Pokemon: Illustrator Pikachu Card Explained
Dropping just a few months after the original games, the first series of Pokemon trading cards have become legendary in the world of collectors. What was once just a collectible card game is now the pride and joy of many enthusiasts’ collections, with original cards sold in the thousands at auction. Among the holographic shadowless Charizards and 1st Edition Lugias, there’s one particularly elusive card that rarely shows its face: the Illustrator Pikachu card.
While the original 1st edition base set Pokemon are quite sought after, the Illustrator Pikachu card is on a whole new level. Belonging to the sub-sect of Pokemon cards that won in a competition, the Illustrator Pikachu card is currently the most expensive single Pokemon trading card, with a PSA 10 card sold for over $5 million.
The origins of the Illustrator Pikachu card
One year after the first series of Pokemon cards were published, in November 1997 a contest was held in the CoroCoro Comic, a monthly Japanese manga magazine. Called the “Pokemon Card Game Illust Artist Contest”, this contest asked readers to draw their own Pokemon card and send it in the magazine.
In the January 1998 issue of CoroCoro Comic, three winners were chosen, each receiving 20 Pokemon cards featuring their own artwork with a copy of the Illustrator Pikachu card. Another 20 contestants were chosen to receive an “Award of Excellence,” which earned them a copy of the Illustrator Pikachu card.
In May 1998, another contest was held by Manga magazine, this time titled “Mewtwo’s Counterattack Comemmoration Illust Artist Contest”. June 1998 saw another CoroCoro Comic contest, named “Pikachu’s Summer Vacation Commemoration Illust Artist Contest”.
These competitions asked readers to draw their own Pokemon map, and also come up with their own attacks. Excellence and top prizes were awarded to 16 people, who each received a copy of the Illustrator Pikachu card.
Officially, only 39 Illustrator Pikachu cards were given out in total, making this the rarest Pokemon existing map. Although there was a case where more cards were auctioned, such as in 2020 two more Illustrator Pikachus were sold by Yuichi Konno, one of the original creators of the Pokemon collectible card game. It’s still unclear how many Illustrator Pikachu cards exist.
The most expensive Pokemon card ever sold
In 2013, a Pokemon Illustrator Pikachu card sold for $100,000. In 2019, an Illustrator Pikachu card sold for $195,000. This card has been rated 9 out of 10 by the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), which means it is exceptionally close to mint. A few years ago, infamous vlogger Logan Paul got his hands on a PSA 9 Illustrator Pikachu card.
In July 2021, Logan Paul swapped his PSA 9 card for a PSA 10 version, a completely new card in good condition. In addition to trading in his PSA 9 card, which was estimated to be worth around $1 million, Paul also paid the seller $4 million, resulting in the PSA 10 version costing just over $5 million. of dollars.
In a rather shocking move, Logan Paul wore the Illustrator Pikachu PSA 10 card around his neck during his WWE debut, removing it just before entering the ring. Behind the scenes, Paul received a Guinness World Record for the “most expensive trading card sold at a private sale”. Currently, Logan Paul is the sole owner of a PSA 10 Illustrator Pikachu trading card.
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