The value of the Pokémon Trading Card Game's gold Burger King TCG cards has failed to grow, despite many expecting them to skyrocket over the years. In 1996, the Game Freak franchise launched in Japan with Pokémon Red and Green, before releasing worldwide two years later with the Gen 1 Pokémon Red and Blue version Kanto RPGs. The Nintendo series instantly became a cultural phenomenon and sparked the creation of a wide range of merchandise, including a collaboration between the TCG and Burger King. Although many kids in the 90s believed the Pokémon cards from the fast-food chain would be worth a lot someday, the gold collectibles are not as valuable as many had expected.
Following the massive success of the animated series, The Pokémon Company decided to release Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back in theaters in 1999. To promote the launch of the film Nintendo partnered up with Burger King to release a line of toys. The most coveted collectibles in the promotional campaign though were the 23-karat gold-plated Pokémon cards which were sealed inside replica Pokémon Poké Balls. The limited Mewtwo Strikes Back Pokémon movie promos included six gold cards of Charizard, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, and Togepi.
The 1999 movie promotional kicked off a complete frenzy with Pokémon fans, who rushed out to purchase as many of the gold TCG cards that they could get their hands on. Many collectors purposely kept them sealed and tucked them away in storage, believing that the golden Pokémon cards would be worth thousands of dollars one day. While many retro Pokémon TCG collectibles have exploded in value in 2022, the Burger King promos have failed to catch on as many had believed they would.
Real Pokémon Cards Are More Valuable Than The Gold Ones
Since 2020, TCG items have skyrocketed in value, with some cards even selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pokémon cards worth the most money overwhelmingly tend to be from the 90s, such as the iconic Base Set Charizard which has sold for as high as $420,000. So it's understandable why many Pokémon fans would think Burger King's gold Pokémon cards, released the same year, would also be worth a lot of money in 2022. Unfortunately, the Pokémon: The First Movie promo cards have not seen the same jump in value as other TCG products released around the same time.
According to sales data from auction sites like eBay, the gold Pokémon cards sell on average for $18, with some selling for as high as $30. If the collectible isn't sealed, they are worth even less at around ten dollars. Unlike many rare Pokémon TCG Collectors Editions that were limited, the gold Burger King collectibles were mass-manufactured. Making matters worse, is that everyone collected them believing they would be worth something someday and purposely set them aside in storage. As a result, the gold Pokémon cards have an incredibly high population.
When the TCG launched in 1999, many kids played with their cards and traded them on school playgrounds. Most never even owned the rare 1st edition print run, which was released before the unlimited set that many fans grew up with. Other TCG collectibles such as the infamous Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card, were only given out in promotional events. The same cannot be said for the Burger King promotional, which was picked up by millions of fans around the world. The Pokémon Trading Card Game gold Burger King cards will likely never make fans rich, as there are ultimately too many of them out there in great condition to create a market of low supply and high demand.
Source: eBay