In the trading card world, no franchise seems to keep making headlines like Pokémon. These cards have been around since 1996 and over the years amassed a huge, dedicated following which truly seeks to collect them all. Given that some cards are extremely rare, the price tag can easily reach into the several thousand. However, only a few cards can say they cost as much as a house.
Perhaps one of the most notoriously sought after Pokémon cards is the Base Set Charizard. A first edition Gem Mint 10 graded card can easily fetch for a couple of thousand dollars (USD), while a first edition shadowless often goes above the $10,000 mark. To an onlooker, these prices can seem outrageous for what is the equivalent of a fancy piece of paper, but Pokémon card prices have only increased over the years. And in the case of one special Pikachu card, the price surpassed $200,000.
The Pikachu Illustrator card is one of the rarest Pokémon cards a collector can get. Approximately 39 were originally released and from those, only 10 are believed to remain. The cards were only ever distributed to a few select participants who came in first or second during a "Pokémon Card Game Illustration Contest" held at the Japanese CoroCoro convention in 1998. The card features Pikachu holding up a brush and pen with a few Pokémon illustrations behind him. The traditional "Trainer" text that appears on Trainer cards has been replaced with "Illustrator". The card also features art by the legendary Atsuko Nishida who was the original artist for Pikachu.
Illustrator Pikachu Card Sells For $250,000
The record-setting card was sold on ZenPlus to an unknown American buyer who ended up purchasing the card for a staggering sum of $250,000 (~26,751,243.92 JPY). The Illustrator Pikachu card was graded at a Mint 9, meaning that it was in excellent condition aside from one flaw. This only increases speculation on how much a Gem Mint 10 could sell for. The purchase broke the previous Pokémon card record of $190,000, which also belonged to an Illustrator Pikachu card sold in 2019. The new record purchase was set shortly after a No. 1 Trainer card sold for $90,000 earlier this year.
Interestingly enough, for a card that fetches quite a large sum Illustrator Pikachu doesn't have actual abilities or value in a competitive setting. The body of the card simply congratulates the winner and recognizes them as an officially authorized Pokémon Card Illustrator. In turn, this card holds value as a collector's item which many hardcore fans are seeking. At the time of writing, there is one eBay listing for a PSA Graded Mint 9 Illustrator Pikachu and it's sitting at a whopping $2 million. With 664 watchers and likely several offers, the price tag isn't scaring the most dedicated collectors away.
With prices only increasing in the Pokémon TCG community, it's likely that Illustrator Pikachu will not be the only card that sells at a record-breaking price. For anyone who has collected Pokémon cards and still has their collection, it may be worthwhile to blow off the dust and look through what you have. There's a chance that one of those cards may be an Illustrator Pikachu.
Source: Zen Market