In a press release, collectibles auctioneer Heritage Auctions, announced that over the weekend it sold a Pokémon “Pikachu Illustrator” Trainer Promo Hologram trading card, for roughly $55,000.
The Pokémon “Pikachu Illustrator” Trainer Promo Hologram trading card is considered to be one of the most valuable, and rare, Pokémon cards in the world, with one card having previously sold at auction in 2014 for $90,000. The rarity is due to the card being created specifically as a prize in an illustration contest, held by CoroCoro Comic, with three first place winners winning copies of the card, along with twenty second place winners. In 1998, when the contest was held, after two additional contests, a total of thirty-nine copies were released, and of those, there are currently only ten PSA certified copies known. The card features artwork by illustrator Atsuko Nishida, and is a “Double-Star” rarity promo card.
The card sold during the auction in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, was in PSA 9 mint condition. Per the auction’s page, the card had a total of sixteen bids and registered phone bidders, with the winner taking home the rare Pokémon collectible for a total of $54,970.
The latest Pokémon games, Pokémon Sun and Moon for the Nintendo 3DS, released last week. The anime and manga series inspired by the long-running franchise, are published in North America by Viz Media.
I would say that this auction is a good example of why you should take care of those cards and comics, especially those that you know are so rare.