Someone bought this rare Pokemon card in record $336K sale. Why is it worth so much?
A rare Pokemon card featuring a fire-breathing dragon recently sold for $336,000 after drawing 69 bids.
If you’re not familiar with the hobby, you might be wondering why there is so much demand for this card or why it is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to some.
Even for those quite familiar, “this sale reinforced the fact that demand for Pokemon cards continues its climb,” said Heritage Auctions Trading Card Games Consignment Director Jesus Garcia in a statement. Heritage Auctions, with headquarters in Dallas, sold the first-edition Charizard No. 4 card in an online auction that grossed over $3.7 million.
Pokemon Charizard card
Prior to the sale, the auction service described the card as “arguably the hottest card in the entire hobby” and one that would “instantly become the centerpiece of your collection.”
“Charizard is the final evolved form of Charmander, and if you watched the Indigo series, you might recall Charmander as kind and innocent. But as soon as he evolved into Charmeleon, everything changed,” Heritage Auctions said. “Charmeleon was rebellious, did not listen to Ash’s commands, and things only got worse when he evolved into Charizard. Cards like this don’t come up for auction often.”
Why is it worth so much?
Demand for the Charizard card was partially due to it being part of Pokemon’s first English print run, Heritage Auctions said in a news release.
It is also one of only 121 examples within the game rated a Gem Mint 10, meaning it was graded as a “virtually perfect card.” Cards in this grade must have sharp corners, their original gloss and no staining, according to Professional Sports Authenticator.
“Cards from the first English print run are coveted by serious collectors, and finding one in this condition is exceptionally rare,” Heritage Auctions said.
With that said, the company estimated the card would sell for $200,000. But the price soared to a record $336,000, making it the most anyone has ever paid for this specific card at Heritage Auctions.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Someone bought this rare Pokemon card in record $336K sale. Why is it worth so much?."