"This is the only card in the long-running collectible card game series to say 'Illustrator' at the top of a Trainer Card," the description continues, "and the only one to bear the pen symbol in the bottom right corner." Impressive for a 21 year-old piece of card.
This particular card is graded a PSA Mint 9, meaning it's in "superb condition" with only one very minor flaw. In the January 1998 issue, three first place winners won a copy of the card, as did another 20 second place winners, with cards awarded in two more contests that year." A PSA Mint 9-graded Pokémon Illustrator, also known as Illustrator Pikachu, sold for 224,500 back in October 2019 through Weiss Auctions. "This unique card was created specifically for the contest. The most prized card in Pokémon has sold once again for a record-breaking price. "What makes it so rare is that it was not sold, but awarded as a prize in an illustration contest through CoroCoro Comic," the card's description on the auction site reads. In 2016, one was sold on ebay for $54,970 (about £43,000) - yet the newly auctioned card somehow managed to triple that value. This Blastoise card is one of the rarest in existence that was originally part of the Trainer Deck B or 'Mistys Deck' given out as a promotional piece to Pokemon League members ahead of the official launch of the Pokemon TCG in North America. This isn't the first time one of these cards has fetched a crazy price at auction, though. 47) 1999 Pokemon Trainer Deck B Blastoise. It even features art by Atsuko Nishida - the original illustrator of Pikachu itself.ĭon't start rummaging through your old boxes of video game tat just yet, however - this particular Pokémon card only ever had 39 copies released, and only 10 of which are certified by the PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator). The Pikachu Illustrator Promo Card is considered "the most valuable and rarest Pokémon card in the world". Pikachu Illustrator Known as the Holy Grail of Pokemon, the Pikachu Illustrator card was only given out to winners at the CoroCoro Comic Illustration Contest.
A super rare Pokémon card has sold at an auction in New York for a whopping $195,000.