Rare Pokemon Card Sells For Record $54,970 At Auction
Umer Jamshaid Published November 22, 2016 | 09:00 AM
LOS ANGELES, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2016 ) - An extremely rare Pokemon trading card -- the "Pikachu Illustrator" -- was purchased for a record $54,970 at auction, organizers of the sale said Monday.
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions said the card, of which 39 were ever made, sold to an unidentified Hong Kong collector at Saturday's auction in Beverly Hills. "The Pikachu Illustrator card 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 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.
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 rodent 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.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
Sindh minister orders operation after attack on police in Ghotki
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
More Stories From World
-
Football: English Championship table
5 hours ago -
Time for 'democratic transition' in Venezuela: opposition candidate to AFP
5 hours ago -
Spain's Pedro Sanchez : a risk-taker with a flair for survival
6 hours ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 table
6 hours ago -
Nadal will only play French Open if he can 'compete well'
6 hours ago -
Ukraine, Israel, TikTok: the massive aid package before US Congress
6 hours ago
-
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
6 hours ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 results
7 hours ago -
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
7 hours ago -
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
7 hours ago -
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
8 hours ago -
Anger among Ukrainians in Poland as Kyiv halts passport renewals
8 hours ago