For decades, Pokémon fans have been battling it out, cards in hand, via the Pokémon TCG. A constantly evolving trading card game that welcomed its latest expansion just a few weeks ago. But Pokémon cards have become a real business, with prices soaring, much to the chagrin of long-time fans. The proof is in the pudding with the 10 most expensive cards ever sold.
The Most Expensive Pokémon Cards
With Covid, many have turned to new hobbies. Pokémon cards have discovered a host of fans, setting their sights on a popular and affordable card game. And of course, the bait came to ruin this hobby. Scalpers stormed boosters and other packs, when the richest decided to turn Pokémon cards into a speculative bubble, while NFTs and Web 3 began to attract the luckiest.
As a result, prices soared, while the cards available in stores, as they have been for the past 15 years, became scarce. Even today, it is not uncommon to find a horde of scalpers queuing up for the release of a new set, hoping to resell cards from a children's game for a high price. And across the street, at auction houses, the rarest Pokémon cards in the world have been selling for one another. Pikachu Illustrator, Charizard Topsun Blue Back, Pikachu Trophy No. 2, Silver 2nd - 2nd Tournament, so many post-Covid sales that took advantage of inflated prices to maximize profits.
And even though today, scalpers continue to rush to buy booster packs and Pokémon Elite Trainer Boxes, aka ETBs, sales worth several hundred thousand dollars are becoming rarer. Even so, it could be that your childhood binder has an extremely rare card. To help you sort out fact from fiction, here are the 10 most expensive Pokémon cards in history.
Test Print Gold-Bordered Blastoise (1998)
- Grade: CGC 6.5
- Sold in July 2021 (Heritage Auctions)
- Price: $216,000
Tsunekazu Ishihara Signed Promo (2017)
- Grade: PSA 7 (Autograph PSA 9)
- Sold in April 2021 (Goldin Auctions)
- Price: $247,230
Snap Pikachu (1999)
- Note: PSA Authentic
- Sold in June 2023 (private sale shared on YouTube)
- Price: $270,000
Trophy Pikachu No. 3 Trainer Bronze (1997)
- Rating: PSA 8
- Sold in April 2023 (Heritage Auctions)
- Price: $300,000
Japanese Charizard, signed by Mitsuhiro Arita (1996)
- Rating: PSA 10
- Sold in April 2022 (PWCC)
- Price: $324,000
Tortank Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Holo (1998)
- Rating: CGC 8.5
- Sold in January 2021 (Heritage Auctions)
- Price: $360,000
Charizard first edition holographic shadowless #4 (1999)
- Rating: PSA 10
- Sold in March 2022 (PWCC)
- Price: $420,000
Pikachu Trophy No.2, Silver 2nd - 2nd Tournament (1998)
- Note: PSA 10
- Sold in September 2023 (Goldin)
- Price: $440,000
Charizard Topsun Blue Back (1997)
- Rating: PSA 10
- Sold in January 2021 (Goldin)
- Price: $493,230
Pikachu Illustrator (1998)
- Rating: PSA 10
- Sold in March 2022 (private sale)
- Price: $5,275,000
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