Intro
The Pokemon TCG is a behemoth in the card game industry, and rightfully so. It has been churning out high-quality and interesting TCG cards for years now, some of which manage to sell for millions of dollars! This got us thinking, which Pokemon cards were sold for the highest price over the years?
So we came up with this list which contains the 15 most expensive Pokemon cards of all time.
15. EX Dragon Frontiers Gold Star Charizard ($60,000)
Charizard is one of the most popular Pokemon ever designed; it has been a part of the franchise since its inception and is just iconic, to say the least.
So when a card features a Chraizrad in its shiny form, it is bound to do big numbers. Plus, the card we have up here is a Gold Star, which are considered to be one of the best Pokemon cards of all time, so much so that we have yet another Gold Star further on our list.
In the most recent auction, the Gold Star Charizard was sold for a whopping $60,000!
14. World Championships No. 2 Trainer 2013 ($65,000)
Pokemon World Championships are always fun, you get to see the best players go against each other, meet new people, and if you’re talented enough, you might be one of the competitors!
When competing in such prestigious events, you get not only recognition but also exclusive items and cards from Pokemon!
This 2013 PWC No.2 card is one such card, handed out to various people at the tournament held in Vancouver. As the numbers of these cards are limited, they manage to sell for really high prices.
13. Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind ($65,100)
Like our last entry on this list, this card was also given out at a Pokemon event, so the amount in circulation is meager; in fact, only 29 cards have ever been seen in the market, out of which only 2 are in Mint condition.
It features a Psyduck chilling on a Tropical Island, and fans just loved the design.
12. Pokemon World Championships No. 1 Trainer 2012 ($72,000)
The No. 1 trainer card is prestigious; it was awarded only to the best of the Pokemon TCG community; this alone makes this card pretty unique; it would be like owning a world cup trophy.
The card features a Pikachu holding a golden trophy! The illustration may leave a lot to be desired, but the illustration isn’t what’s causing this high price point; it’s the card’s rarity; as of now, only one such card has ever been sold, and no one knows where the rest of them are!
Also, this one is a PSA 9; if and when a Mint condition card shows up, expect the price to shoot past $72k!
11. University Magikarp ($78,000)
Magikarp might be a pretty useless Pokemon, but this Unversity Magikarp card is far from useless; it is pretty useful, so much so that it can put you through college!
Similar to the cards above, this unique Magirak card was also handed out at an event held by a Japanese University. A total of 100 such cards were handed out, of which 68 have been known to be graded by the PSA. More such cards exist apart from the PSA ones, but none of them have ever entered the market.
10. Gold Star Umbreon Play Promo ($78,000)
As we mentioned earlier on the list, Gold Star cards were popular back in the day, so it is not a surprise to see them sold for thousands of dollars.
This Umbreon Gold Star probably is the best Gold Star ever designed. The illustration is iconic, and the Holo foil just adds to the beauty.
9. World Championships 1999 – No.1 Trainer ($90,000)
The early years of Pokemon were a bit chaotic; no one knew Pokemon was going to be such a massive phenomenon, and the TCG players certainly had no idea about this either. Hence, cards from the earlier sets are hard to get a hold of.
And this No. 1 trainer card was handed out to a select few people in one of the earliest Pokemon tournaments! Only eight have entered the market in the last few decades.
The illustration might not be the best, but the rarity and story behind the card are enough to justify the card’s prize point.
8. Pokemon World Championships No. 2 Trainer ($110,000)
At the number 8 spot, we have yet another Pokemon WC card, the 2006 No. 2 trainer card. There isn’t much to say about this card apart from the fact that only one such card has ever been seen entering the market.
7. 1st Edition Neo Genesis Lugia ($144,300)
Lugia is a famous Pokemon, to begin with, so when a card with an excellent Lugia illustration is released, you can be sure that it will be admired for years to come, and that’s what happened with the Neo Genesis Lugia.
Many copies of this card are floating around in the market, so it is essential to look at their grade. The one we have up here is a Becket 10.
6. Family Event Kangaskhan ($150,000)
The Family Kangaskahn has a unique story behind it; unlike most of the cards that were handed out at an event, the event where this was handed out was a special parent-child one.
So the duo with the most wins were given these cards. Only 31 such cards have ever entered the market!
5. 2nd Tournament Trophy Pikachu No. 3 1998 ($192,000)
We enter our top 5 with the iconic Trophy Pikachu! It was one of the earliest Pokemon tournaments held in Japan; hence there’s a limited quantity of these cards. Also, the No.1 and No. 2 cards come nowhere near the price of these No. 3 cards, which is really weird.
4. Ishihara GX Promo ($247,000)
This Ishihara card was handed out to the closest employees to the man himself on his 60th birthday, so not many of these cards have entered the market. Why would you sell something so unique?
But a few got out, and the one we’re looking at right now is even more special, as the card features an autograph from Ishihara, which substantially impacted its value!
3. Blastoise Wizards of the Coast Presentation Galaxy Star holo ($360,000)
This Blastoise card is one of the rarest Pokemon cards ever created. It was made for a presentation by wizards of the coast. So it is safe to say that not more than these two cards were ever created, hence the price point.
2. 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard ($420,000)
This card is considered to be the holy grail of Pokemon TCG cars by many Pokemon fans. It is the 1st edition Charizard Holo Foil Shadowless!
The card has become so iconic that the Pokemon company has had multiple reprints over the years. Even the reprints go for thousands of dollars!
This Charizard managed to touch the half-a-million-dollar mark, and judging by the hype surrounding Pokemon, it might go up even more!
1. Pikachu Illustrator ($5,275,000)
The Pikachu Illustrator Logan Paul owns and wore to Wrestlemania is currently the most expensive Pokemon card. It was sold for 4 million dollars! In addition to the money, Paul gave the seller an Illustrator Pikachu, estimated at around $1,275,000!
The Illustrator Pikachu, as the name suggests, was given out to the winner of an illustration competition held by Coro Coro comics, who might’ve thought that this card would go on to be worth 5 million dollars!
