A new record high for an unopened box of first-edition Pokémon cards has been set at $ 408,000. The sale was handled on January 15 by Heritage Auctions, the same company that marketed a new record Pokémon sale in November.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game (Pokémon TCG) was first launched in 1996, and was originally published in the United States by Wizards of the Coast – the same company behind another collectible card game, Magic: The Gathering. It pits two or more trainers against each other in traditional Pokémon battles, but with cards instead of digital pocket monsters. Cards are traditionally purchased in blind amplifier packs or on the secondary market.
As Magic, the original Pokémon TCG is still in print. You can get it for sale at your friendly local game store, retailers and online. But the secondary market – especially the speculative market for unopened first-edition propulsion packages – is red-hot, spurred on by social media hype, Logan Paul, and even cryptocurrency investors.
This most recent record sale began in October when rapper Logic put down $ 183,000 for a Charizard, culminating in a $ 375,000 deal that crashed live on YouTube. Also sold at auction this weekend: a rare Blastoise, one of only two ever printed, sold for $ 360,000.