Rare Pokémon Cards on Auction Block

LOS ANGELES — The hobby is continuing to explode with rare Pokémon cards and through February 11, Goldin Auctions is offering 36 unopened sets of them to collectors.

Partnering with YouTuber and Pokémon card collector Logan Paul, Goldin's auction has 36 extremely rare, unopened 1st Edition packs of Pokémon trading cards that were first released in the United States in 1999. Bids for each pack start at $10,000. These 1st Edition packs could include highly valued holographic cards such as Charizard, Blastoise, Chansey and Hitmonchan, among others.

In January, Heritage Auctions sold a Blastoise hologram card for $360,000 and a Charizard hologram card for $300,000. 

Also at the end of January, Goldin sold a full 1st Edition set of the 103 original Pokémon cards from 1999 for a record price of $682,650. This serves as a new benchmark for the ever-rising sales that have been happening with Pokémon over the past year. The sale not only included every 1st Edition card in the original set, but they were all graded in "Gem Mint" condition, the highest grading level possible. Likely the crown jewel of the collection was the 1st Edition Charizard card, which made the entire set that much more valuable.

Following the auction, Goldin Auctions founder Ken Goldin will join Paul for a live streamed unpackaging event on February 27, timed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the launch of the first Pokémon games in 1996. The event will be hosted on the internet personality’s YouTube channel, which boasts nearly 23 million subscribers.

Paul has recently streamed multiple live card unboxing videos that have received millions of views. His previous Pokémon unboxing livestream in October was watched by more than 300,000 people concurrently and has since received more than nine million total views. These card breaking events have soared in popularity among hobbyists and on social media. 

“I am thrilled to partner with Goldin for the biggest Pokémon unboxing ever,” said Paul. “This is a newfound obsession of mine and I am so excited to share it with other enthusiasts around the world.”

Goldin will provide expert analysis and insights based on his 40+ years of experience collecting and selling extremely valuable memorabilia. Since launching in 2012, Goldin Auctions has built a reputation as a trusted leader in trading cards and collectibles and the company has overseen more than $300 million worth of sales, including more than $100 million in 2020 alone, as existing collectors and new enthusiasts increasingly recognize collectibles and memorabilia as valuable alternative investments.

“For those of us in the hobby, we know how exciting of a time this is. The value of vintage and modern trading cards and collectibles has taken off and we’re also thrilled to be at the forefront of the growing enthusiasm for rare Pokémon cards,” said Goldin. “Logan was absolutely ahead of the curve in Pokémon collecting. He recognized the trend and then has created such amazing and authentic content that has brought so many more fans into the hobby.”

For more information, visit Goldin Auctions.