A CGC 10 Pokémon Illustrator Card Just Sold For $495,000

Whoever bought it got a great deal

As of today (September 23, 2023), a CGC 10 Pokémon Illustrator card has now sold for $495,000 including the Buyer’s Premium. The auction was held at Heritage Auctions, where we see a lot of high-value cards transfer from party to party.

Last October, we saw a CGC 9.5 copy of this card sell for a whopping $672,000 so everyone is shocked to see this copy got for under $500,000. Not to mention Logan Paul’s purchase for $5.2 million.

So in contrast, half a million seems like a pretty good deal. 

If you check the CGC population report, you’ll see that they’ve graded a total of 9 Pokémon Illustrator cards, only 4 of those being 10.

Only 39 Copies Were Distributed, Less Exist Today

The Pokémon Illustrator (often referred to as the Pikachu Illustrator) card was given away to winners of a few illustration contests held by CoroCoro Comic Magazine back in Japan in 1998.

It’s a great card,  and beautiful too. But some of you might not like it because Pikachu isn’t fat enough.

The first round of winners was announced in the January 1998 issue and 23 cards were handed out to them. Later in May and June of 1998, two more contests were held, each awarding 8 more Pokémon Illustrator cards.

So a total of 39 copies were given out, but in recent years three additional copies have been discovered, bringing the total to 41.

However, it’s logical to assume that all 41 copies no longer exist, as some have likely been destroyed or lost over time. 

Logan Paul Bought One For $5,275,000

As many of you know already, Logan Paul set the world record for the most expensive Pokémon card ever purchased in a private sale on April 2, 2022. The card cost Paul $5,275,000 and is graded a PSA 10.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’d rather grab a GCG 10 for $495,000 rather than a PSA 10 for $5,275,000!