Most Expensive Rare Pokemon Card Sells For Record Breaking Price

I would have never guessed as a kid that Pokemon cards would delve into the realm of luxury, but with anything collectible you never know what can happen. A perfect example of that is the world’s rarest Pokemon card setting a world record price of $195,000 USD which is roughly the same price as most supercars, a piece of real estate or even a small plane.

New York based Weiss Auctions who states that this one of thirty nine Pokemon Illustrator card was in mint condition, and received a near perfect PSA grade of 9. A few others have been sold before but none of them came even close to selling for this price point.

Why is the Pokemon Illustrator card so rare? This card was never actually sold, but was awarded as a prize in an illustration contest through CoroCoro Comic in the late 90s. Three 1st Place winners were awarded a copy of the Pokemon Illustrator card, as well as another 20 2nd Place winners in the contest. The remaining cards were won by contestants in another contest held by the same company later on in the year, and I wonder if there are a few more hidden away somewhere in a dusty company box.

I believe another PSA 9 Pokemon Illustrator card was sold for $100,000 USD on Ebay way back in 2013, and we’ll see what the next one goes for if it ever makes its way onto the public stage again. To me, this is a strange way to spend a couple hundred grand although we do hope the new card owner is happy with the purchase they’ve made.

Ryan Clark
[email protected]

Ryan Clark is celebrating 10 years consulting for luxury brands across the globe helping them reach UHNW individuals online and off. He specializes in luxury digital marketing, SEO, PR and luxury viral marketing. Connect with me to talk about your luxury marketing strategy and how our services can help you achieve more this year. I offer a luxury gaps audit to determine where you're falling flat and where I see you can improve in your marketing efforts.   To connect with him online you can follow on Twitter @LuxuryBranded, connect on LinkedIn Ryan R Clark and read his column on Luxe Getaways Magazine where he covers the world of luxury.