Top 10 most expensive Pokemon cards ever sold

The popularity and worth of the Pokemon Trading Card Game have skyrocketed in 2022 despite its launch almost 20 years ago. The top 10 most expensive and uncommon Pokemon cards for 2022 are listed below. In 1999, few people could have predicted that Pokemon cards would one day be extremely valuable. But more than 20 years later, the value of uncommon things from the massively popular TCG has utterly exploded. The twenty-four rarest and most costly Pokemon cards available in 2022 range from special tournament prizes to shadowless 1st Edition monsters from the Base Set. Online personalities like Logan Paul have pushed Pokemon card collecting back into the public eye over the last two years. Given that some cards have a worth of over $300,000, it makes sense why there has been such a surge in interest in the pastime. What, therefore, gives Pokemon cards their value? It all depends on how uncommon the card is and how well-maintained the item is. These two elements influence collectors' willingness to spend and explain why some cards fetch exorbitant prices. The 24 most expensive TCG collectibles ever sold at auction are listed below.

It should be noted that top lists are frequently subject to disagreement. The highest price a card has ever fetched at auction or its average selling price might be used to estimate its worth. The grade and condition of the item, as well as market conditions, greatly influence a Pokemon card's worth. Our ranking is based on the most recent auction prices for the item, and if another card sells for more money and sets a new record, it will move up the list.

1. Illustrator CoroCoro Comics Promo (Pikachu illustrator card)

The elusive Pikachu Illustrator card is without a doubt one of the rarest and most expensive of the premium Pokemon cards. Winners of an art contest held by CoroCoro in 1997 received the amazing object, which shows an Electric-type monster charmingly sketching other monsters. The Pokemon card has routinely sold between $195k and $200k over the past five years. One sold for a staggering $250,000 in 2020, shattering the previous record of $243,000 set by another one back in 2019. Surprisingly, a PSA 7 copy of the card fetched $375,000 in a PWCC auction in February 2021.

Amazingly, the expensive Japanese antique broke its former record on February 24, 2022, when it sold for $900,000. As the most expensive Pokemon card ever, the rare CoroCoro promo is now close to becoming the first TCG collectible to be valued at more than a million dollars. Only a few months later, a PSA Gem Mint 10 sold for an astounding $6,000,000 - yes, you read that correctly - shattering the previous $900,000 record. The TCG memorabilia was seen on April 2 on Logan Paul, who made his WrestleMania debut wearing it. PSA's own sales database shows that the expensive promo card recently sold for $6 million.

Logan explained how he got the card on July 7, 2022, saying that he was connected to an unknown vendor in July 2021 who provided him $4,000,000 cash and a PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator for a $5,250,000 purchase price. Less than 20 of these are reportedly known to exist, which almost ensures that the value of this Pokemon card will increase with time. The Pikachu Illustrator card is regarded by many collectors as the rarest Pokemon card in the entire hobby, and the price now supports that claim.

2. Topsun Charizard Blue Back

The Topsun Charizard Blue Back is, technically speaking, the second most expensive Pokemon card ever purchased at auction. The main issue is: Does it really qualify as a "Pokemon card"? The solution is intricate. In 1996, as Creature Inc. prepared to release the Pokemon Trading Card Game as we know it, Topsun also created a deck of playing cards with mon on them. Although the goods are not officially a part of the TCG, there is some disagreement among collectors as to whether they should be grouped together. Due to its unnumbered nature and blue back, the Charizard in the top image is not only uncommon but also crazily rare. The collectibles were initially marketed in Japan in gum packet packaging.

It gets even more confusing because, according to reports, the device was technically manufactured in 1995 but only put on the market in 1997. A PSA 10 version of the object was reportedly sold at Goldin Auctions in January 2021 for $493,230! More than a house, you read that properly. Only time will tell how fans decide whether or not this genuinely qualifies as a "Pokemon card." We've left things alone for the time being.

3. Charizard 1st Edition Shadowless Base Set

Charizard has always been the jewel in the crown, as practically any child who grew up in the 1990s can attest. If you lacked one, you frantically tore open booster pack after booster pack in an effort to get the magnificent Pokemon card. This 1999 base card's 1st Edition variants can fetch outrageous prices. Even more so if it is "Shadowless," an early print edition without a shadow enclosing the artwork's edge. A Grade 10 1st Edition Charizard was purchased by well-known rapper Logic for over $226k on October 9, 2020, breaking previous records for the fire Pokemon card. However, a new record was set in just two months. A buyer paid $350,000 for the 1999 Base Set collectible at a PWCC auction on December 12. Amazingly, a 1st Edition card from another set apparently sold for $369k at Goldin Auctions four hours later, making it the second-most expensive Pokemon card ever sold.

On March 19, 2022, a Base Set 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard sold for an astounding $420,000 at a PWCC auction, shattering all prior records. One of the most expensive TCG collectibles ever, just 121 Charizards with the ideal Gem Mint 10 grade are known to exist worldwide, according to the auction house. It's not improbable that the Kanto starter will eventually be worth a million dollars given how rapidly its value increases every year. The Base Set Charizard is still the second most expensive Pokemon card despite its record-breaking sales since it still has a ways to go before it can match the item in our top slot.

4. Blastoise Wizards of the Coast Presentation Galaxy Star holo

When this absurdly rare Pokemon card was found by the general public for the first time in 2021, the community playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game was astounded. The Blastoise Presentation card was commissioned by Wizards of the Coast in 1998 with the intention of giving retailers a preview of the TCG line's final print run. Despite contradictory accounts of its past, it is currently thought that just two are known to have ever existed, with only one being currently accounted for. In terms of the North American release, it is practically one of the earliest known Pokemon cards. One copy featured a Magic: The Gathering backside because it was made so early, while the other was left blank. It was the third most expensive collectible, slightly behind the Base Set Charizard, when the vintage Nintendo item was put up for auction at Heritage Auctions in January 2021. Given that there are only two of them, it may someday overtake another card as the most expensive Pokemon of all time. It might be the rarest Pokemon card in the world if nothing else.

5. Ishihara GX Promo (Autographed)

This uncommon promo card, which is a bit of an oddity, features artwork created by none other than Tsunekazu Ishihara, president, and CEO of The Pokemon Company. According to interviews, every employee who attended the executive's birthday celebration in 2017 received a unique Pokemon card. In April 2020, the incredibly rare Pokemon card brought $50,000 at auction. There may only be 30 to 60 of these TCG collectibles in existence, according to reports, however, it's difficult to say for sure until more of them are made available to the general public. A Pokemon card in PSA 7 condition fetched $247,230 in 2021 at Goldin Auctions. The collectible's enormous price increase resulted from the fact that Ishihara genuinely signed it, turning it into a truly unique oddity in the TCG.

6. Kangaskhan Family Event Trophy

We've reached position five, and the costs of these priciest Pokemon cards keep rising. It was impossible to acquire this 1998 Trophy Pokemon card outside of Japan unless you took part in a unique competition. The charming item has a drawing of a Kangaskhan with a baby in its pouch and is decorated with holographic sparkles. It was appropriate that the competition required a parent and child to engage in TCG fights together. One of the rarest Trophy Pokemon cards in existence, there are only 11 of these in existence right now that have been graded, according to reports. Two PSA 10s of the collectible sold for $150k in October 2020. We anticipate that this Pokemon card's value will increase over the next few years due to its rarity.

7. Lugia 1st Edition Neo Genesis

Lugia, like Mewtwo, was an iconic Legendary for many kids who watched the show growing up in the 2000s. It should therefore not be surprising that its introduction as a Pokemon card was a huge success. After many years, the psychic bird has gained popularity among collectors. As a result, as players scramble to find the coveted Johto Pokemon card, the value of its expansion Neo Genesis has skyrocketed. A Beckett rated 10 copies of a 1st Edition Lugia that set records by selling for a mind-blowing $129,000 in 2020 and sold for $144,300 at a PWCC auction in May 2021. This perfect Pokemon card is one of only three in the entire globe because BGS assesses cards far more rigorously than PSA.

8. Pokemon World Championships Promo No. 2 Trainer

At the 2006 World Championship in Anaheim, California, the exceedingly rare Trophy card was distributed. The population of these Pokemon cards is incredibly small because they were only distributed to winners. Only three of these collectibles are even said to have been distributed at the tournament, according to PSA. Due to its rarity, it feels almost criminal to have this Pokemon card in this location because it is rarely for sale. However, one did eventually surface online in February 2021. This object received over 150 bids and fetched an astounding $110,100 at a PWCC auction.

9. No. 1 Trainer Super Secret Battle

The Pokemon Company held regional competitions in Japan in 1999. The No. 1 Trainer Pokemon card that winners received gave them admission to the final, which was held in a private location. The special TCG competition, which went by the name of "Super Secret Battle," was shrouded in mystery. The Mewtwo silhouette on the rare Pokemon card has increased its appeal among collectors. One of the most expensive Pokemon cards ever made was the Japanese promo, which sold for an astounding $90,000 in July 2020.

10. Umbreon Gold Star Holo

Some of the most well-known Pokemon series characters include Eevee and its evolutions. So it makes natural that a Gold Star Umbreon would soon rise to the top of the TCG's most sought-after Pokemon cards. This Pokemon card has a special backstory since, by the end of the fourth season of the Pokemon Players Club, players needed to have earned more than 70,000 XP points to get it. Trainers have a lot of matches to win in addition to traveling physically to events. Not many of these Pokemon cards have actually been put up for sale because of their small population. Everything changed in June 2021 when the Gold Star Umbreon was auctioned off for $70,000. Due to the fact that just two other objects in the entire world have a BGS grade of 9.5, it is even unusual.