In our Collector Feature series, we highlight collectors of all kinds and share the stories, passion and advice that have shaped their collections.
For more from Andy, follow @100charizards on Instagram, Youtube and TikTok.
Fast Facts
Name: Andy Peninger (@100charizards)
Age: 34
Location: Boulder, Colorado (USA)
Collects: Charizards, cards with printing anomalies, PLAY Promo cards, Topps Tekno Chrome cards
Crown Jewels: Grey-Stamp First-Edition Base Set Charizard
Currently Seeking: Topps Tekno Chrome Charizard & Mewtwo
A Wild Charizard Appears!
Like many Pokémon enthusiasts of his generation, Andy Peninger grew up waking up early to watch the show before school in his Michigan hometown while playing his way through the first waves of games for Gameboy (He started with Pokémon Red, and followed with Yellow, Silver and Gold) and Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Stadium on Nintendo 64.
Andy recalls his parents’ weekly trips to bring back cards for him and his brother. “Every Saturday they would try and get cards at Toys R Us, but they were hard to get back then,” he shares. And one of those Saturdays was Andy’s first encounter with Charizard—although it didn’t go how he'd hoped. “One time they bought two packs. And they gave one to me and one to my brother. Then we switched and he pulled the Charizard!”
As he got older, other games, sports and hobbies took up his attention and Pokémon fell by the wayside—until he happened upon his old binder in the basement in 2019.
Gotta Catch ’Em... All?
After reconnecting with his old hobby, Andy started doing research online and, for the first time, discovered first-edition cards. “When I was a kid, we didn't have internet or anything, so we couldn't look at was out there," he explains. We just had whatever was in the packs that we could open—and I don't even think that first edition cards even made it to Michigan.” And with that realization, he set his first goal as an adult collector: a first-edition Base Set Charizard.
But from there, it kept going. Before interest in the TCG surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, cards came at more accessible prices online, and Andy began to seek out damaged or unwanted cards.“I just bought every one that was under $20,” he shares, ultimately amassing a collection of around 50 Charizards. But now a new goal emerged: 100 Charizards.
“I always liked Charizard because it was like the coolest card when we were kids,” he explains of his focus on the card. And he surpassed his goal. “I had like way over 100 at one point,” Andy states. “I don't know how many I have now. I don't really count them or keep track any more.”
Life Beyond the ’Zards
A designer and artist by trade, Andy also sought creative outlets alongside his freelance work. He began creating content on Youtube in 2015, but after (re)discovering his passion for Pokémon and Collectibles, he began sharing more of his collections under the name @100charizards online.
Across his content, Andy aims to put a unique, funny or interesting spin on things that he hasn't seen before. And beyond collection highlights and sharing on-the-ground from events, that means finding new ways to communicate. “Memes are super underrated. They allow you to connect with a person more naturally,” he explains. “I could spend a million dollars making the best design ever. But then there could be a meme that someone made in 10 seconds to outperforms that totally.”
Being a creator has also helped Andy connect with a strong community that he loves. ”I'm not married, and I don't have kids or anything,” Andy shares. “A lot of my like old friends are married, have kids, have their jobs and doing their own thing—and I'm out here doing content creators stuff, so it's good to find people that have the same passion. A lot of my closest friends are in this space.”
And gatherings also play a big role in meeting folks with that love for collecting and for Pokémon. “A lot of my friends now are people that I've made friends with at conventions,” he shares. But pro tip: If you run into him at a convention, remember that there's a whole lot more to Andy than just the ‘zards. “I've thought about like changing my name online, because If I go to a card show, people will be like, ‘Hey! Charizards!’” he explains of his peeve. “There are people with way better Charizard collections than I have. The whole 100 Charizards thing is becoming a little weird. Just use my name.”
A Love for Rare Details
As Andy grew as a creative designer and amassed his collection, he began to notice and appreciate subtle differences between his cards that really got him excited. “When you look at a first-edition Charizard, some will be like bright red, some will be like more dull or more yellow or orange-ish,” he shares. “There’s a lot of variance in the print run and the quality of the cards overall.” (You can see a full rundown of variants on his Instagram.)
This passion for detail led him to one of his favorite pieces of his collection, a grey-stamp first-edition Base Set Charizard. And for those who aren’t familiar with the grey-stamp phenomenon from the Base Set, Andy is happy to explain. “Back in the day, they had printers—and they when they put the first-edition stamps on, the stamp is supposed to be black,” he begins. “As it continues to print, it gets lighter and lighter. So then the stamp is very light. There's only so many hours where you’re gonna have like lighter stamps before they correct it and add more ink.”
Andy has collected grey-stamp versions of about a third of all Base Set holos. And though his grey-stamp Charizard was only rated PSA 1.5, he isn't bothered. “I don't really care about grades,” Andy states. “I'm more interested in rare, scarce items and things that you can't find instantly on eBay or click Buy Now on Instagram. That's what I like and what I'm interested in: Things that were hard to acquire or that have interesting history.”
He also has a deep appreciation for the material build of those old cards. “When you look at the old Wizards of the Coast cards, they're super durable—like almost indestructible to a point where it's crazy what they can go through and still hold together,” he shares, calling out the holo cards with their unique star patterns for being particularly tough. And for his deep and holistic understanding of the cards, Andy in-part credits his professional creative background. “The stuff you learn in graphic design, seeing how that's applied to cards is interesting,” he explains. “I look at the art as a whole. The card as a whole: that's the art to me.”
Advice to Collectors
“You go through like different stages as a collector,” Andy offers. “In the beginning, it's like, ‘Oh, I have to have everything,’ and then it's so much stuff. Then it's about asking, ‘What do I really want and need?’”
And for Andy, keeping that perspective is key. “Collecting in general is so big. There are so many cards. and there's so much you could do that you could spend your whole life doing it. You could spend all of your money buying all the cards. But don’t do it,” he cautions. “Get a few of your favorites, then spend your money on other things and enjoy life.”
