7 most expensive Pokémon cards of all time

Every Pokémon fanatic has dreamed of finding a perfect mint condition 1999 base set holo Charizard sitting somewhere in their attic. A card such as this one could sell for hundreds of thousands in today's Pokémon market. So many of these rare pieces of art have become incredibly expensive over the years, building up an astronomical amount of worth.

With so many cards selling for quite a bit of money these days, which Pokémon cards have sold for the highest, becoming the most expensive Pokémon cards of all time?

Names like Logan Paul, Leonhart and more have helped add so much value to these rare pieces of art, but the real value comes from the millions of Pokémon card collectors. The people who are constantly getting cards graded and holding onto them for years are the ones who make the hobby that much more special.

So many different unexpected cards over the years have accumulated more worth than the average house costs, making the hobby incredibly expensive.

From Charizard to Pikachu, here are the top seven highest-selling Pokémon cards of all time.

Sold for $247,230.

Every once in a while, Pokémon ends up releasing a card a bit more obscure than some of the others. Back in 2017, The Pokémon Company President, Tsunekazu Ishihara, had an official promo card made for him to celebrate his 60th birthday.

Not just anyone could get the card, though. Only a handful of these gems were handed out to Pokémon employees, making it incredibly rare. So how did one of these cards sell for almost $250,000? Well, Ishihara's handwriting gave it a little boost in worth.

The Pokémon Company President ended up signing some of the cards, where one near-mint PSA 9 sold for $247,230 back in 2021.

Sold for $300,000.

Like the Ishihara GX Promo card, the Bronze Pikachu No. 3 Trainer Trophy card also holds an incredible amount of value due to its limited numbers. In 1997, the very first Pokémon Trading Card tournament was held in Japan, where four competitors who placed third in the tournament were given these cards.

With only four of these cards ever made, the worth they held skyrocketed over the years. Then, in April of 2023, a PSA 8 version of this card appeared on the market. Quickly, the card sold for $300,000, making it the sixth highest-selling card in Pokémon history.

Sold for $360,000.

The Blastoise Galaxy Star Holo has an interesting backstory. The popular card was not necessarily made to be sold at the time, but instead was a presentation card. Nintendo at the time was unconvinced that creating English cards would be worth it, so this presentation card was made to help them see otherwise.

Only two of these Blastoise presentation cards were produced, making them incredibly rare. Sadly, the second card's whereabouts are completely unknown, with only one card ever surfacing on the market.

In 2021, a near-mint-graded version of the Blastoise Galaxy Star Holo presentation card surfaced and sold for $360,000.

Related: Gold Pokémon cards: Where to get them and more

Sold for $420,000.

One of the more famous Pokémon cards is the 1999 Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizard. Thanks to Logan Paul, this popular Pokémon card skyrocketed in value because of its quick rise to fame. In fact, this card was so popular, that it started making every Charizard Pokémon card rise up in value.

You could have a 2020 Charizard and it would still hold more value than a lot of other Pokémon cards on the market. That was just the fame that Charizard had behind it, and evidently, still does have.

In March of 2022, a PSA 10 version of this card appeared and ended up selling for $420,000. Only 120 other PSA 10 versions of the 1999 Charizard have ever been graded this high.

Sold for $444,000.

In 1998, Japan held its very first international tournament, allowing competitors from all over the world to compete. The 1998 Pikachu Silver Trophy Pokémon card was meant as a prize for the second-place competitor.

Very few of these cards exist, and only one of them has actually been given a PSA 10 Gem Mint rating. This particular version ended up selling back in 2023 for approximately $444,000, making it the third highest-selling Pokémon card of all time.

Sold for $493,230.

Given out in bubble-gum packs, the 1995 Japanese Topsun Charizard Pokémon card quickly became one of a kind. The card was made even before actual 1st edition Pokémon cards were made, making it sort of a prototype Charizard card.

Only 31 of these incredibly rare cards are known to exist, with only one card receiving a PSA 10 Gem Mint grade. This legendary card was sold back in 2021 when a buyer purchased the infamous Charizard card for a whopping $493,230, making it the second most expensive Pokémon card ever sold.

Sold for $5.275 million.

The highest-selling Pokémon card of all time goes to the infamous 1998 Pikachu Illustrator. Back in 1997 and 1998, Pokémon held three art tournaments, allowing for different artists to showcase their best Pokémon work.

The winners of all these tournaments were handed a 1998 Pikachu Illustrator card. While 39 of these cards were created, only 20 of them were ever distributed. A perfect PSA 10 Gem Mint version of the card sold back in 2022 to the popular influencer Logan Paul, who purchased the card for $5,275,000, making it the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold.

The creator was even seen wearing the card around his neck when entering the ring during one of his famous boxing matches, making the card seen worldwide.

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