A prized Pokemon trading card has been sold for $420,000, the third-highest known price ever paid for a Pokemon card.
The "1999 Pokemon Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizard" card was sold on March 19 as part of an auction on trading card marketplace PWCC, which listed the card as "easily the most recognizable Pokemon card ever made" and the "holy grail" of Pokemon card collections.
The sale broke the all-time record for the price of a trading card depicting "Charizard," a well-known fire-breathing creature from Nintendo's Pokemon franchise, according to PWCC.
—PWCC (@PWCCmarketplace) March 22, 2022
Much of the card's value came from its PSA 10 Gem Mint grading, signifying that the card is in brand-new condition. While 3,000 copies of this card have been submitted to trading card grader PSA, only 121 of them were awarded such a status, PWCC said.
Prices for Pokemon cards have soared in recent years amid a wave of popularity surrounding the trading cards on YouTube, compounded by the rise of scalpers.
Earlier this month, another card from the same Charizard set, also with the PSA 10 Gem Mint grading, sold for $336,000 at an auction.
In February, a 1999 holographic "Illustrator Pikachu" Pokémon card — one of fewer than 40 copies — was sold for a whopping $900,000, setting the record for the most expensive Pokemon card sale in history.
—PSAcard (@PSAcard) February 24, 2022
Pokemon is the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, according to Statista, raking in $105 billion in revenue, with "Hello Kitty" trailing at $84.5 billion in revenue. By comparison, the "Star Wars" and "Marvel Cinematic Universe" franchises have drawn $68.7 billion and $35.3 billion in revenue to date, per Statista.
