Top 10 Most Valuable Pokémon Cards of All Time
Richard WeissKey Takeaways
- The most valuable Pokémon card on record is the PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator, sold for $16,492,000 at Goldin on February 16, 2026.
- Guinness World Records lists that sale as the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction, not only the most expensive Pokémon card.
- A PSA 10 Bronze Trophy Pikachu (No. 3 Trainer) sold for $1,769,000 at Goldin in May 2026, the second-highest sale on this list.
- The highest sale on this list for a card pulled from packs is a PSA 10 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Charizard at $954,800, sold at Goldin in February 2026.
- Seven of the ten cards are Japanese prize or contest cards that were never sold in booster packs.
Table of Contents
The most valuable Pokémon card of all time is the Pikachu Illustrator: the only PSA 10 copy sold for $16,492,000 at Goldin on February 16, 2026. Next on this list are a PSA 10 Bronze Trophy Pikachu at $1,769,000 (Goldin, May 2026) and a PSA 10 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Charizard at $954,800 (Goldin, February 2026).
How This List Is Ranked
This list ranks Pokémon cards by the highest public sale we could verify for each card, as of October 2026. Each card appears once, at its record price. Every price is a dated sale record with the grade and the auction house named. Nothing here is an estimate of what a card is worth today.
The Pokémon market set several records in 2026, and not every reported sale can be confirmed. If we could not find two sources that agree on a sale, it is not on this list. New to the game itself? Start with our introduction to the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
Top 10 Most Valuable Pokémon Cards by Record Sale
| Rank | Card | Record sale | Date, grade and seller |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1998 Pikachu Illustrator (Japanese promo) | $16,492,000 | February 2026, PSA 10, Goldin |
| 2 | 1998 Bronze Trophy Pikachu, No. 3 Trainer (Japanese promo) | $1,769,000 | May 2026, PSA 10, Goldin |
| 3 | 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Charizard #4 | $954,800 | February 2026, PSA 10, Goldin |
| 4 | 1999 CoroCoro Best Photo Snap Bulbasaur (Japanese promo) | $809,943 | August 2026, PSA 8, Goldin |
| 5 | 1999 64 Mario Stadium Best Photo Snap Charmander (Japanese promo) | $640,500 | August 2026, PSA 8, Goldin |
| 6 | 1999 64 Mario Stadium Best Photo Snap Squirtle (Japanese promo) | $555,100 | August 2026, PSA 6, Goldin |
| 7 | 1999 Base Set Prerelease Raichu #14 | $555,000 | September 2025, PSA 6, Heritage Auctions |
| 8 | Japanese Topsun Charizard, Blue Back | $493,230 | January 2021, PSA 10, Goldin |
| 9 | 1998 Gold Trophy Pikachu, No. 1 Trainer (Japanese promo) | $450,000 | December 2025, PSA 9, Heritage Auctions |
| 10 | 1998 Silver Trophy Pikachu, No. 2 Trainer (Japanese promo) | $444,000 | September 2023, PSA 10, Goldin |
The Top 10 in Detail
1. Pikachu Illustrator
The Pikachu Illustrator was a prize in illustration contests run by the Japanese magazine CoroCoro Comic in 1997 and 1998. Logan Paul, quoted by Guinness World Records, said 39 copies were given out to contest winners. The artwork is by Atsuko Nishida, the original designer of Pikachu. The only copy graded PSA 10 sold for $16,492,000, including the buyer's premium, at Goldin on February 16, 2026. Guinness World Records lists it as the most expensive Pokémon card sold at auction and the most expensive trading card sold at auction. The seller, Logan Paul, had acquired the card in an earlier private deal valued at $5,275,000.
2. Bronze Trophy Pikachu, No. 3 Trainer
Trophy Pikachu cards were prizes at Japanese tournaments in the late 1990s. The bronze No. 3 Trainer card went to third-place finishers. The only copy graded PSA 10 sold for $1,769,000, including the buyer's premium, in Goldin's Spring TCG and Manga Elite Auction in May 2026. That is the highest public sale reported for any Trophy Pikachu card.
3. 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Charizard
This is one of the best-known cards in the hobby, and the highest sale on this list for a card that was pulled from a booster pack. A PSA 10 copy carrying the "Logan Paul Break" label sold for $954,800 at Goldin in February 2026. The previous high was $550,000 for a PSA 10 at Heritage Auctions in December 2025, and before that $420,000 in March 2022. Heritage reported 125 copies graded PSA 10 at the time of its sale. The card is both a first edition and a shadowless print, and a PSA 10 is a Gem Mint grade.
4. Snap Bulbasaur (CoroCoro Best Photo)
The Snap cards come from a 1999 contest tied to the Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap. Players submitted in-game photos, and the winning photos were printed as cards. A PSA 8 Bulbasaur sold for $809,943 at Goldin in August 2026. Sports Illustrated reported it as the highest price paid for any Bulbasaur card, with only 20 copies made.
5. Snap Charmander (64 Mario Stadium Best Photo)
A PSA 8 Snap Charmander sold for $640,500 in the same Goldin auction in August 2026, a record for a Charmander card.
6. Snap Squirtle (64 Mario Stadium Best Photo)
A PSA 6 Snap Squirtle sold for $555,100 in the same Goldin auction in August 2026, according to Sports Illustrated and The Beat.
7. 1999 Base Set Prerelease Raichu
The Prerelease Raichu is a Base Set Raichu that was stamped "Prerelease" by mistake at Wizards of the Coast. Heritage's consignment director for trading card games called it a card that had been "shrouded in mystery for so long." A copy graded PSA 6 sold for $555,000 at Heritage Auctions in September 2025. Heritage described it as the only copy PSA had authenticated at the time, and as a record for an English-language Pokémon card at auction. The Charizard sale at number 3 has since passed it.
8. Topsun Charizard, Blue Back
A Japanese Topsun Charizard with the blue back, graded PSA 10, sold for $493,230 at Goldin in January 2021. It is the oldest sale still in the top 10.
9. Gold Trophy Pikachu, No. 1 Trainer
The gold No. 1 Trainer card was the first-place tournament prize. A PSA 9 copy sold for $450,000 at Heritage Auctions in December 2025, in the same auction as the $550,000 Charizard.
10. Silver Trophy Pikachu, No. 2 Trainer
The silver No. 2 Trainer card was the second-place prize. A PSA 10 copy sold for $444,000 at Goldin in September 2023.
Other Verified Pokémon Card Sales
These sales fall below the top 10, and they cover cards that show up on most lists like this one.
| Card | Sale price | Date, grade and seller |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 Blastoise Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Holo | $360,000 | January 2021, CGC 8.5, Heritage Auctions |
| 2017 Tsunekazu Ishihara GX promo, signed | $247,230 | April 2021, PSA 7, Goldin |
| 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Blastoise #2 | $138,880 | February 2026, PSA 10, Goldin |
| 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Venusaur #15 | $75,640 | February 2026, PSA 10, Goldin |
The 1st Edition Blastoise and Venusaur both carried the "Logan Paul Break" label and sold at Goldin on the same day as the Charizard at number 3.
What Makes a Pokémon Card Valuable
- How it was released: seven of the ten cards above were contest or tournament prizes in Japan. They were never in booster packs, so the number of copies is tiny and fixed.
- Grade: the top two sales were each the only PSA 10 copy of the card. The count of copies at each grade is what a pop report shows.
- The Pokémon: Pikachu and Charizard account for six of the ten cards.
- Print run: for pack-pulled cards, the first print matters most. That is why a 1st Edition Base Set Charizard sells for far more than later prints of the same holo card.
For a wider look at the Pokémon world, see how many Pokémon there are.
How to Protect Valuable Pokémon Cards
Condition drives price. Every sale on this page was a graded card in a slab. Before a card is graded, keep it in a penny sleeve and a toploader. We carry card sleeves and toploaders, and if you play with your cards, a playmat keeps them off the table.
Sources
- Logan Paul's Pikachu Illustrator becomes the most expensive card ever sold (Guinness World Records)
- Logan Paul sells a single Pokémon card for over $16 million (Kotaku)
- Pokémon Trading Card Game (Wikipedia)
- 1998 Bronze Trophy Pikachu promo sells for record $1.7 million (Star City Games)
- 1998 Pokémon Japanese 3rd place Pikachu card sells for $1.7 million (The Beat)
- Another Pikachu Pokémon card sold for almost $2 million (Wargamer)
- 1999 1st Edition Charizard PSA 10 Logan Paul sale (Figoca)
- The most expensive Pokémon cards ever sold (Luxe Digital)
- PSA 10 Charizard sets record at $550,000 (Heritage Auctions, Intelligent Collector)
- Rare 1st Edition Charizard card sells for record $550K (cllct)
- Vintage Pokémon promo becomes the most valuable Bulbasaur card ever (Sports Illustrated)
- Goldin's summer TCG auction generates $18 million plus (The Beat)
- Goldin Summer TCG Elite Auction rakes in over $18 million (ICv2)
- Prerelease Raichu sets record at $555,000 (Heritage Auctions, Intelligent Collector)
- Prerelease Raichu sells at Heritage Auctions (Wargamer)
- The 10 most valuable Pokémon cards of all time (cllct)
- The most expensive Pokémon trophy cards (Misprint)
- 1999 Pokémon 1st Edition Blastoise PSA 10 sells for $138K (Figoca)
- 1999 1st Edition Venusaur PSA 10 sells for $75K (Figoca)
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