Donkey Kong Nintendo NES: PSA Pop Report + Loose / CIB / Sealed Prices
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PSA has graded 65 Donkey Kong Nintendo NES copies on record — 1 loose, 59 CIB, 5 sealed. PSA tracks 9 distinct production variants separately because they’re priced differently by collectors. Sealed copies trade in the $411 range. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for Donkey Kong on Nintendo NES — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.
Quick Facts
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Title: Donkey Kong
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Console: Nintendo NES
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Variants tracked by PSA: 9
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Total PSA-graded copies: 65 (Loose: 1 · CIB: 59 · Sealed: 5)
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PriceCharting market data: available
Variant Comparison
PSA recognizes 9 distinct production variants of Donkey Kong, each tracked on its own population row because collectors value them differently.
| Variant | Loose Pop | CIB Pop | Sealed Pop | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Screw | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab | — | — | — | — |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - Gloss Sticker | — | 17 | 1 | 18 |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - Gloss Sticker - NES-GP | — | 4 | — | 4 |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP | — | 13 | — | 13 |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP - NES Code | — | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP - NES Code - NES TM | — | 9 | — | 9 |
| Made in Japan, No Rev-A | — | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Made in Japan, Round SOQ | — | 1 | — | 1 |
PSA Pop by Condition
PSA tracks Donkey Kong 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 9 variants PSA recognizes for this title.
Loose Cartridge
Total graded: 1
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Screw | 1 | 9.2: 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variants in this condition: Made in Japan, Hangtab · Made in Japan, Hangtab - Gloss Sticker · Made in Japan, Hangtab - Gloss Sticker - NES-GP · Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP · Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP - NES Code · Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP - NES Code - NES TM · Made in Japan, No Rev-A · Made in Japan, Round SOQ.
Complete in Box (CIB)
Total graded: 59
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - Gloss Sticker | 17 | 9.0: 1 · 8.5: 2 · 8.0: 3 · 7.5: 2 · 7.0: 4 · 6.5: 2 · <6.5: 3 |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - Gloss Sticker - NES-GP | 4 | 9.4: 1 · 9.2: 1 · 9.0: 1 · <6.5: 1 |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP | 13 | 9.2: 1 · 9.0: 2 · 8.5: 1 · 8.0: 1 · 7.5: 1 · 7.0: 2 · 6.5: 2 · <6.5: 2 |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP - NES Code | 14 | 9.2: 1 · 9.0: 1 · 8.5: 2 · 8.0: 2 · 7.5: 3 · 7.0: 3 · 6.5: 1 · <6.5: 1 |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP - NES Code - NES TM | 9 | 9.2: 2 · 8.5: 2 · 8.0: 3 · 7.0: 1 · 6.5: 1 |
| Made in Japan, No Rev-A | 1 | 7.0: 1 |
| Made in Japan, Round SOQ | 1 | 8.0: 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variants in this condition: 3 Screw · Made in Japan, Hangtab.
Factory Sealed
Total graded: 5
Sealed summary by variant:
| Variant | Total Pop | Top Numeric Grade | Best Seal Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - Gloss Sticker | 1 | 9.6 | A++ |
| Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP - NES Code | 3 | 9.2 | B+ |
| Made in Japan, No Rev-A | 1 | 8.5 | B |
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: 9.6 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A++ | B+ | B | NS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9.2 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 9.0 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| 8.5 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| <6.5 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
Per-variant grade × seal matrices
Click any variant to expand its full grade × seal breakdown.
Made in Japan, Hangtab - Gloss Sticker (1 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.6 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A++ | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 9.6 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 |
Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP - NES Code (3 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.2 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | B+ | B | NS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.2 | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 9.0 | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| <6.5 | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Made in Japan, No Rev-A (1 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 8.5 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | B | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 8.5 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variants in this condition: 3 Screw · Made in Japan, Hangtab · Made in Japan, Hangtab - Gloss Sticker - NES-GP · Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP · Made in Japan, Hangtab - NES-GP - NES Code - NES TM · Made in Japan, Round SOQ.
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): $241
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Sealed: $411
All 9 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 Donkey Kong 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 (No Rev A Round Soq Mid Production) | WATA 8.5 B | Last sale $72,000 | Jan 17, 2021 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Hangtab 1 Code Mid Production) | VGA 80 | Last sale $50,400 | Apr 22, 2023 | 1 |
| Qualified / no seal (Hangtab 2 Code Mid Production) | VGA 85+ | Last sale $5,250 | May 25, 2024 | 1 |
| Qualified / no seal (Canadian Version Hangtab Double Gloss Sticker) | VGA 85 | Last sale $2,160 | Aug 24, 2023 | 1 |
| CIB (Gloss Sticker 1 Code Early Production) | WATA 9.0 | Last sale $1,500 | Aug 23, 2025 | 1 |
| CIB (Gloss Sticker First Production) | CGC 8.5 | Last sale $1,500 | Aug 24, 2024 | 1 |
| CIB (Gloss Sticker First Production) | WATA 4.5 | Last sale $169 | Jul 9, 2024 | 1 |
| CIB (No Rev A Round Soq Mid Production) | WATA 7.5 | Last sale $12,000 | Aug 31, 2021 | 1 |
| CIB (Gloss Sticker 1 Code) | WATA 9.0 | Last sale $4,560 | Jan 20, 2023 | 1 |
| CIB (Gloss Sticker First Production) | WATA 8.0 | 2 comps, wide spread $1,800-$4,320 | Nov 4, 2023 | 2 |
| CIB (Hangtab Gloss Sticker First Production) | WATA 8.0 | Last sale $4,200 | Oct 31, 2021 | 1 |
| CIB (Gloss Sticker First Production) | WATA 8.5 | Last sale $3,360 | Aug 10, 2023 | 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 24 Heritage sale records
| Date | Sold For | Grader / Grade | Format | Variant Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23, 2025 | $1,500 | WATA 9.0 | CIB | Gloss Sticker 1 Code Early Production | Lot 7416-28132 |
| Aug 24, 2024 | $1,500 | CGC 8.5 | CIB | Gloss Sticker First Production | Lot 7378-28114 |
| Jul 9, 2024 | $169 | WATA 4.5 | CIB | Gloss Sticker First Production | Lot 312428-67001 |
| Jul 2, 2024 | $67 | CGC 7.0 | Loose | Three Screw Round Soq Made in Japan | Lot 312427-66004 |
| May 25, 2024 | $5,250 | VGA 85+ | Qualified / no seal | Hangtab 2 Code Mid Production | Lot 7372-28135 |
| Feb 8, 2024 | $1,800 | WATA 9.2 | CIB | Hangtab 2 Code Mid Production | Lot 44235-79031 |
| Feb 8, 2024 | $780 | CGC 8.0 | CIB | Hangtab 3 Code Mid Production | Lot 44235-79032 |
| Nov 4, 2023 | $1,800 | WATA 8.0 | CIB | Gloss Sticker First Production | Lot 7350-28206 |
| Oct 10, 2023 | $70 | CGC 7.5 | Loose | Three Screw Round Soq Made in Japan | Lot 312341-67010 |
| Oct 3, 2023 | $75 | CGC 7.0 | Loose | Three Screw Round Soq Made in Japan | Lot 312340-66010 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | $2,160 | VGA 85 | Qualified / no seal | Canadian Version Hangtab Double Gloss Sticker | Lot 44209-79010 |
| Aug 10, 2023 | $3,360 | WATA 8.5 | CIB | Gloss Sticker First Production | Lot 44206-79021 |
| Aug 10, 2023 | $1,560 | WATA 8.5 | CIB | No Rev A Round Soq Last Production | Lot 44206-79022 |
| Jul 28, 2023 | $1,920 | CGC 8.0 | CIB | Gloss Sticker 1 Code Early Production | Lot 7349-28155 |
| Apr 22, 2023 | $50,400 | VGA 80 | Factory sealed | Hangtab 1 Code Mid Production | Lot 7307-28023 |
| Feb 9, 2023 | $1,140 | WATA 8.0 | CIB | Hangtab 2 Code Mid Production | Lot 44176-80014 |
| Jan 20, 2023 | $4,560 | WATA 9.0 | CIB | Gloss Sticker 1 Code | Lot 7348-28011 |
| Nov 8, 2022 | $1,680 | WATA 7.5 | CIB | Hangtab Gloss Sticker First Production | Lot 312245-67017 |
| Nov 5, 2022 | $4,320 | WATA 8.0 | CIB | Gloss Sticker First Production | Lot 7290-29023 |
| Dec 21, 2021 | $720 | WATA 6.5 | CIB | Gloss Sticker First Production | Lot 312151-68016 |
| Oct 31, 2021 | $4,200 | WATA 8.0 | CIB | Hangtab Gloss Sticker First Production | Lot 7263-29029 |
| Aug 31, 2021 | $12,000 | WATA 7.5 | CIB | No Rev A Round Soq Mid Production | Lot 312135-70027 |
| Jan 17, 2021 | $72,000 | WATA 8.5 B | Factory sealed | No Rev A Round Soq Mid Production | Lot 7239-93008 |
| Dec 21, 2020 | $384 | WATA 8.0 | CIB | Hangtab 3 Code Mid Release | Lot 122051-16068 |
Listings
Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to Donkey Kong 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 Donkey Kong Matters for Grading
Donkey Kong is one of the more heavily-graded Nintendo NES titles, with 65 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 cib condition dominates submissions (59 of 65, ~90%) — a strong signal that’s where most collector value sits for this title. The sealed-to-loose price ratio is roughly 10× — sealed copies trade at $411 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 9 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 Donkey Kong Nintendo NES worth grading?
Yes for clean, top-condition copies. Donkey Kong has a healthy 65-copy graded population, and the higher-tier grades (9.4+) consistently command meaningful premiums over raw. Mid-tier grades (7-8) often net break-even after grading fees, so submission strategy matters.
How rare is a graded CIB copy of Donkey Kong?
PSA tracks 59 graded CIB copies of Donkey Kong 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 Donkey Kong?
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 Donkey Kong?
PSA recognizes 9 distinct production variants of Donkey Kong 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.