Logan Paul’s iconic Pikachu Illustrator Pokemon card has sold at the Goldin TCG auction for a whopping (almost) $16.5 million, a record-breaking number. The auction house, which is known for rare and record-breaking collectible sales, recently held a Pokemon and TCG auction including this item, previously sourced straight from Logan Paul’s personal collection.
Of course, there’s little surprise that things turned out this way. After all, Logan Paul is an incredibly notable figure in the world of the internet, and the Pikachu Illustrator is one of the rarest Pokemon cards in existence, across the entire TCG. Regardless, this has made this specific sale one of the most notable card auctions in history.
Logan Paul’s Pikachu Illustrator Card Fetches Almost $16.5 Million at Auction
With the Pikachu Illustrator card headlining the sale, international bids continued throughout Monday morning, resulting in a new record for the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction, to date. This record has been auction-certified by Guinness World Records, which only further cements the value of such a nostalgic and iconic card.
The new owner of the card is the founder and managing partner of Solari Capital, AJ Scaramucci. After being in the crowd the entire evening in which bidding took place, the official transfer from Logan Paul to the new owner was facilitated on-site.
If you’re curious as to what could make a simple trading card worth such a fortune, there is quite a bit of history involved in the Pikachu Illustrator, making it one of the rarest and most collectible items to date.
Why is Pikachu illustrator so valuable?
Originally, the Pikachu Illustrator promo was awarded as part of CoroCoro illustration contests held in Japan between 1997-1998. Winners were selected after submitting fanarts related to Pokemon, and mailed the promo card as a prize. Its most notable feature, is of course, the ‘Illustrator’ label rather than the ‘Trainer’ found on most other cards of the same style.
As a one-time promotional reward that never featured in any booster packs, sets, or reprints, the value of Pikachu Illustrator naturally blew up over the years. As of current grading data, only one copy in the world is known to have recieved a GEM 10 grade – none other than the one that was up until now, owned by Logan Paul!
Keeping the origin of the card in mind, the fact that Logan Paul is one of the most well-known figures on the internet, and the fact that there is only one copy of this card in existence, this explains the absolutely whopping price tag. More than that, the sale only further proves just how far Pokemon collectibles and the TCG have evolved – from what once would have been considered a children’s prize or fun piece for any Pokemon fan, it has now cemented a place in pop culture and history.
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