Five Cards Sold for $11.3 Million in One Week. Two Were Pikachu Illustrators, and the Slab Mattered as Much as the Card.

The Biggest Week High-End TCG Has Ever Had

A week ago, the five biggest trading card game sales in the world added up to about $2.2 million and everyone called it a monster week. Between September 13 and September 20 the top five totaled $11,339,471, more than five times that figure, and for the first time in recent memory every card in the top five cleared $500,000. Two Pikachu Illustrators did most of the work, but a PSA 10 Alpha Black Lotus, a sealed 1st Edition Base Set box and a reverse holo Charizard all contributed sales that would have led any other week of the year.

The Five Sales

1. Pikachu Illustrator, PSA 9: $5,000,000 (Heritage, September 18)

The 1998 CoroCoro Comic Illustrator promo was never sold in packs. It was awarded to winners of illustration contests run by Japan's CoroCoro magazine, which is why so few copies exist and why it has become the single most important trophy card in Pokemon. A PSA 9 example sold for $5 million at Heritage on Friday night.

2. Pikachu Illustrator, CGC 9: $2,806,271 (Goldin, September 19)

One night later a second Illustrator, this one graded CGC Mint 9, closed at Goldin for just over $2.8 million. That is triple what a PSA 8.5 copy brought in June, so the card itself is clearly still climbing. But look at the gap between the two 9s: same card, same numerical grade, and the PSA holder brought nearly $2.2 million more than the CGC holder one day apart. That is the clearest data point the hobby has ever had on how much the label on the slab is worth at the top of the market.

3. 1993 Alpha Black Lotus, PSA 10: $2,208,200 (Goldin, September 19)

The only non-Pokemon card in the top five is the most famous card in Magic. This is a record for a PSA 10 Alpha Black Lotus, though it still sits behind the $3 million private sale of a CGC Pristine 10 copy in 2024. ICv2 reported that rounded edge cut marks on the corners may have kept some bidders from agreeing with PSA's Gem Mint opinion. Only three PSA 10 Alpha Lotuses are known to exist.

4. 1999 Pokemon 1st Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box: $750,000 (Heritage, September 18)

Thirty-six unopened packs from the set that launched Pokemon cards in the United States. A sealed 1st Edition box is now valued alongside the hobby's biggest single cards, and this one did not even crack the top three.

5. 2002 Legendary Collection Charizard Reverse Holo, PSA 10: $575,000 (Heritage, September 18)

Legendary Collection reverse holos are among the most recognizable Pokemon parallels of the WotC era, and a Gem Mint Charizard set the floor for the week at $575,000. In most weeks this would be the headline.

What It Means If You Are Not Bidding Seven Figures

• The PSA premium is real and measurable. Two Illustrators at the same numerical grade, one day apart, with a $2.2 million spread. If you are choosing where to send a card that could be a top-tier sale, that spread is your answer. For cards under $500, other factors like turnaround and cost matter more.
• Sealed vintage Pokemon is now a trophy category. A $750,000 box means every sealed WotC-era product, down to individual 1st Edition packs, gets repriced upward by comparison.
• Magic is not being left behind. The Lotus result is a PSA 10 record even with the corner debate. Alpha and Beta power in high grades continues to track with vintage Pokemon rather than lagging it.
• Expect more consignments. Results like these pull cards out of long-term collections. The fall auction calendar was already crowded, and the next few weeks will show whether the market can absorb more supply at these levels.

Big-money auction weeks like this one start with cards that were bought, sold and graded through local shops. Use our directory to find a card shop near you.