Coin (TCG)

Coins (Japanese: ポケモンコイン Pokémon Coin), also officially recognized as metallic coins, are one of two types of randomizers that players can use during a Pokémon TCG . They are obtainable via official Pokémon Trading Card Game merchandise as well as official tournaments and events.
==Information==
===Design===
The majority of coins released for the Pokémon Trading Card Game are made of plastic with a metallic Pokémon design on the front, which can be of anything from Pokémon, game characters, and TCG-specific symbols to designs commemorating specific events. Although the majority of coins are made with the current standard of a plastic backing, throughout the history of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, coins made of cardboard and coins made of metal have also been released. Coins come in an assortment of sizes, and the metallic designs on the front also feature a variety of different holofoil patterns and colors.
With the English expansion in February 2012, The Pokémon Company International began producing colored backs alternate to the standard black. Japan has remained with the standard black, only having ever deviated from the black back for one coin during the VS Era in 2001 and one coin for the Pokémon 25th Anniversary in 2021. Up until the release of the English expansion in May 2013, all standard coins were of the same size. However, in order to remove the not for children under 3 warning from their products, The Pokémon Company International began producing coins of a larger size. Japan, however, continued producing the coins at their standard size. The Pokémon Company International again increased to a jumbo size in June 2020 for the and now releases both the large size and jumbo size coins in tandem.
During Generation I and Generation II, Wizards of the Coast produced cardboard and metal coins for the English release of the TCG, while Japan produced coins out of plastic. From Generation III-onwards, the vast majority of coins in all territories are made out of plastic, with other materials only used for commemorative merchandise and events.
Japanese metallic coins have featured 6 different backing designs since their introduction in October 1996. The most frequent design started in the English EX Series and the Japanese ADV Era and features a Poké Ball design and the Pokémon logo. This design has continued to this day with only minor copyright changes. When Wizards of the Coast lost the license for the card game for onwards, coins released for English audiences were imported from Japan and distributed in English products. This remained true until August 2010 and the release of the expansion. All coins for international audiences after this month are produced by The Pokémon Company International, however, leftover stock of the standard sized Japanese coins were still included in TCG merchandise up until April 2014, when the stock was exhausted. English coins started featuring the ™ trademark distinction on the back in August 2010, while Japanese coins maintained the ® (Registered) trademark symbol until Generation VIII in November 2019 when they also switched over to the™ trademark.
====Japanese back designs====
Design	Description 	Timeframe
 	任天堂/C/G/M 	October 1996-July 1998
 	/C/G 	July 1998-July 1999
 	Pokémon Card Game NEO	February 2000-July 2000
 	Pokémon Card Game 	April 2001-July 2022
 	+ ® Trademark 	January 2003-May 2019
 	+ ™ Trademark 	July 2019-Current
====English back designs====
===Gameplay===
Coin flips are an integral part of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The very first branching point in the game is based on a coin flip, before either player draws their opening hand. The player who chooses which player takes the first turn is decided by one of the two players flipping a coin. This flip requires that the player call the result of flipping the coin, either heads or tails. If the result matches the call, that player wins and can choose the turn order. If the result is different, then their opponent does so instead.Pokémon Trading Card Game Rules, , "2) Flip a coin. The winner of the coin flip decides which player goes first." Prior to the release of the , this coin flip occurred after the opening hands and Prize cards were determined. Also, if the player flipping the coin gets a matching result they were required to go first. Likewise, if the player flipping the coin picks the result that does not match the coin, their opponent has to go first.Black & White Pokémon Trading Card Game Rules, "7) Flip a coin. The winner of the coin flip goes first."
Many, many cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game have one player flip coins as part of their effects. Unlike the coin flip at the start of the game, the effect causing a coin to be flipped decides what happens for either the heads or tails result. Generally speaking, positive results are assigned heads, and negative results are assigned tails. For some cards, this determines the entire effect: a heads after playing allows the card's effect to occur, while a tails result after using 's negates the attack. Coin flips can result in an additional positive effect on a successful heads, or an additional negative effect on a tails. 's inflicts Paralyzed on the opponent's Active Pokémon on a heads, while 's Reckless Charge attack inflicts damage to itself on a tails. The occasional card will result in a positive effect for both a heads or a tails on a coin flip: 's Plow Over attack will either the opponent or send one of their attached Energy cards to the depending on the result of the flip. The s Asleep, Confused, and Burned all involve flipping a coin as part of their effect.
Many cards will say a specific number of coin flips to be done for their effect. For example, has the player flip two coins, getting to put a card from their discard pile back onto their deck for each heads. Other cards instead tie the number of coin flips to another game value, meaning an arbitrarily high number of coin flips can occur in certain situations. It can be the number of attached to a Pokémon, as with Powerful Needles, or it can be the number of Pokémon that a player has in play, as with , among others. A frequent variation on coin flip based effects calls for flipping a coin until the flip is has a tails result. Then the number of heads achieved is used for the effect. Examples include 's attack and .
Some effects exist that can manipulate the results of coin flips, but these are rather rare. The first of these kinds of effects was printed on . Its , Heat Metal, means the opponent's coin flips for the Burned condition are treated as having tails results irrespective of the actual coin.Blunder Policy, Contrary, Spacing Out, TPCi Rules Team, 2023-06-22, Compendium VMAX, Team Compendium, "There is no distinction between the actual result of the coin flip vs. what the outcome is treated as. Regardless of what the physical coin shows the flip was tails, so you would get to draw 3 cards from the effect of Blunder Policy." introduced another kind of effect. Its allows players to ignore the results of the coins they flipped for an attack at any point while flipping those coins, if they are unsatisfied with the result(s).Victory Star, PUI Rules Team, 2011-12-15, Compendium VMAX, Team Compendium "Anytime during the course of Ramming Strike, you can use Victory Star once to start the attack over from the beginning." Instead, they can begin flipping the coins from the beginning. The prior set of coins are treated as though they never happened.Assist, Victory Star, PUI Rules Team, 2013-01-31, Compendium VMAX, Team Compendium, "Since Victory Star rewound all the coin flips it's as if the Assist attack never happened. So yes, you could choose a different benched Pokemon's attack, if you flip heads for Assist of course." This effect is only usable once per turn, gated by other instances of Victory Star being unable to apply. Starting with , a from which is the second card to allow for re-flipping coins, a meta-rule was added regarding this effect. This rule prevents players from using effects that allow them to flip coins again more than once on the same set of coin flips. , "(You may only use effects that let you flip coins again, including effects from other cards, once during your turn.)", This is reminder text, meaning its contents reflect the rules of the game and not just the card it is printed on.Glimwood Tangle, Victory Star, TPCi Rules Team, 2020-09-24, Compendium VMAX, Team Compendium, "You can use either the ability or the stadium, but not both of them. As a general rule, you can't use more than one reflip effect at a time." The strongest coin flip manipulation effect is on the , which lets the player choose the result of the next coin flip of an Attack, Ability, or Trainer card on their turn.
In place of coins, players can choose to use the second type of approved randomizer: dice. When dice are used, it iss generally considered for even numbers to mean "heads" and odd numbers to mean "tails". Products aimed at competitive players, such as es and s, include a competition legal coin-flip die for this purpose.Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Temporal Forces Elite Trainer Box, Product Gallery, Pokémon.com 
===Rules of play===
Play! Pokémon details several rules on coins and coin flips during TCG matches:
:*Any coin released with any Pokémon TCG product from on should be considered fair and impartial.
:*When flipped, a coin should be held at shoulder height, and fully rotate at least three times before landing on the table.
:*Coins should land as flat on the table as possible. If both players cannot agree on the result of the flip, a judge may be called to determine whether the result is conclusive or if the coin must be flipped again.
:*Coin flips that land outside the playing area (off of the table or in another game's playing area) are considered invalid and must be flipped again.
:*Once players have agreed on the result of a coin flip, it cannot be redone.
:*Once a judge has ruled that a result is conclusive, it cannot be redone.
Coins made out of materials other than plastic or metal are typically not recognized as standard randomizers for TCG matches and must be approved by both players. Additionally, the head judge of the tournament has the right to disallow any randomizer if there is reason to believe that the randomizer is unsuitable.
===Popularity===
Coins have fallen out of favor among the Pokémon player base, who have gradually started to prefer the second officially recognized randomizer, dice, instead, for their utility and convenience, causing coins to be used progressively less as a tool for determining outcomes during a TCG match. With the frequency they are released, their occasional limited availability, and their exclusivity to certain countries such as , , , and , coins are quickly being treated more as a collectible.
Some players use coins to mark a Pokémon that has used an that can only be used once per turn.
==List of coins==
The following is a list of coins released throughout the history of the Pokémon Trading Card Game in chronological order split by Generation. For the coins listed by National Pokédex number, refer here: metallic coins, metal coins, and cardboard coins.
===Generations I-IV===
===Generations V-VI===
===Generations VII-VIII===
===Generation IX===
==In the video games==
===Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR!===
An Event Coin (Japanese: イベントコイン) is any of the collectible coins used in in Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!.
===e-Reader===
Coins, specifically of the design, have been featured in two e-Reader applications, Coin Flipper 1 and Coin Flipper 2, both of which are, as their names suggest, coin tosses. This data is featured on the , and the application is similar to the Pokétch application .
===Pokémon Trading Card Game Online===
:See also: List of Pokémon Trading Card Game Online gameplay items
As the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online was based on the physical TCG, the game utilized coins in the same way, also including some commemorative coins that aren't physically available. For example, in the code card package received by participants of the 2014 World Championships, a commemorative coin was included. Each code card also includes the deck's coin, and older retired coins were progressively made available by using the game's Prize Wheel.
Each deck can be assigned a coin, and when using that deck every coin flip the player performs is done using that coin. PTCGO tracks the number of times a coin flip has a heads result or a tails result during a match, displaying both counters afterward as part of the Stats screen. 
====List of exclusive coins awarded on TCGO ====
:
Image	Name 	Description
 	Grass Reward Coin 	Green Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Grass Energy Level 1
 	Fire Reward Coin 	Red Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Fire Energy Level 1
 	Water Reward Coin 	Blue Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Water Energy Level 1
 	Lightning Reward Coin 	Yellow Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Lightning Energy Level 1
 	Psychic Reward Coin 	Purple Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Psychic Energy Level 1
 	Fighting Reward Coin 	Brown Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Fighting Energy Level 1
 	Darkness Reward Coin 	Dark Blue Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Darkness Energy Level 1
 	Metal Reward Coin 	Silver Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Metal Energy Level 1
 	Dragon Reward Coin 	Green Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Dragon Energy Level 1
 	Fairy Reward Coin 	Gold Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring symbols. Awarded to the player when reaching Fairy Energy Level 1
 	Red Worlds 2013 Pikachu Coin 	Red Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2013 World Championships
 	Blue Worlds 2014 Pikachu Coin 	Blue Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2014 World Championships
 	Red Worlds 2014 Pikachu Coin 	Red Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2014 World Championships
 	Red Worlds 2015 Pikachu Coin 	Red Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2015 World Championships
 	Silver Worlds 2015 Pikachu Coin	Silver Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2015 World Championships
 	Blue Worlds 2016 Pikachu Coin 	Silver Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2016 World Championships. Stated as Blue in TCGO.
 	Copper Worlds 2016 Pikachu Coin	Copper Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2016 World Championships
 	Gold Worlds 2017 Pikachu Coin 	Gold Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2017 World Championships
 	Silver Worlds 2017 Pikachu Coin	Silver Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2017 World Championships
 	Gold Worlds 2018 Pikachu Coin 	Gold Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2018 World Championships
 	Silver Worlds 2018 Pikachu Coin	Silver Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2018 World Championships
 	Gold Worlds 2019 Pikachu Coin 	Gold Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2019 World Championships
 	Silver Worlds 2019 Pikachu Coin	Silver Non Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Code card package received by participants of the 2019 World Championships
 	Bidoof Day Coin 	Brown Cracked Ice Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Log-in bonus for all online players that logged in between July 1, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. PDT, and July 7, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. PDT to celebrate Bidoof Day on July 1, 2021.
===Pokémon Trading Card Game Live===
:See also: List of Pokémon Trading Card Game Live gameplay items
The Pokémon Trading Card Game Live utilizes coins in the same way as TCGO, also featuring commemorative coins that aren't physically available; many of which can be purchased in-game with the coin currency. Some older coins designs have not been migrated from TCGO accounts, while others with similar layouts but different colors have been merged into a single item.
While Pokémon Trading Card Game Online showed both heads and tails results on the results screen for a match, Pokémon Trading Card Game Live only shows the number of flips won. Additionally, the value is not tracked overall in the profile menu.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Live's Battle Log calls the coin flip that decides turn order a coin toss.Pokémon Trading Card Game Live Battle Log, "[name of player] won the coin toss"
===Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket===
The Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket uses coins similarly to TCGO, including coins that are exclusive to the game and can often be bought in-game using the Tickets, Poké gold or real money.
:
Image	Name 	Description
 	Poké Ball (Pokémon coin) 	Red White Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring a Poké Ball. Default coin.
 	Eevee (Pokémon coin) 	Brown Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Default coin.
 	Special Set 01 (Pokémon coin)	Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring a Poké Ball. Available in the Shop; costing 12 Special Shop tickets.
 	Mewtwo (Pokémon coin) 	Purple Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Available in the Shop for a limited time, costing 6 Premium ticket.
 	Rainbow Erika (Pokémon coin) 	Rainbow Holofoil, featuring Erika. Available in the Shop inside the Bonuses A bundle for a limited time, costing 115 Poké gold.
 	Erika Alt. (Pokémon coin) 	Rainbow Holofoil, featuring Erika. Available in the Shop inside the Bonuses B bundle for a limited time, costing 45 Poké gold.
 	Gardevoir (Pokémon coin) 	Green Purple Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Available in the Shop inside the Poké Gold + Bonuses bundle for a limited time, costing $22.99.
 	Meowth (Pokémon coin) 	Beige Holofoil, Black-backed Coin featuring . Available in the Shop for a limited time, costing 5 Event Shop Tickets.
==In animation==
In Challenge the World!, two players flipped a coin during a match at the 2023 Pokémon World Championships to determine which of them took the first turn. The coin featured .
In Pokémon: Path to the Peak, coins are used as per the rules of the Trading Card Game in certain scenes. Notably, in Regionals, Ava got a result of heads on a coin flip that allowed her 's Dizzying Pollen to inflict damage and defeat Celestine's . The coin has a Poké Ball design for tails and a design for heads.
==References==
Category:Coins
Category:Pokémon Card GB 2
Category:Pokémon Trading Card Game mechanics
Category:Pokémon Trading Card Game merchandise
fr:Pièce (JCC)
it:Moneta (GCC)
ja:ポケモンコイン
zh:宝可梦硬币（TCG）