Pikachu Pokemon Cards Sells For A New World Record

A rare Illustrator Pikachu Pokemon is one of only a handful in the world and has fetched a record-breaking sum thanks to its near-mint condition.

01st Mar 2022 16:06

The Pokemon Company | Unsplash Sharon McCutcheon

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Someone is splashing their Pokecoins, as once again, the world record for the world's most expensive Pokemon Card has been broken. Well, this time, it's been well and truly smashed. We've previously covered how Pokemon TCG is well overdue a resurgence in video games, but as most of you will know, the physical version is alive and well.

With the likes of Logan Paul shelling out on (fake) Pokemon Cards and opening them live on stream for the clout, the wider Pokemon community is going wild in the aisles to try and collect 'em all. Reminiscent of scenes on the playground in the late '90s, collectors are swapping and selling their cards for ridiculous sums.

What's The New Pokemon Card Record?

Auction house Goldin has confirmed that a holographic "Illustrator" Pikachu Pokemon card has just sold for a massive $900k. The rare version of the 1998 card has a "Near Mint 7" condition and is one of only 39 that ever existed. There are 23 logged on the PSA Population report.

Boasting artwork from Atsuko Nishida, there's a cheeky Pikachu sporting a pair of paintbrushes. The description goes on to explain: "The card was originally distributed through a series of illustration contests hosted by Coro Coro Magazine in 1997 and 1998. It is the only card to display the 'ILLUSTRATOR' heading and is the lone Pokemon card to feature the unique 'pen' logo on the bottom right-hand corner of the item."

The Illustrator Pikachu Pokemon card has been bought by a currently unknown buyer and smashed a similar record of $375k from last year. Although the card's bidding started at just $75k on February 10, a bidding war raged on as the price started to skyrocket. 

 

What Other Record-Breaking Pokemon Cards Are There?

As we near the $1million mark for Pokemon Cards sales, who knows what the future holds? Looking at the jump from $375k to $900k for the Illustrator Pikachu card in the space of just a year, we dread to think about what the next sale will be. Kotaku reports that an Illustrator Pikachu was sold in 2019 for $195k, so you can see where the trajectory is heading.

Away from Illustrator Pikachu, we've previously covered how someone was selling a single Pokemon Happy Meal card for $500 on eBay. Elsewhere, a First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box nabbed a then record-breaking $408k and quickly saw the buyer trying to resell for over $500k. Finally, rapper Logic splashed out $183k on Charizard and an ultra-rare Blastoise card scored $360k. Basically, there's plenty of money to be had in Pokemon Cards. If you have a spare million, why not try to track down your own Illustrator Pikachu?

 

Tom Chapman

About The Author

Tom Chapman

Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.

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