An unidentified Hong Kong collector bought the card called the “Pikachu Illustrator” for a record price of $54,970 at Saturday’s auction in Beverly Hills held by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, the Associated France Press agency reported on Tuesday referring to the organizers.
The Pikachu Illustrator card is extremely rare.
“It was given in January of 1998 to winners of the CoroCoro Comic Illustration Contest,” Michael Halperin, a spokesman for Heritage Auctions, told AFP.
He said only 20 to 39 copies of this card were released, 10 of the cards are known to be in mint condition and it is unclear how many are still privately owned.
The “Pikachu Illustrator” first sold in the early 2000s for around $23,000, Halperin said.
Unbelievable! One of the 39 Pikachu Illustrator cards can fetch $50.000 at Heritage Auction. https://t.co/AeaUpyooOf pic.twitter.com/xkW5ji9hhz
— STUFFIFY (@stuffify) 1 ноября 2016 г.
The card, considered the most valuable and iconic Pokemon card among collectors, was designed by Atsuko Nishida, one of the chief Pokemon graphic illustrators.
The card depicts the fan-favorite yellow Pikachu, holding what appear to be drawing utensils.
It was put up for auction by a private collector in the United States in the wake of the popularity surrounding the Pokemon Go app, which has more than 20 million active users.
Halperin said the seller, who is in his mid-20s and did not wish to be identified, had begun collecting Pokemon cards in his teens.
The Pokemon phenomenon first emerged in Japan in 1996 before becoming a global sensation.
