A 1st Edition, Shadowless Base Set Charizard. (Hansons Auctioneers via SWNS)
By Nathan Pynn
An extremely rare Pokémon card that cost £2 (over $2) in 1999 has sold for a whopping £30,000 (nearly $40,000) at auction.
The 1st edition Shadowless Base Set Charizard card is known as the “holy grail” to collectors and enthusiasts.
The “shadowless” version was only printed in the earliest production run of Pokémon cards, with the holograph version even rarer.
On Friday (Feb. 27) it sold for £30,000 when it went under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers in Derby.
Hansons’ Pokémon expert David Wilson-Turner said: “Back in 1999, you could buy pack of 11 Pokémon cards at Woolworths for anything between £1.50 and £2.
“A Charizard was the rarest holographic in the Base Set, so pulling one from a pack was like winning a mini lottery.
A selection of assorted Pokemon singles, with varying estimates. (Hansons Auctioneers via SWNS)
“Only 4,000 to 10,000 cards were produced, most of which were played with and are now dogeared – so to find one in mint condition like this one, which has a grading of 9 (out of 10), makes it all the rarer."
The sale also saw a sealed EX Sandstorm booster box, containing 36 booster packs, smash its low estimate of £8,000 to sell for £20,000.
In total the 219 lots, which saw bidders from Australia, American and Europe, fetched £210,000.
A factory-sealed Pokémon Base Set booster box from 1999 - which would have cost £100 when bought new – sold for £15,500.
Wilson-Turner added: “It was a great sale and I was thrilled by the results and the number of bidders registered from all around the world.
“It goes to show the juggernaut of Pokémon has no signs of slowing down – in fact demand is just getting stronger.”
A sealed booster box from the very first English Pokemon set which has a guide price of £12,500-£15,000. (Hansons Auctioneers via SWNS)
Many lots in the sale far exceeded their pre-sale guide prices, with a complete set of Unlimited Neo Destiny cards from 2002 fetching £9,500 – more than double its estimate of £4,000.
A sealed Japanese, Luigi Pikachu box also beat its guide price of £5,000-£7,000 to sell for £8,500, while a Pokémon Jungle Unlimited booster box, produced by Wizards of the Coast, sold for £6,500.
One of the biggest surprises came in the shape of a binder made up of 151 Topps Chrome cards from the First Generation Pokémon. It was expected to fetch between £300 and £400 but sold for £4,200.
Since its launch in 1996 the Pokémon franchise has captured the imagination of children and adults around the world.
The Japanese multi-media franchise features competing animals which hold special powers.
The characters have featured in films, TV shows and online gaming with the Trading Card Games (TCG) having built up a huge following.
TV Bargain Hunt star Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “It’s never too late to get involved in this collecting obsession and I’d urge anyone to dig out those toy boxes, or boxed attic collections and bring them along for a free valuation.”
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