Single Pokémon Card Sold For A World Record

This year has truly been the year of the Pokémon, and to add to Pokémon’s special year is the record sale of an extraordinarily rare card.

The ‘Pikachu Illustrator’ Promo Hologram Trading Card was given in January of 1998 to the winners of the CoroCoro Comic Illustration Contest. Only 39 copies of this card were ever released, 10 of which are graded in top condition. It is unknown how many remain in public hands.

The card was illustrated by Atsuko Nishida, one of the chief Pokémon graphic illustrators. The card portrays Pikachu as an artist with a paintbrush, with a doodle of Charmander seen in the background. It is considered the most iconic and valuable card by Pokémon card collectors.

Previously, the card sold for $23,000 in the early 2000s. However, a public auction held by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills, California, just sold the elusive card for a record $54,970.

It was put up for auction by a private collector in the United States in the wake of the popularity that had surrounded the Pokémon Go app. The release of Pokémon Sun and Moon last week has led to a Pokémon phenomenon not seen since it began in 1996.

The Pokémon card game has become a major event itself, with multiple tournaments hosted across the world. This year’s Pokémon World Championship was held in San Francisco in August and had a combined prize pool of more than $500,000.

In the 1990’s, there was even a spin-off from the main series of Pokémon video games based on the Trading Card game. The Pokèmon Card GB2 is known for being one of the most revolutionary Nintendo games of that era, paving the way for the Nintendo we see today.

With Pokémon firmly on the world’s minds, now might be the time to rummage through your attic, or empty all your cupboard drawers, because you might be sitting on a card worth a fortune.