The Pack Report Index has now been read seven times, twice a week since August 13. Here is the vintage basket's full history.
| Reading | Vintage | Cards up / flat / down | Modern |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 13 | +0.1% | 47 / 41 / 25 | -0.1% |
| August 17 | +0.2% | 52 / 33 / 28 | 0.0% |
| August 20 | +0.3% | 53 / 31 / 29 | 0.0% |
| August 24 | +0.2% | 53 / 41 / 19 | 0.0% |
| August 27 | +0.3% | 51 / 39 / 23 | -0.4% |
| August 31 | +0.4% | 54 / 32 / 28 | -0.1% |
| September 3 | +0.7% | 59 / 32 / 23 | 0.0% |
What the shape says
Compounded, the basket is up about 2.3 percent in three weeks. That is not a large number. What is notable is the direction of the readings: each of the last three is the largest to date, and this week's is nearly double the previous high. More cards moved up this week (59 of 114) than in any prior reading. A market that drifts up by a few tenths a week on the same handful of sets is a bid; a market where the readings grow and the breadth widens is the start of something else.
Who is doing the work
Through August the EX era carried the basket: Team Rocket Returns, Unseen Forces, Deoxys and Holon Phantoms led almost every week, which is the Gold Star auctions feeding through. This week they led again (Team Rocket Returns +2.8 percent, Unseen Forces +2.7 percent) but they had company: Neo Genesis +2.4 percent on the $360,000 Lugia, Skyridge +1.8 percent on last week's $150,000 Gengar, Neo Destiny +1.3 percent, and Base Set +1.1 percent, its largest reading yet. Only Team Rocket and Expedition were fractionally lower.
What would change our mind
Two things would make us call this a rally rather than a bid: a weekly reading over 1 percent, or two consecutive weeks where Base Set and the Neo sets lead rather than follow. Two things would make us call it over: a negative reading, or a week where the EX sets reverse while nothing else picks up. The modern basket, meanwhile, has not had a positive reading in seven; it is a different market with a different calendar, and the 30th Celebration launch on September 16 is the next thing that could change it.
Chart of the Day ran in The Pack Report, September 3, 2026: A $360,000 Lugia, and the Biggest Vintage Week Yet. Published by Rip Station.