Collectibles expert Elliot Riley-Walsh, founder of Valart, described a friend's Pokemon collection as being worth about £100,000. He noted that many people may have valuable cards hidden away without realising it. The market has also seen a rare card described as the 'holy grail' sell for £30,000, according to major media reports.
Theft and auction activity have further highlighted the value of Pokemon cards. A thief stole £65,000 worth of rare Pokemon cards from a games shop in Cwmbran, Torfaen, according to major media reports. At auction, a sealed Base Set Booster Box sold for £39,000 at Ewbank's in Surrey. Andrew Ewbank, auctioneer at Ewbank's, said in a press conference: 'Ewbank's have been holding dedicated trading cards auctions for around five years now and have seen some extraordinary prices, especially for Pokémon cards and sets. This is no niche collecting field – it is a multi-billion-pound market especially attracting adults in their late 30s and early 40s who grew up playing and trading. The £39,000 price for our top lot here is no mere accident.' A complete first edition set of Pokemon Fossil cards also sold for £5,200.
You just never know what people have sitting in their attics, or hiding generally. People are potentially sitting on thousands. Jewellery and lockets, people tend to know there's generally value in it. But when it comes to trading cards and collectables, people tend to overlook them.
Notable individual card sales include a first edition mint Blue Eyes White Dragon card from Yu-Gi-Oh! that sold for £1,235. On the Swedish platform Tradera, a Pokemon card depicting Rayquaza from the EX Deoxys series (2005) sold for 199,984 SEK, a record for the platform, according to a Tradera press release. The seller was based in Denmark and the buyer in Sweden. According to Aftonbladet, collector Amar Palm described the card as 'like having the Mona Lisa.' The world record for the most expensive Pokemon card was set earlier this year when Logan Paul sold a Pikachu Illustrator card for $16.49 million (approximately 147 million SEK). Pokemon cards have sold for millions at auction, according to major media reports.
My friend who is a big Pokemon collector, his account came out at about £100,000.
A lot of young people are worrying about when they'll reach a state pension age, with a lot of uncertainty around inflation. So instead, people are buying collectables and storing them. A lot of this stuff increases in value, so they can sell it in the future.
Ewbank's have been holding dedicated trading cards auctions for around five years now and have seen some extraordinary prices, especially for Pokémon cards and sets. This is no niche collecting field – it is a multi-billion-pound market especially attracting adults in their late 30s and early 40s who grew up playing and trading. The £39,000 price for our top lot here is no mere accident.
It's like having the Mona Lisa.