Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Nintendo NES: PSA Pop Report + Loose / CIB / Sealed Prices
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PSA has graded 95 Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse Nintendo NES copies on record — 3 loose, 37 CIB, 55 sealed. PSA tracks 3 distinct production variants separately because they’re priced differently by collectors. Sealed copies trade in the $780 range. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse on Nintendo NES — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.
Quick Facts
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Title: Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse
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Console: Nintendo NES
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Variants tracked by PSA: 3
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Total PSA-graded copies: 95 (Loose: 3 · CIB: 37 · Sealed: 55)
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PriceCharting market data: available
Variant Comparison
PSA recognizes 3 distinct production variants of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, each tracked on its own population row because collectors value them differently. The variants this game discriminates on: USA-region production code labeling.
| Variant | Loose Pop | CIB Pop | Sealed Pop | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Screw, USA Code | 3 | — | — | 3 |
| Made in Japan, Dracula’s Hometown Offer | — | 25 | 30 | 55 |
| Made in Japan, Dracula’s Hometown Offer Removed | — | 12 | 25 | 37 |
PSA Pop by Condition
PSA tracks Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse populations independently for loose carts, complete-in-box (CIB), and factory-sealed copies — collectors price each condition separately because rarity and demand diverge sharply. Tables below show the grade-tier breakdown per condition, aggregated across 3 variants PSA recognizes for this title.
Loose Cartridge
Total graded: 3
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Screw, USA Code | 3 | 8.5: 1 · 8.0: 1 · 7.5: 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variants in this condition: Made in Japan, Dracula’s Hometown Offer · Made in Japan, Dracula’s Hometown Offer Removed.
Complete in Box (CIB)
Total graded: 37
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Dracula’s Hometown Offer | 25 | 9.6: 2 · 9.4: 2 · 9.2: 1 · 9.0: 5 · 8.5: 5 · 8.0: 4 · 7.5: 4 · 7.0: 2 |
| Made in Japan, Dracula’s Hometown Offer Removed | 12 | 9.4: 2 · 9.2: 1 · 9.0: 3 · 8.5: 2 · 8.0: 3 · 7.0: 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variant in this condition: 3 Screw, USA Code.
Factory Sealed
Total graded: 55
Sealed summary by variant:
| Variant | Total Pop | Top Numeric Grade | Best Seal Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Dracula’s Hometown Offer | 30 | 9.6 | A++ |
| Made in Japan, Dracula’s Hometown Offer Removed | 25 | 9.8 | A+ |
Factory Sealed Grade × Seal Matrix
Rows show PSA numeric grades. Columns show seal grades. Cell values are PSA population counts. Aggregated across all variants. Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A++ | A+ | A | B+ | B | C+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9.6 | — | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 9.4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 7 |
| 9.2 | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 9 |
| 9.0 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 8.5 | — | 3 | 9 | 2 | — | 1 | 15 |
| 8.0 | — | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | 9 |
| 7.5 | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 3 |
| 6.5 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| <6.5 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 |
| Total | 1 | 18 | 25 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 55 |
Per-variant grade × seal matrices
Click any variant to expand its full grade × seal breakdown.
Made in Japan, Dracula's Hometown Offer (30 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.6 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A++ | A+ | A | B+ | B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
| 9.4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 4 |
| 9.2 | — | 4 | 3 | — | — | 7 |
| 9.0 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 8.5 | — | 1 | 4 | — | — | 5 |
| 8.0 | — | — | 4 | — | 1 | 5 |
| 7.5 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| 6.5 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| <6.5 | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Total | 1 | 9 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 30 |
Made in Japan, Dracula's Hometown Offer Removed (25 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | A | B+ | B | C+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9.6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| 9.4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 3 |
| 9.2 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | 2 |
| 9.0 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 8.5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | 1 | 10 |
| 8.0 | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | 4 |
| 7.5 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| <6.5 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 25 |
PSA has not graded the following variant in this condition: 3 Screw, USA Code.
Current Market Prices
All prices below are pulled directly from PriceCharting’s public catalog and refreshed each time this article regenerates (typically weekly). PriceCharting computes their values from active and recently-sold listings on eBay + their dealer network — independent of any data on this page. The Sealed column reflects PriceCharting’s “manual-only” / new tier — factory-sealed retail at average condition; specific graded-sealed prices vary sharply by numeric grade + seal letter (use the Sealed eBay browse link below for grade-specific comps).
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Loose cartridge: $40
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Complete in Box (CIB): $152
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Sealed: $780
All 3 PSA-tracked variants share the same PriceCharting prices because PriceCharting indexes at the title level, not the variant level. Variant-specific pricing surfaces on eBay sold-comp data — check the Sealed / CIB / Loose browse links below for variant-aware market signals.
Heritage Graded Sales
Heritage Auctions sold results below are real auction transactions for Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse on Nintendo NES. They complement the PriceCharting loose / CIB / sealed benchmarks above; they are not estimates and they are not blended into PriceCharting’s ungraded market prices.
Summary rows are title-level Heritage sale signals, sorted by format, recency, and realized-price signal. PSA production variants can price differently, so the sale records keep Heritage’s own variant notes visible instead of pretending every auction lot maps cleanly to a PSA variant row.
High-grade games can trade years apart, so older auction records stay visible; treat the latest-sale date as part of the comp, not just the dollar amount.
| Format | Grade | Sale signal | Latest sale | Comps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory sealed (With Trip Offer Early Production) | VGA 85+ | $3,125-$4,000 range | May 24, 2025 | 2 |
| Factory sealed (No Trip Offer Later Production) | WATA 9.6 A+ | Last sale $1,750 | Nov 22, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (With Trip Offer Early Production) | WATA 9.2 A | Last sale $1,188 | Aug 23, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (With Trip Offer Early Production) | CGC 7.5 A+ | Last sale $625 | Sep 10, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (With Trip Offer Early Production) | CGC 6.0 B+ | Last sale $425 | May 13, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (No Trip Offer) | CGC 6.5 B+ | Last sale $300 | Jul 15, 2025 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Trip Offer Oval Soq R Early Production) | WATA 9.2 A | Last sale $3,840 | Jul 11, 2021 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (With Trip Offer Early Production) | WATA 9.4 A+ | Last sale $3,120 | Aug 7, 2022 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (With Trip Offer Atwood Collection) | WATA 9.2 A | Last sale $2,880 | Sep 13, 2020 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (No Trip Offer Later Production) | CGC 9.6 A+ | Last sale $2,400 | Jul 28, 2023 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Trip Offer Oval Soq R) | WATA 8.5 A | Last sale $2,280 | Jul 20, 2021 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (No Offer Later Production) | WATA 9.0 A+ | Last sale $1,920 | Apr 23, 2022 | 1 |
Showing the top 12 Heritage sale signals; the sale-record table below includes every Heritage auction sale used on this page.
Sale records:
View all 32 Heritage sale records
| Date | Sold For | Grader / Grade | Format | Variant Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 22, 2025 | $1,750 | WATA 9.6 A+ | Factory sealed | No Trip Offer Later Production | Lot 7428-28004 |
| Sep 23, 2025 | $225 | CGC 9.0 | CIB | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 312538-69004 |
| Aug 23, 2025 | $1,188 | WATA 9.2 A | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 7416-28130 |
| Jul 15, 2025 | $300 | CGC 6.5 B+ | Factory sealed | No Trip Offer | Lot 312528-68004 |
| May 24, 2025 | $3,125 | VGA 85+ | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 7415-28008 |
| May 13, 2025 | $425 | CGC 6.0 B+ | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 312519-67018 |
| Jan 28, 2025 | $475 | WATA 9.4 | CIB | No Trip Offer | Lot 312504-69012 |
| Jan 9, 2025 | $688 | CGC 9.4 | CIB | No Trip Offer | Lot 44278-79011 |
| Sep 10, 2024 | $625 | CGC 7.5 A+ | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 312437-67002 |
| May 25, 2024 | $4,000 | VGA 85+ | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 7372-28128 |
| Feb 20, 2024 | $480 | CGC 9.2 | CIB | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 312408-68003 |
| Aug 10, 2023 | $169 | CGC 9.0 | CIB | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 44206-79013 |
| Aug 8, 2023 | $480 | WATA 8.0 B | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 312332-67015 |
| Jul 28, 2023 | $2,400 | CGC 9.6 A+ | Factory sealed | No Trip Offer Later Production | Lot 7349-28012 |
| Apr 22, 2023 | $1,440 | WATA 9.4 A | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 7307-28171 |
| Mar 14, 2023 | $750 | WATA 8.5 A | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer | Lot 312311-67020 |
| Feb 28, 2023 | $372 | WATA 5.5 B+ | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer | Lot 312309-69019 |
| Feb 9, 2023 | $1,500 | WATA 9.2 A+ | Factory sealed | Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 44176-80009 |
| Nov 5, 2022 | $1,500 | WATA 9.2 A+ | Factory sealed | Trip Offer Oval Soq R | Lot 7290-29017 |
| Aug 7, 2022 | $3,120 | WATA 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 7288-28013 |
| Jul 26, 2022 | $1,200 | WATA 9.0 A | Factory sealed | No Offer Later Production | Lot 312230-69019 |
| Apr 23, 2022 | $1,920 | WATA 9.0 A+ | Factory sealed | No Offer Later Production | Lot 7286-29011 |
| Apr 19, 2022 | $1,440 | WATA 8.5 A | Factory sealed | Early Production With Trip Offer | Lot 312216-68025 |
| Jul 20, 2021 | $2,280 | WATA 8.5 A | Factory sealed | Trip Offer Oval Soq R | Lot 312129-68034 |
| Jul 11, 2021 | $3,840 | WATA 9.2 A | Factory sealed | Trip Offer Oval Soq R Early Production | Lot 7261-29024 |
| Jun 8, 2021 | $930 | WATA 6.0 A | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 312123-66034 |
| Dec 14, 2020 | $144 | WATA 8.5 | CIB | Oval Soq R | Lot 122050-13875 |
| Sep 13, 2020 | $2,880 | WATA 9.2 A | Factory sealed | With Trip Offer Atwood Collection | Lot 7234-97062 |
| Jul 27, 2020 | $660 | WATA 8.0 A | Factory sealed | W Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 122030-17857 |
| Jul 12, 2020 | $900 | WATA 8.5 A | Factory sealed | Trip Offer Early Production | Lot 7231-97045 |
| Jun 22, 2020 | $900 | WATA 8.0 A | Factory sealed | Oval Soq R No Offer Later Production | Lot 122025-17956 |
| Jun 15, 2020 | $360 | WATA 6.0 B | Factory sealed | No Offer Later Production | Lot 122024-15739 |
Listings
Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse on Nintendo NES. “Sold” pulls completed/sold listings (use this for price research). “Listings” pulls current active listings (use this to find a copy to buy).
Why Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse Matters for Grading
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse is one of the more heavily-graded Nintendo NES titles, with 95 PSA populations on record across loose, CIB, and sealed. Strong submission volume signals collector demand — and grade premiums are the market’s vote on which copies are scarce. The sealed-to-loose price ratio is roughly 19× — sealed copies trade at $780 while loose carts move around $40. That spread means a fresh sealed find is the move; raw cart flips have thinner margins after grading fees. Because PSA tracks 3 variants separately, production-code identification matters before submission. The pop-by-variant breakdown above tells you which variant is the rarer find.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse Nintendo NES worth grading?
Mostly for sealed copies. The sealed-state population (55) outweighs CIB and loose for Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, indicating sealed is where collector capital concentrates. CIB and loose grading is viable but margins are thinner after fees.
How rare is a graded sealed copy of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse?
PSA tracks 55 graded sealed copies of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse for Nintendo NES. The grade-tier breakdown above shows how those split across PSA’s numeric grades — top-grade copies (9.4+) are the scarcest and typically command the strongest premiums.
Should I buy a graded or raw copy of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse?
Depends on your goal. Graded copies cost more upfront but come with PSA’s authenticity + condition guarantee — the right move for buy-and-hold collectors. Raw copies are cheaper but require condition assessment yourself, and the grading lottery means a $50 raw cart can come back as a $25 PSA 7 OR a $200 PSA 9.4. Use the per-condition pop and price data above to calculate expected value before you commit.
Why does PSA track multiple variants of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse?
PSA recognizes 3 distinct production variants of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse on Nintendo NES. Variants reflect real production differences — different factories (Made in Japan vs Made in Mexico), packaging die changes, ESRB-rating retrofits added partway through the console’s life, or Players Choice reissues from later runs. Collectors price them differently because rarity diverges, and PSA tracks each on its own population row so the data reflects the real market structure.
Sources
Pop counts pulled weekly from PSA Video Games population data. Prices from PriceCharting. PSA acquired WATA in July 2021 and completed the rebrand to PSA Video Games on October 20, 2025. PSA Video Games population data is the continuation of WATA’s population history. Heritage graded-sale comps come from Heritage Auctions sold archive lot pages linked in the sale-record table.
Related Resources
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Nintendo NES Game Library (forthcoming) — every variant PSA tracks for this console.
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Retro Video Game Collecting — pillar with broader strategy, market dynamics, and grading economics.