Welcome to Rare Candy's "Spotlight On" series, where we feature the history and stories behind some of the rarest and coolest cards and collectibles.
Looking to find a Miracle Diamond of your own? Keep an eye on Rare Candy's auctions where new exciting cards and collectibles are made available every week!
You don’t need to know how to play the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) to collect the cards themselves, but it certainly helps! Understanding the rules can often give you a better sense of why certain cards are more valuable than others based on their classification, ability sets and other game mechanics — not to mention how many officially sponsored Pokémon TCG tournaments offer rare cards as prizes!
The Miracle Diamond (ミラクル・ダイヤモンド) is a particularly noteworthy example of a limited edition tournament prize, albeit one that was only available in Japan. Let’s dig into where and when this elusive card was first given out, and what makes it one of the most sought-after collectibles among Pokémon fans today.
Where Did It Come From?
Although early card tournaments in Japan were only available to kids, starting in 2002 the Battle Road series of events began allowing players over the age of 16 to compete in a Master’s League. These took place every spring and summer at venues all across Japan, along with plenty of pre-tournament qualifying events at local stores.
In 2007, Battle Road tournament winners were rewarded with two brand new trophy cards: the Miracle Diamond and the Mysterious Pearl, both created in honor of the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl video games.
Miracle Diamonds were also given out during the following year’s Battle Road spring tournaments, but only two events took place as planned. The last three were canceled after the Pokémon Card Laboratory received an anonymous letter threatening to “disturb” the upcoming Kanto Convention in Tokyo.
Perhaps because of this threat, the Battle Road name and logo were quietly sunsetted altogether, and large regional tournaments didn’t start back up again until the Japan World Championship Representative Tournament began that fall.
All this means that although more Miracle Diamonds may have been produced for the canceled tournaments, ultimately the cards went to players at 10 different events across three separate age divisions each. If we do the math, that means only 90 or so were ever publicly distributed.
What Makes It Unique?
The Miracle Diamond Item Card features a silver pendant with the titular diamond set against a shiny, holographic background. According to Bulbapedia, the Japanese translates as follows:
Look at all of your face-down Prize cards. You may choose 1 Trainer, Supporter, or Stadium card you find there, show it to your opponent, and put it into your hand. If you do, put this card as a Prize card face up instead of discarding it.
While much of the imagery featured on Pokémon cards was originally hand-drawn in some form, the Miracle Diamond is one of the few to feature 3D graphical artwork instead. It was illustrated by Ryo Ueda, who first started lending his three-dimensional style to the series with the EX: Ruby and Sapphire cards, and to this date is responsible for over 400 different cards.
Unsurprisingly, many of Ueda’s designs are also for Item cards, like the Potion card from the Sword and Shield series, the Rare Candy (hey, that’s us, kinda!) from EX: Sandstorm, and the original Kanto gym badges from the XY Promo set.
Chances are if you played a Miracle Diamond during a TCG match, you might end up using it to draw another Ueda-designed card, too!
Where’s It Been Lately?
Originally the Miracle Diamond card came encased in a transparent acrylic stand that served as a literal trophy for winners. These are much rarer (and tougher to authenticate), but if you’re willing to fork over the big bucks — one reportedly sold for $30,000 back in 2022!
Additionally, 19 Miracle Diamonds have gotten a brand new plastic case thanks to official third-party authentication services — 15 by the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), and 4 by the Certified Guarantee Company (CGC), ranging in grades from 3 (Very Good) to 10 (Mint).
Obviously, cards in near-perfect condition tend to get sold for more than those with a bit more wear and tear on them — a PSA 10 Miracle Diamond was recently auctioned for $18,200, for example — but that doesn’t mean a low-graded card can’t be valuable in its own right. With a strategically playable card like Miracle Diamond, some minor scuffing or rounded edges might even mean that the card was actually used in tournaments after it was awarded!
Looking to find a Miracle Diamond of your own? Keep an eye on Rare Candy's auctions where new exciting cards and collectibles are made available every week!
