerodactyl, and when it is Knocked Out it does not count as a Knocked Out Pokémon, so the opponent takes no Prize card. Aerodactyl's Pokémon Power, Prehistoric Power, stops either player from playing Evolution cards while it is in play. The three legendary birds, Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos, all appear as Holo Rares.
Fossil is also remembered for its Pokémon Powers. Gengar's Curse moves a damage counter from one of the opponent's Pokémon to another once during your turn, Muk's Toxic Gas switches off every other Pokémon Power, Ditto's Transform copies the Defending Pokémon, Dragonite's Step In lets it switch in from the Bench, and Haunter's Transparency can stop an attack's effects on a coin flip.
The English set is based on the Japanese Mystery of the Fossils, which came out more than two years earlier. The changes are listed below.
- 62Cards
- 57Pokémon
- 5Trainers
- 0Energy
- 5Illustrators
Set facts
- Released
- 10 October 1999 (English)
- Cards
- 62: 57 Pokémon and 5 Trainers, no Energy
- Rarities
- 15 Holo Rares (1 to 15), the same 15 Pokémon as non-holo Rares (16 to 30), 16 Uncommons, 16 Commons
- Printings
- 1st Edition and Unlimited; 1st Edition cards have the black 1st Edition symbol on the left just below the artwork, opposite the set symbol
- Booster pack
- 11 cards, including at least 1 Rare, holo or non-holo; three wrapper artworks: Lapras, Aerodactyl and Zapdos
- Booster box
- 36 packs
- Theme decks
- Two 60-card decks: BodyGuard (Grass and Fighting) and LockDown (Fire and Water)
- Japanese source
- Mystery of the Fossils, 21 June 1997, 48 cards
- Error cards
- Holo Zapdos missing holofoil where an evolution box would be; holo Haunter with a stain on the artwork; Krabby with a partly incomplete set symbol
What changed from Mystery of the Fossils
- Left out: Mew, one of the 16 holo rares in the Japanese set. English players got the same card as a Wizards Black Star Promo instead: non-holo as promo 8 through the Pokémon League from 8 January 2000, then holo as promo 9 from April 2000.
- Added: a non-holo Rare print of each of the 15 holo Pokémon, numbered 16 to 30, so English Fossil has 62 cards against 48 in Japan.
- Numbering: English cards are numbered 1/62 to 62/62: holo rares first, then rares, uncommons and commons, with the Pokémon in each group in alphabetical order and the five Trainers at the end. Japanese cards of this era carry a rarity symbol but no set number.
Fossil chase cards
The six cards below are the most expensive singles in the set by market price on 4 October 2026. The most expensive of all on that date was Gengar (5) (005/062, Holo Rare). The headline card on this page is the holo Gengar (005/062) by Keiji Kinebuchi. Kagemaru Himeno drew the holo Dragonite (004/062), and Mitsuhiro Arita drew the three legendary birds: Articuno (002/062), Moltres (012/062) and Zapdos (015/062). The headline price for each card is TCGplayer's main market price, which for Fossil is mostly the 1st Edition copy; the line under each card name in the list gives the 1st Edition and Unlimited prices separately. Tap a card to jump to it in the list.
1Gengar (5)005/062 · HKeiji Kinebuchi$663.25£501.69
2Dragonite (4)004/062 · HKagemaru Himeno$470.17£355.64
3Lapras (10)010/062 · HKen Sugimori$237.42£179.59
4Articuno (2)002/062 · HMitsuhiro Arita$202.32£153.04
5Moltres (12)012/062 · HMitsuhiro Arita$197.91£149.70
6Zapdos (15)015/062 · HMitsuhiro Arita$185.42£140.25Fossil card list
Every card in the set is below in set-number order, with its rarity, illustrator and market price. Cards 1 to 15 are the Holo Rares and 16 to 30 the non-holo Rares of the same Pokémon, which the list names with their number, such as Gengar (5) and Gengar (20). The Uncommons run from 31 to 45, the Commons from 46 to 57, and the five Trainers close the set at 58 to 62: Mr. Fuji is an Uncommon, the other four are Commons. The headline price on each card is mostly its 1st Edition price; the line under the name shows the 1st Edition and Unlimited prices side by side, and the Prices by printing table totals each print. Search by name, number, artist or rarity, or narrow the list with the type, rarity and price chips. The Own button marks a card as collected and saves the mark in your browser only.
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Fossil card prices
Market prices in US dollars, collected on 4 October 2026, with pounds at that day's rate (1 USD = 0.756 GBP). They are a snapshot, not live quotes. The bars show each card's price against the most expensive card in the set. The buy links are affiliate links and Bill's Archive earns a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
- $3,617.46£2,736.27One of every card
- 31%In the top two cards alone
- 33Cards at $10 or more
- 62Cards at $1 or more
- 0Bulk cards under $1
Prices by printing
| Printing | Cards priced | All priced cards | Top card in this printing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Edition Holofoil | 15 | $2,908.49 | Gengar (5) 005/062 · $663.25 |
| 1st Edition | 47 | $688.51 | Gengar (20) 020/062 · $116.42 |
| Unlimited Holofoil | 15 | $969.71 | Gengar (5) 005/062 · $212.74 |
| Unlimited | 47 | $236.85 | Gengar (20) 020/062 · $52.86 |
TCGplayer market prices in US dollars by printing, from tcgcsv.com, collected on 4 October 2026. The headline price on each card is TCGplayer’s main listing for that card; the line under the card name splits it by printing. Holo and non-holo prints have their own rows. Rare vintage holos sell infrequently, so their market prices can lag behind recent sales.
The 15 most expensive singles
- 1Gengar (5)005/062 · H · Keiji Kinebuchi$663.25£501.69TCGplayer
- 2Dragonite (4)004/062 · H · Kagemaru Himeno$470.17£355.64TCGplayer
- 3Lapras (10)010/062 · H · Ken Sugimori$237.42£179.59TCGplayer
- 4Articuno (2)002/062 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$202.32£153.04TCGplayer
- 5Moltres (12)012/062 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$197.91£149.70TCGplayer
- 6Zapdos (15)015/062 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$185.42£140.25TCGplayer
- 7
Haunter (6)006/062 · H · Ken Sugimori$169.82£128.45TCGplayer - 8
Raichu (14)014/062 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$133.79£101.20TCGplayer - 9
Ditto (3)003/062 · H · Keiji Kinebuchi$131.99£99.84TCGplayer - 10
Kabutops (9)009/062 · H · Ken Sugimori$117.93£89.20TCGplayer - 11
Gengar (20)020/062 · R · Keiji Kinebuchi$116.42£88.06TCGplayer - 12
Hypno (8)008/062 · H · Ken Sugimori$101.97£77.13TCGplayer - 13
Dragonite (19)019/062 · R · Kagemaru Himeno$98.66£74.63TCGplayer - 14
Aerodactyl (1)001/062 · H · Kagemaru Himeno$95.48£72.22TCGplayer - 15
Hitmonlee (7)007/062 · H · Ken Sugimori$95.34£72.12TCGplayer
Fossil illustrators
5 illustrators are credited across the set, counting the holo and non-holo prints separately. Kagemaru Himeno and Ken Sugimori have 18 credits each and Mitsuhiro Arita 17. Arita drew all three legendary birds, Raichu and Muk, Himeno drew Dragonite, Aerodactyl and Omanyte, and Sugimori drew Haunter, Lapras, Kabutops, Hitmonlee, Hypno, Magneton and the Trainer Mr. Fuji. Keiji Kinebuchi drew Gengar, Ditto and four of the five Trainers, including Mysterious Fossil. Miki Tanaka has a single credit, Slowpoke (055/062). Each tile leads with the artist's highest-value card in the set; the name links to their entry in the illustrator database.
Show all 5 illustrators
Japanese source: Mystery of the Fossils
Japanese source setMystery of the FossilsReleased 21 June 1997 · 48 cards→
Mystery of the Fossils (化石の秘密) was the third Japanese expansion, released on 21 June 1997 with 48 cards: 43 Pokémon and 5 Trainers. Its 16 holo rares include a Mew that the English set does not have, and its cards carry rarity symbols but no set numbers. Its pack artwork was drawn by Mitsuhiro Arita. The English version followed on 10 October 1999 with Mew removed and non-holo prints of the 15 other rares added. Versions in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese followed in April 2000.
Fossil products and sealed prices
Fossil was sold in 11-card booster packs, in 1st Edition and Unlimited versions, with three wrapper artworks: Lapras, Aerodactyl and Zapdos. Booster boxes held 36 packs. Two 60-card Theme Decks came out on the same day as the set, each with damage counters, a coin, a rulebook and a card list. BodyGuard plays Grass and Fighting Pokémon such as Muk, Grimer, Geodude and Zubat, and LockDown plays Fire and Water Pokémon such as Lapras, Magmar, Seadra and Kingler; both mix in Base Set cards. In Australia the Unlimited packs, boxes and decks used a red "Pokémon" logo instead of the yellow one, as an anti-counterfeiting measure. Sealed prices are market prices from the same snapshot as the singles; sealed Fossil sells rarely, so some products below have no recent listing.
Collector's notes
1st Edition, Unlimited and the Cosmos holos
1st Edition Fossil cards carry the black 1st Edition symbol on the left just below the artwork; Unlimited cards have none. The printing line under each card and the Prices by printing table give the two prices separately, so compare a copy with the right one. Bulbapedia also records Unlimited copies of all 15 holo rares with a Cosmos holofoil pattern instead of the usual one; how they were released is unknown, and TCGplayer's printings do not separate them. A Cosmos holo Zapdos (015/062) with a ©1999-2000 copyright line came in the Thunderstorm Gift Box of 2000, known as the Tempest Gift Box outside North America.
Australian "red logo" prints
The Australian Unlimited release came in packs with a red "Pokémon" logo. The non-holo cards from those packs read ©1999-2000 at the bottom instead of ©1999 and are on a different card stock, while the holo rares from them have the standard ©1999 line. So a non-holo Fossil card reading ©1999-2000 comes from Australian red-logo product, or, for Raichu (029/062), Golduck (035/062), Psyduck (053/062) and Energy Search (059/062), possibly from the Thunderstorm Gift Box, which also had ©1999-2000 prints of those four.
Error cards
Bulbapedia records three Fossil error cards. The holo Zapdos (015/062) lacks holofoil where the evolution box of a Stage 1 or Stage 2 Pokémon would be, although Zapdos is a Basic Pokémon; the error is recorded on both 1st Edition and Unlimited copies. The holo Haunter (006/062) has a stain in the lower right corner of the artwork, and Krabby (051/062) has a partly incomplete set symbol; Bulbapedia lists both as corrected, so copies without the error exist. Check which version a listing shows before paying an error premium.
Promo prints
Two Fossil cards have promo versions outside booster packs. A Prerelease print of the holo Aerodactyl (001/062) was given out as a Pokémon League promo in July 1999, before the set came out, and Bulbapedia lists gold and brown versions of it. Kabuto (050/062) came with a W stamp in the December 1999 issue of Top Deck magazine. Both share their numbers with the pack cards, so a listing title alone may not show which print it is.
More Original era set guides
Every English set of the Original era in release order.
- Base Set9 January 1999 · 102 cards
- Jungle16 June 1999 · 64 cards
- Fossil10 October 1999 · 62 cards
- Base Set 224 February 2000 · 130 cards
- Team Rocket24 April 2000 · 83 cards
- Gym Heroes14 August 2000 · 132 cards
- Gym Challenge16 October 2000 · 132 cards
Fossil FAQ
When did Fossil come out?
The English Fossil set was released on 10 October 1999, after Base Set and Jungle. The Japanese original, Mystery of the Fossils, came out on 21 June 1997.
How many cards are in Fossil?
62 cards: 15 Holo Rares, non-holo Rare versions of the same 15 Pokémon, 16 Uncommons and 16 Commons. That makes 57 Pokémon and 5 Trainers, with no Energy cards.
What is the most valuable Fossil card?
By market price on 4 October 2026, Gengar (5) (005/062, Holo Rare) at $663.25 (£501.69). That headline figure is TCGplayer's main market price for the card, which for Fossil is mostly the 1st Edition copy. The line under each card name in the list gives the 1st Edition and Unlimited prices separately, and the Prices by printing table compares the two prints.
How do I tell a 1st Edition Fossil card?
Look on the left of the card just below the artwork, opposite the set symbol. A 1st Edition card has a black 1st Edition symbol there; an Unlimited card has nothing. A ©1999-2000 copyright line on a non-holo card points to an Australian red-logo Unlimited print or, for four cards, the Thunderstorm Gift Box.
Is there a Mew in Fossil?
Not in the English set. The Japanese Mystery of the Fossils includes a holo Mew, but English Fossil left it out and added non-holo versions of the 15 holo rares instead. The same Mew card came out in English as a Wizards Black Star Promo through the Pokémon League: non-holo as number 8 from January 2000 and holo as number 9 from April 2000.
What came in a Fossil booster pack?
11 cards, including at least one Rare, which could be a Holo Rare or a non-holo Rare; the rest are Uncommons and Commons. Booster boxes held 36 packs, and the wrappers show Lapras, Aerodactyl or Zapdos.
Where do the prices on this page come from?
TCGplayer market prices for the US singles market, collected on the date shown above the prices table and converted to pounds at that day's exchange rate. The main price on each card is TCGplayer's main listing, mostly the 1st Edition copy for Fossil; the line under it and the Prices by printing table add separate 1st Edition and Unlimited prices from TCGplayer through tcgcsv.com, in US dollars, collected separately. Graded copies are not included. They are a snapshot and will drift; the buy links show a live figure.